Feedback Needed Please!

Badge artwork by A to Z artist Ada Z

    This post brought to you by Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out:         

         Today I had originally planned to post about the negatives of the A to Z, but instead something else came to my attention which I wanted to get your opinions on before I continued with the Challenge evaluation.   I will discuss the bad next Monday.

Something else we'd like some feedback on:

        Here's a link that was brought to my attention through my Google Alerts for "Blogging from A to Z Video Challenge"    You might enjoy checking this out. I found it to be quite a surprise.   I've never seen a YouTube notice like this which includes not only all of the entries for the A to Z Video Contest, but also many links to blogs that have something to do with the A to Z April Challenge.  Check this out.   Your blog may have been included.   Have you seen something like this from YouTube before?

            So far in the Reflections or the evaluations posts I haven't read anything about the A to Z Video Contest.   I'll tell you more of my thoughts about the contest in a couple of weeks, but perhaps you can tell us yours in today's comments.   Did you pay much attention to the Video Contest?   Do you think it added value to the Challenge?   Were the video promos that were later linked to on Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere effective in reaching those unaware of the Challenge?   

             Did you watch any of the videos?   If you missed them, you can find them at YouTube or at the A to Z Video Challenge.  How did you like this year's video entries?   What suggestions would you give to the entrants?

               Would you be interested in submitting a video for a future contest?  Would quality prizes such as gift cards, video related equipment, cash, or something else be a greater incentive to participate in a contest of this nature?

              What suggestions do you have concerning a video contest for the A to Z Challenge?   Are there other types of pre-April contests we might consider to bring more attention to the A to Z Challenge?

Related articles

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Alphabet Soup - A Jumbled Jungle of J's

This post is brought to you by Nicole from The Madlab Post...

It’s time for Alphabet Soup - The Word Scramble Puzzle for A to Z Wizards!

Unscramble the following names of movie actors and actresses whose first name starts with letter J. The first commenter who has unscrambled all of them, or the most at best, wins this week’s Alphabet Soup game. Answers and the name of the winner will be posted here at the A to Z blog during next week’s “Friday Fun Time.” Word to the wise: Don’t let the spaces in these names fool you!

1

Jhcaknsooa Jus

2

otkeacaJnsn J

3

ernnnH fidoeuJs

4

nferCylonJen ine

5

tosifei nnAJrnne

6

errCJy mia

7

eeortJtl nuSelm

8

JrnOCo lelnry

9

NlckoncJiohas

10

kck acaBJl

Have an alphabetized weekend, everyone!

Need some extra blogging motivation? Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly writing and memory activity that will have you thinking about movies in a whole new light. New topics are posted every Monday!

NICOLE
Read The Madlab Post.
Find/Follow/RT @MadlabPost on Twitter.

Beat that Bloggers' Block!

This post is brought to you by AZ co-host Damyanti, from Amlokiblogs.
--------------------------------------

April is long gone, and we've all moved on to new challenges.

One of the challenges I find on many A-Z participant blogs is bloggers' block--- after the burn-out of A-Z, many bloggers have found it difficult to get up and go again.

Here are a few ways to beat this:

1. Go blog-browsing: The more blogs you visit, whether via the Post A-Z Road Trip or otherwise, the more issues, problems, points of-view you'll come across. Some of them will trigger a response in you, and that could become your next blog post. Bonus: You'll have return-visits from the blogs you visited once your post is ready and published.

2. Dig up your old posts: That archive is good for something. You can re-post some of the posts you made long ago, which got you a good number of hits. Or, you could use them as an inspiration-- maybe you've learned more on the topic in the intervening period, or your point-of-view has changed. Bonus: When you link back to your own old posts, it helps search engines find you, giving you more hits.

3. Go wordless: A picture/ video really is worth a thousand words. You can also use them to jot down a few lines. 
Bonus: If you add titles and links to your pictures, this too would get picked up in a search-engine crawl.

4.  Avoid Whining: Sure, if you have a regular audience that loves you, you'll get a lot of mollycoddling when you make the occasional rant or whine. But tackling your block by repeatedly moaning about it would only turn off potential readers.
Bonus: When you avoid negatives, you make space for positives--- before you know it, you'll find your blogging vim back again.

5. Create Drafts: To quote yet another hackneyed proverb, prevention is better than cure. If you see an interesting picture, idea, issue--anything, in short, that could be of interest to your blog, copy it down in a blog draft. That way, when the lean times hit, you have a ready resource at hand to tide you over.
Bonus: When you have that many drafts sitting around, you might even be tempted to schedule posts in advance.

These are only a few tips to fight the dreaded block. I'm hoping the super-bloggers amongst you would add more advice in the comments. Now go beat that bloggers' block-- and get yourself a trigger finger instead!

Guest Post: Jo Wake, Victorian Cooking

Today it's my pleasure to introduce to you another guest poster, A-Z participant Jo Wake whose blog is: JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE.  

Please sample her unique point of view: we need to slow down and cook the old-fashioned way for great results worthy of the guest we entertain.

 VICTORIAN COOKING

Through Bob Scotney of Bob’s Home for Writing, I have discovered a wonderful series of videos. Bob was primarily writing about Victorian kitchens, but I was more interested in the cooking as well as the reason for the existence of cookery books such as Mrs. Beeton’s Cookery published in 1935 which I have mentioned many times in my blog. Today when anyone makes something which requires stock, they use a can or a packet of bouillon, most home cooks these days have no idea of how the stock is made in the first place. I too have fallen into this practice, I use age as my excuse, but I suppose time constraints are the principle reason this practice has fallen out of use. The ollowing video makes me want to go back to basics, although I probably wouldn’t go so far as using a tammy cloth. This is a link to a fascinating video which is the first of a series on Victorian Kitchens: 

I found this video very exciting and will watch the whole series. My mother was just such a cook as Mrs. Mott although she never worked in the big houses nor did she ever use an old range as featured in the video (as far as I am aware). I had never heard of tammying, which looks like a lot of hard work, I thought using a sieve was bad enough. But this is what the art of cookery is all about. Not just defrosting something and shoving it in the microwave. We have lost so much of the art of producing good food and so much is done for us anyway. Because of that, we lose the pride of achievement which comes from producing a good meal as well as the ability to produce food which tastes so much better than this package stuff. Wise Geek has an article on the tammy cloth. This is why Matt and I love to entertain, it allows us to stretch our cookery skills to produce really excellent meals which we generally don’t eat every day.

I am having a day of stealing, this recipe was from Viveca’s My Guilty Pleasures and I asked her if I could use it. Very different recipe, and one I shall certainly try.

Baked Root Layer Cake, serve 6-8

350g/12oz carrots

350g/12oz parsnips

350g/12oz celeriac

30ml (2tbsp) clear honey

30ml (2tbsp) lemon juice

85g/3oz butter

fresh thyme

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 200C/ 390F/Gas 6. Peel and coarsely grate the carrots, parsnip and celeriac, keeping each vegetable separate bowls.

2. Warm honey, lemon juice and butter on low heat until melted. Season with salt and pepper add some picked thyme leafs. Pour a third of the honey butter mixture over each vegetable and coat well.

3. Line a shallow 20cm/8in spring form cake tin with non-stick baking parchment. Spoon carrots into the tin, spread evenly and press down, repeat with parsnips and finish off with celeriac the same way.

4. Cover with buttered foil and bake for 35 min, then remove the foil and bake for a further 10 min until brown on top.

5. Leave to stand for 10 min then turn out – cut in wedges and garnish with picked thyme sprigs.

Have a great day

Labels: Baked Root Layer Cake, Tammy Cloth, Victorian Cooking

A-Z Challenge - Preparation is 9/10th of the Work!

Today we welcome Julie Goucher from  Anglers Rest.  A second year veteran of the A to Z Challenge she's learned a thing or two along the way and is going to share her thoughts about preparing for the A to Z Challenge or any similar event for that matter.  Since some of you have indicated that you want to plan next year in advance, perhaps Julie's suggestions can be of some help.

Whenever we start a DIY task at home my impatient self wants to get cracking and let the work commence. My husband routinely tells me that “Preparation is 9/10th of the work and I hate to admit it, but he is right!

Starting any project is difficult, but once the creative juices are flowing the rest is easy. So, were you organised for the A-Z Challenge?  Here are perhaps some tips or contemplations for next year,and I know it is a year away, but remember, preparation......

●        What is the point of taking part?

○        Sharing information you already know & increase awareness

○        To assist you to develop your knowledge

○        Meeting other bloggers and seeing what they have to say

○        A combination of all three plus more

●        What do you want to write about?

○        New topics

○        Topics of Interest

○        A Mixture of topics

●        Do you want to use pictures and photographs to illustrate your theme or the selected letter?

●        What do you plan to do with the 26 posts you create in April 2013?

○        Publish into a anthology

○        Develop your alphabetical post into a longer piece of work

○        Nothing, apart from sharing it with readers of your blog

1.      Look at the planner for April 2013 and see what date each letter on the alphabet falls on

                       

	April 2013
Su	M	T	W	Th	F	Sa
	1  - A	2 - B	3 - C	4 - D	5 - E	6 - F
7	8 - G	9 - H	10 - I	11 - J	12 - K	13 - L
14	15 - M	16 - N	17 - O	18 - P	19 - Q	20 - R
21	22 - S	23 - T	24 - U	25 - V	26 - W	27 - X
28	29 - Y	30 - Z

2.      Decide a theme or devise a plan of what topics you want to write about. Remember you don’t have to have a theme!

3.      How much data do you already know about the subject you have chosen, or do you need to do some research?

4.      Identify the gaps - typically Q, X & Z but perhaps there are others

5.      Can the gaps be covered by written word? Or can they be covered visually. Can you think outside the box? For the letter of X, I recently used a photograph of stamp. The stamp showed an aeroplane and the picture of the wingspan of the aeroplane was in the shape of an X.

6.      Can you link your theme to other World wide, National or local events?  - ANZAC Day, Easter

Between now and the end of March 2013, plan and write when you feel like it. There is not any pressure. The challenge is a fun process and half the fun is the planning your own posts. Get your creative juices flowing!

1.      Get a piece of A4 paper and mark the top with the Letter of the alphabet and the date

2.      Jot down all you know about your chosen subject making a note of gaps in the writing that you want to fill and any photographs that you need to locate, scan and perhaps tweak.

3.      When you are happy with your data, write your blog post and set as a draft post with the correct date.

4.      Aim for the beginning of March 2013 to read over the prepared posts and make amendments to those spelling mistakes and then hit publish. Your blog will then self publish at the time you specify.

5.      Make sure that word verification is turned off to make it easier for fellow participants to stop by and leave a comment.

6.      From the 1st April 2013 spend your time responding to comments left on your posts and visiting and making new blog friends.

Julie Goucher

Blog Name - Anglers Rest http://anglersrest.blogspot.com

Twitter - @juliegoucher

You might also enjoy reading Julie's Reflections post.

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the good

Artwork by Ada Z from collagepodge.com

         I plead guilty to somewhat dropping the ball on this post.  I waited until the last minute to compose this so it may not be as thorough as I had hoped.  On the other hand, if you've read even just a few of the Reflections posts you saw many of the same good points of the A to Z Challenge repeated many times.  Or you could just go back to lasts year's post of  The Positives of Blogging from A to Z and that pretty well sums up most of this year's positives.


         I'll mention some of the obvious positives in passing.  Many of you cited the benefits of improving your blogging or writing skills by posting something everyday.  There were the elements of self-discipline and creative thinking.  Sense of community and opportunity to meet new bloggers was often mentioned.   The diversity of participants and the high quality of the writing on many of the blogs were other positives that were pointed out.

        Several people told how they broke in new blog or revived on old blog with the Challenge.  For these bloggers it was a trial by fire experience that helped instill good blogging habits and add followers.   The learning experience that A to Z offers is something veterans can use to encourage new entrants in the future.

        One thing that I had neglected to mention in my previous thank yous, but was brought up in many of the Reflections posts is the addition of the Navigation Buttons offered by Marcus Clearspring.   These were tremendously popular last year and we had many requests for their return this year.  Fortunately Marcus came through again and once again the Navigation Buttons were a hit.  Thank you Marcus.

        We received a number of kudos for the responsiveness, presence, and helpfulness of this year's A to Z Team.   We thank you for your kind words and I for one will concur on this.  Thank you Team--great job!

         Hopefully, you can give us some numbers, but I've heard of a number of the April A to Z series that will be getting published in one form or another.  That A to Z is becoming a springboard for published works is great news.   Last year I heard about at least three books that came out of the Challenge.  I know of a few from this year's Challenge, but I think there will be more.   If you have a book or some published material that was born from A to Z, let us know in the comments and keep in mind that since we are accepting guest posts at the A to Z Blog we would like to hear from you if you would like to do a post about your book.

          One other thing that many of you saw as a big positive and I heartily agree is this A to Z Blog.  This has been a great forum--or as one of you said "water cooler site".    Being able to have a site devoted to A to Z news and tips leading up to and during the Challenge was a huge benefit in many ways.   There is a lot more that we can do with this site.   What are some of your suggestions about this?

         A couple of excellent Reflections posts that you might like to check out are those of Elise Fallson and Susan Kane's thecontemplativecat-- very different in presentation, but both capturing the essence of the spirit of the April Challenge and what it represents.   But by all means don't stop there.  If you haven't read any of the Reflections posts yet, you should read at least a sampling.  Over four hundred of you have left your A to Z Reflections, which is a pretty impressive statement in itself.

          Next Monday I'll be discussing some of the negative aspects that we heard from the Reflections posts and elsewhere.  Then on the following Monday I'll bring it all together with your comments from these two posts and some additional ideas I have about this year and next year.  

           That's what I've got for now.  What positives can you think of that I've left out?   Do you agree with the ones I've mentioned?    What was the biggest A to Z plus in your mind?

Related articles

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• A to Z Reflections 2012 (tossingitout.blogspot.com)
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• A to Z reflections #atozchallenge (notesinabook.wordpress.com)
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Coming Soon...Friday Fun Time! Brought to You by Nicole

Lots of carefully alphabetized activities are in store for you all starting this month! Some of you are already familiar with me, either from my guest posts at Tossing It Out or by reading my blog, The Madlab Post. For those who may not have ever read my posts, however, here is a quick primer: I am a writer and filmmaker who sometimes publishes short movie reviews and helps other blog readers figure out whether they comment like Harry Potter or not. You can Get to Know more about me Here, if you’re really interested.

In the weeks to come, I will be hosting A to Z themed blog posts for your reading pleasure, every Friday. These posts will include word scramble games, detailed writing prompts to get you prepared for the next Blogging from A to Z Challenge and letter craft tutorials. Depending on the subject matter, each post will be a part of one of three series, unless otherwise noted. The Friday series includes:

Alphabet Soup - A word scramble game 

The Alphabet Remix - A to Z Challenge writing prompts 

Letter Play - Alphabet crafts, design and related DIY tips 

Now, answer me this...

What letters did YOU find the most difficult to blog about during this year’s 2012 A to Z Challenge? 

Happy blogging everyone!

NICOLE
The Madlab Post 
Home of the Monday Movie Meme!
@MadlabPost on Twitter

Latest and Greatest In The World of Science

Hi everyone, and thanks for joining Stephen Tremp here at the Official Blogging A to Z Challenge site. I’ve started a new series every other Thursday spotlighting the latest and greatest in the world of science. I’ll focus mainly on physics, astronomy, and nanotechnology and how recent discoveries help unlock the secrets of our universe and our place in it. Sound fun?

Oh, and I need a name for the series, so if you can think of something clever and catchy, please post it in the comments. Thanks!

May 2 Black Hole Caught Red-Handed in a Stellar Homicide PASADENA, Calif. – Astronomers have gathered the most direct evidence yet of a supermassive black hole shredding a star that wandered too close. Supermassive black holes, weighing millions to billions times more than the sun, lurk in the centers of most galaxies. These hefty monsters lie quietly until an unsuspecting victim, such as a star, wanders close enough to get ripped apart by their powerful gravitational clutches.

May 8 NASA's Spitzer Sees the Light of Alien 'Super Earth PASADENA, Calif. – NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected light emanating from a "super-Earth" planet beyond our solar system for the first time. While the planet is not habitable, the detection is a historic step toward the eventual search for signs of life on other planets. "Spitzer has amazed us yet again," said Bill Danchi, Spitzer program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The spacecraft is pioneering the study of atmospheres of distant planets and paving the way for NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to apply a similar technique on potentially habitable planets."

May 14 Earth-Orbiting Asteroids An asteroid the size of a school bus gave Earth a close shave Sunday, passing well inside the orbit of the moon, but our planet was never in any danger of being hit. Such close asteroid flybys aren't terribly uncommon. Researchers have discovered about 8,900 near-Earth asteroids, though they think many more are out there. Scientists with the Near-Earth Object Program and other teams of astronomers regularly monitor the sky for large, potentially dangerous asteroids to determine if they pose an impact threat to Earth.

May 15 Space Mining Less than three weeks after officially unveiling its asteroid-mining plans, the billionaire-backed firm Planetary Resources has already received thousands of job applications, The company plans to mine near-Earth asteroids for platinum-group metals and water. Water can be broken into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen, the chief components of rocket fuel. The company hopes its efforts lead to the establishment of in-space "gas stations" that allow many spacecraft to refuel cheaply and efficiently. Swarms of low-cost unmanned spacecraft would extract resources from asteroids in deep space. Check out this my post of Asteroid Mining from the A to Z Challenge Space Mining Upcoming Celestial Events

May 20 Rare Ring Eclipse A rare "ring" eclipse is coming to California this weekend — the first of its kind to enter the continental United States since 1994. The zone where a partial eclipse is viewable is much wider, stretching over most of eastern China, Korea, the Philippines, Siberia, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. NASA has posted calculations of solar eclipse times in foreign countries and the United States. NASA has also set up a nifty interactive Google map showing times of the eclipse California. A word of caution: don't look at the sun directly during the eclipse! Experts say it's possible to cause permanent damage to eyesight. Check the Internet for Webcasts of the event!

June 6 The Rarest Eclipse: Transit of Venus Across the Face of the Sun A Venus transit is a phenomenon in which the disk of the planet Venus passes like a small shadow across the face of the Sun. The transit can be seen (with proper protection!) by the unaided eye and looks something like a moving sunspot. Among the rarest of astronomical events, Venus transits occur eight years apart—and then don’t happen again for more than a century. The last transit before 2004 took place in 1882.

You can visit Stephen Tremp at his blog at Breakthrough Blogs.

Post A-to-Z Road Trip - Join us!

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Post A-to-Z Road Trip, previously known as the Post-Challenge-Challenge, or PCC

I think the dust has settled a bit, and that life (which is Good!) is slowly returning to normal.  I'm not labeling this as good or bad, just that it's a bit weird (see, so tired I can't come up with a unique adjective..) For the last four months, my on-line life has been dedicated to the wonderful challenge we just completed, and now all of a sudden, I'm free to...yeah.  Whatever!  My time is mine, to do with as I please.  I find myself at a loss, trying to decide what to do next.  

And do you know what I want to do now?  Go for a road trip.

This isn't a normal road trip.  There are no roads, no cars, no fast-food, no “next rest-area 54 miles are you SURE you don't have to pee?” signs.  This is a road-trip that is unending when you first look at it.  But as you peer closer, read the signs, and digest the purpose, I think it's a road trip you'll want to be a part of.

I'm talking about the continuing journey of blog-visiting, networking, exploration, spelunking even, if you're willing to stretch a metaphor.  Gone fishing.  For blogs.  For blogs that interest and infuriate and aggravate and make you cry and make you sob with joy.  A journey where around each bend is a new piece of the road to be discovered.  Blogland is a big place, and the 1700+ folks who joined the A-Z are still welcoming visitors.  I intend to be one of them.  Would you consider joining us?  

The Post A-to-Z Road Trip is a new challenge for you, but one with no real time limit, other than before the next A-to-Z Challenge begins in April 2013.  The goal?  To visit all of the blogs who signed up for the A-to-Z, in whatever time frame you find manageable.  We’ll have weekly check-ins and a linky sign-up here at the A-to-Z Challenge Blog.  You will not be required to check-in, but the option is there.  

You can approach this challenge any way you want.  If you’re like Tina, you’re going to want a plan of attack.  Tina has a wonderfully mathematical mind; last year she set herself an end date, figured out how many blogs that would require her to visit each day, and she went for it.

Or maybe you’re a little more like me, Miss ADHD.  One day I’ll hit up 100 blogs, not visit any for a week, then hit twenty a day for three days straight.  You never know when I’ll be hopping around the interwebs, but by golly, I get it done!  Oooo, shiny...

Most likely, you’re somewhere between the two of us.  The beautiful thing is, it doesn’t matter.  Hit that list however you want, whatever gets you through it to the end.  You don’t want to miss all those wonderful blogs out there.  There are so many, with so much to say.  Come along with us and meet some new friends, stress-free!  This is THE road trip for the summer, so put on your favorite station, open the windows and sit back.  It’s time for the Post A-to-Z Road Trip.  Who knows what souvenirs we might bring back.

Sign up on the linky any time the mood strikes you.  We’ll leave it open through the end of December.  That doesn’t mean the Road Trip ends then, but just that no one can put their name on the linky after that.  

There are no rules.  You can find Tina and I here, or on our individual blogs, Life is Good (Tina) and The Warrior Muse (Shannon).  Feel free to come to us with questions, ideas, feedback, etc.  Now, let’s get packed!

P.S. Feel free to take the badge above for your blog!