Themes That Rocked the Challenge - Mark Twain's Boyhood Town

Today we welcome Jennifer Hawes!

If you've struggled with your A to Z theme, it might be right there under your feet. Jennifer chose her hometown of Hannibal, MO, which also happens to be the boyhood town of a certain author named Mark Twain…

What made you choose Hannibal, MO as your theme? (Besides the fact you live there!)

I love the natural beauty of this town nestled on the Mississippi River. Photography was a big part of why I chose to feature Hannibal for the challenge.

Which topic was your favorite?

My posts on "Trains" and "Meet Me in St. Louis" were fun to feature because of the recent trip I took with my family exploring the train yards in St. Louis. Urban exploration and photography remain my favorite activities besides writing ,of course!

Which letter was the most challenging?

Toward the end I was getting burned out. Y was a bit of a challenge so I changed my post to "whY you should visit Hannibal" and featured football and my oldest teenage son. This town worships football. This year my son's team, the Hannibal Pirates, went 10-0 are in the playoffs! He was also chosen for first team all conference in Northeast Missouri High Schools two years in a row. I'm one proud mom!

What should first time visitors absolutely not miss?

Mark Twain's dream was to be a riverboat captain. He adored the Big River. You will get a wonderful tour aboard the Mark Twain Riverboat. And don't forget to visit the famous cave!

How many places are named after Mark Twain?

I've lost count.

Just what is the Tom and Becky contest?

Every summer five Tom and Becky couples are chosen right before their eighth grade year. One couple is the main Tom and Becky and the rest stay busy hosting the numerous festivals in town. Tom and Becky are fictional characters created by Mark Twain in his book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. They had a major crush on each other. They hid inside the cave to escape Injun Joe who was after them. Mark Twain really did have a crush on his next door neighbor Laura Hawkins aka Becky Thatcher.

Did you find it odd there was a lighthouse in town?

Not really. With all the hills, rocky terrain, and endless fog, I'm sure the town built the lighthouse to help navigate the boats safely down the river.

What theme are you considering for the Challenge next year?

Oh boy. I'm glad I have some time to think about it! I've debated whether or not to write about the writer's journey to publication. Or something to do with writing. My theme last time featured Mark Twain, one of the greatest fiction writers of all time, and his boyhood home town. Maybe I'll feature more great writers. Writing is my life and passion!

Thanks, Alex, for featuring my blog from AtoZ!

Thanks for doing the interview, Jennifer! I want to visit now.


Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-Sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, CassaStorm, and Dragon of the Stars, and his blog can be found HERE

5 tips for authors who work with folktales

Fairy tale adaptations are all the rage these days. Some of them are stellar, some of them are decent, and some of them are... boring, I guess. But whatever the case, here is something that not many people talk about: Adapting fairy tales (especially if they are also folktales - not all of them are!) is a tricky issue. Many people just automatically assume that folktales are in the public domain - therefore there is no copyright to consider, or intellectual property to tread on. However, when working with traditional stories - especially if they are from a culture other than your own - is a lot more complicated than it sounds.

Here are 5 tips to keep in mind if you work with fairy tales:

Make sure it is actually a folktale 
Not all fairy tales are folklore. Some of them are literary. These might look like a folktale, but they still fall under copyright and intellectual property rules. This becomes especially tricky when some authors write "fakelore" - publish their own work under the title "folktale" (or, ironically, "original folktale"). In other cases they might publish folktales that are real, but publish them in their own version, re-written, re-told or adapted.
This is not only important because you might get in trouble for copyright infringement. You might also be unwittingly propagating false information on the traditions and culture of a certain group of people.
How to avoid: It is useful to look for the same story in other sources. Sometimes you have to approach the author to ask. Good thing we have social media.

Check on a culture's actual stories before you make up new ones
Attributing a fake "folktale" or "legend" to a foreign culture is a huge literary faux pas - especially in the case of indigenous and marginalized groups. This was one of the main problems people brought up about the Twilight series - the author took an indigenous nation, and made up legends that don't actually exist in their tradition. Since most people had never heard about the Quileute before the books/movies came out, they automatically believed that those stories were real "Indian folklore."
How to avoid: If you are featuring an existing culture in your work, do your homework. Go the extra mile. Read their stories. Maybe you'll find more useful things than you thought.

With that said...

Make sure you are not committing cultural appropriation
Not all folktales are up for grabs. They might not be protected by copyright law, but that doesn't mean you are not being offensive, inconsiderate, or hurtful towards the community that claims them and keeps them alive. Don't assume that finding an indigenous folktale in a written collection automatically means they wanted it to be out there.
How to avoid: Be respectful. Educate yourself about cultural appropriation. Ask.

Make sure you are not promoting stereotypes
Even if certain folktales are okay to use and adapt - make sure you are using them the right way. Selecting certain stories to represent certain cultures (especially if those cultures are not generally well known) puts you in danger of upholding a Single Story.
How to avoid: Read more stories from the same tradition. See if you can present a more diverse picture.

Note your sources
This is more of a courtesy than a necessity: I personally love reading about the original sources of folktales and fairy tales people use. I will be eternally grateful if you note them in your Introduction, or Afterwords, or... wherever. In addition, if you are working with less well known tales from other cultural groups, is is courteous to point people in the direction of your sources, in case they want to find out more, and educate themselves about the oral traditions of the world.

Do you like fairy tale adaptations? Do you write them? Let me know what you think!

Halloween Road Trip

It's Halloween season and here I am on a Road Trip? 

Photo Credit

You've got to be kidding. I can't be out here when the spirits walk the earth and need stuff, like, bodies to inhabit or candy to eat. Terrifying. 

Photo Credit

But, because I'm an AtoZer to the core, I'm out and about. *Play spooky music here.* Mario's looking for a smaller hat. If you have one, could you please send it over?

So let's make this an "informative" drive tonight. 

1. What are the most sought after treats? 

Top Ten Favorite Halloween Candies

Reese's - 43% of respondents rank it among their top five favorites

Snickers - 38% rank among favorites

M&Ms - 37% rank among favorites

Kit Kat - 36% rank among favorites

Twix - 29% rank among favorites

Milky Way - 22% rank among favorites

Butterfinger - 22% rank among favorites

Candy Corn - 18% rank among favorites

3 Musketeers - 18% rank among favorites

Skittles - 17% rank among favorites

2. What are the most popular Halloween costumes besides Donald Trump?

Zombies Are Hot, But Clowns Are Not

Top-Ranked Halloween Costumes For Adults, 2009-2013

Hover or tap on each costume to see how its rankings change over time.

Source: National Retail Federation

Credit: Quoctrung Bui and LA Johnson

I'm thinking I'm more in the Witch-Superman-Princess group. The problem with the witch is getting into the car with that pointy hat. Here's to your Halloween on the Road.  

A to Z Themes Made Easy – Handy Lifestyle Hacks for the Busy Blogger

Photo courtesy of Tristan Colangelo

It’s never too early to start preparing for your participation in next year’s Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Year after year, themes continue to be one of the best ways to survive this April blog hop with ease. Themes give readers a good idea of what to expect when visiting your blog while helping you better organize ideas into 26 cohesive pieces of alphabetic content.

Choosing a theme does not have to be a daunting task in itself. In fact, it’s as simple as becoming a virtual handyman for some of life’s challenges. If you’re stumped for topics to blog about during the next April A-Z Challenge, consider teaching people how to do quick repairs -- whether that be for damaged household items, bad hair days, or even a broken heart. Don’t think you have any knowledge of tips or tricks to help other people solve everyday problems? You may be able to provide more handy hacks than you think. 

Just recall the last few times you’ve fixed a dilemma that you or someone you know encountered. Now use these instances to jump-start the topics of your April Blog Posts. Here are some quick topics that can be worked in many ways to help you get from point A to point Z, based on my own experiences with quick fixes that came in handy.

Technical/Hardware Hacks

When cassette tapes were still a thing in the early 90s, I used to play them on a boombox style stereo system. The Bad album by Michael Jackson was one particular cassette that I rocked as a kid “until my tape popped” (*extra brownie points for those who can identify the song/artist reference here) one day while playing in the stereo. Determined to not have to throw this cassette away, I grabbed a screwdriver (or maybe it was a kitchen knife…the specifics of that memory has faded after all these years), opened up the cassette and snapped the jumbled up portions of plastic tape off of the spool. I then re-attached the two remaining portions of the music on this cassette, using a small piece of adhesive tape.

Cassettes remain available from some places such as
TurnAroundRecords. 

The result wasn’t perfect – the beginning of the first song on Side 1 of the cassette was now gone, as well as the end of the last song on Side 2 – but I could now still continue to enjoy most of the album.

Cassettes may be a thing of the past but so long as people still like to listen to music, there are quick fixes that you might know how to employ in the age of modern technology. Do you have a neat way to organize playlists on a home entertainment system, tablets or related electronic devices?

How about syncing or migrating your iTunes library on a computer where the system had to be re-installed? These nuggets of knowledge may come in handy for those of us who do not know how to navigate through various software programs and/or devices.

Style, Fashion & Wardrobe Hacks

When one pair of my jeans started to rip in the back, I continued to wear them until the tear became too large. Having no patience to sew or patch-up denim (or really most other garments), I just wore tights under my jeans, to prevent me from unintentionally flashing people during my daily travels out in the street. Sometimes these tights had cute heart patterns on them and sometimes they were solid colored. It all depended on my mood, the climate or temperature and whether the laundry was done or not. Did you ever experience any clothing malfunctions that you’ve dealt with in a hassle-free manner? If so, try to come up with 26 ways to get around the problem, from A-Z, without throwing the garment away!

Food Prep Hacks

Have you ever made a salad only to find out that there isn’t any dressing in your refrigerator or cupboard? What do you do in that situation? When I found myself in a similar situation, I combined some olive oil, vinegar and all-purpose seasoning such as (Mrs. Dash or Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute) to make a quick vinaigrette. Not only did it save me time in contemplating on whether to eat something else altogether or consume the salad dry, this quick fix was also a money-saving solution; I didn’t have to make a trip to the store just to buy some salad dressing.  If food hacks are up your alley, try coming up with an A-Z theme that provides some quick seasoning tips for when people don’t have the usual staples on-hand and need to substitute it with other items in the refrigerator or cupboard.

Productivity Hacks

My morning routine usually involves books, writing and meditation of some sort. I try to read first thing in the morning to get it out of the way because unless it is for research purposes, it’s HIGHLY unlikely that I will pick up any book whatsoever later in the afternoon or evening after my day gets started and filled with other tasks.  Do you have a productivity hack that helps you get things done? Maybe other A-Z participants can try it to figure out if the hack might work for their lifestyle needs.

Providing handy lifestyle hacks to your readers will save you time on writing and publishing blog posts. That time saved could then be spent visiting your fellow participating blogs on the A-Z Challenge list. Happy blogging!

Have YOU decided on a theme for next year’s Blogging from A-Z Challenge yet?

A-to-Z Challenge Co-Host Nicole Ayers writes about international films, Cinematography and movie goers at The Madlab Post. You can connect with her @MadlabPost on Twitter. 

Stormy the Weather Gnome talks holidays & theme opportunities!!

It's almost time for Halloween!

Wouldn't that be a great theme for A to Z? All your favorite trick 'or' treat candy? Or your favorite costumes?

How about Thanksgiving?

Got any recipes for every letter of the alphabet? Think of the side dishes alone!

Perhaps Hanukkah or Christmas traditions?

Do you do watch football on New Year's Day?

 
All of these holidays are coming up soon and it might be the perfect time for you to start jotting down some ideas, memories, or even recipes for the 2016 Challenge! 

And, don't forget your camera! Pictures are a great way to share your theme with readers!

Get your family involved! No one said the A to Z Challenge couldn't be a team sport! Maybe your kids can help with your posts each day!

Or even your pets! They can be great sources of inspiration and sometimes just too darn funny.

My point? There are lots of opportunities coming up and lots of ideas all around you to help make your next A to Z Challenge a breeze.

Don't miss your chance to make this your best year ever!


--

Heather M. Gardner
The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Only 163 Shopping Days Until A to Z 2016!

Here in the US, it won't be long before we start seeing Christmas decorations appear in all the stores. The minute the plastic pumpkins and Hallowe'en costumes are put away, out come the Christmas decorations and we start hearing and seeing little reminders that it won't be long before Santa pilots his sleigh, drawn by eight tiny reindeer, through the sky, bringing gifts ande toys to good little girls and boys...

Okay, maybe I'm overdoing things a little. (No, wait... I'm not.) The point is, Christmas is a huge holiday for everyone, whether you're a retailer, a member of the clergy, a parent, (especially) a kid, or anyone else who loves the excitement and promise of the season. 

For the sponsors of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge, April 1 is kind of the same thing. It's something we prepare for almost as soon as May 1 of the previous year. Every year we do the Challenge, we want it to be better than the previous year's. For us, that means encouraging people who have participated in past years to participate again, and to bring their blogging friends, and their friends, and so on, and so on, as the old shampoo commercial used to say. The A to Z Challenge is truly a time when "the more, the merrier" applies. 

So, it's never too soon to start encouraging people to start thinking about April. And that includes inviting you to start thinking about participating in the festivities, and about people you think might enjoy the Challenge. Bloggers you admire, people who you think would enjoy themselves. You might meet some bloggers (or potential bloggers) during the upcoming NaNoWriMo, or in the other "blog hops" you do every year.

It's also never too soon to start thinking about your theme for the upcoming year. Maybe this is easy, because you use the same theme every Challenge. Great! You can start thinking about your entries. Maybe you try to think of something new every year. This would be a good time to start. If you have trouble thinking of a theme, you might want to see what other people have used in years past. The list of blogs who participated in the 2015 Challenge is still available; feel free to browse the blogs of other participants.  Maybe you never use a theme. That's all right! You can always begin planning your word list for the Challenge. 

You might think 163 days is a long time, but you'd be surprised how quickly it passes. Personally, I can't wait! How about you?

Cleaning the Garage from A to Z

 A handyman project was to de-clutter a basement which tends to get filled with things when it's not certain whether to throw or keep them. When a basement becomes too cluttered, it's hard to find things that are really needed. One way is to move clutter to a second location where it can be sorted into two piles (1) trash (2) items to keep. Source of picture: here (see public domain declaration). Questions: write to my Wikipedia page or email me at thomaswrightsulcer@yahoo.com (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

       A frequent theme of posts on this Blogging from A to Z Challenge site involves ideas for the April Challenge.   It's a natural topic here!   How often do many of us wonder what we will be writing about come April Challenge time?    Often I read exasperated laments from bloggers who don't know if they can even participate in A to Z because they don't know what to write about.  To alleviate some of those feelings of doubt and fear, let me offer another of the infinite ideas that might spark some creativity in your mind.

        Instead of staring at the computer screen as your mind jumbles up with this idea and that, why not take a break from blogging for an hour or two or maybe even a whole day.   Get up out of your chair and go clean your garage.   Now, you might substitute "garage" with closet, drawers, car, or what have you, but the essence of this idea is to go take care of some accumulated clutter and get organized.

         When I think of organizing one image that comes to my mind is filing papers in an orderly fashion which typically entails separating items into easy to find A to Z fashion.   Using a cluttered garage as an example, you can even take filing to a larger scale organizing everything in your garage in some logical fashion.  Alphabetically might not be the most practical way to organize a garage, but it could be something to think about.   The point here is to clean up and organize.  Get some house work done!

         And once you've started diving into that amalgam of messiness (unless you are more fastidious than many of us) start thinking in A to Z terms.   Your garage might have anything from Ajax to Zap cleaner, old adding machines to non-functioning Zenith television sets, or accordions to zithers.  I think you're getting the idea.

        Your house is a wealth of A to Z inspiration and sometimes digging through the artifacts of what we amass over the years can stir up all sorts of thinking.  Take a look at ten or twenty items that you immediately see around you and consider what each item conjures in your mind.

         Can you remember when you first obtained that item or when you used it?   How did the items affect your life?   Why did they end up where they did in a state of disuse?   How useful were the items then as opposed to now?   Would you recommend these things to anyone else?  If you were going to give the item to another person who would it be and why?

          One cluttered closet could be the inspiration for numerous books, stories, or articles to an extremely imaginative person so it stands to reason that this same closet might be excellent inspiration for the 26 posts of April A to Z.

          Fiction, memoir, how-to's, photo essays, humor--there is no limit to what your clean-up jobs can inspire.  There's no good reason for anyone to come up with the excuse that they don't know what to write about for A to Z.   Your posts in April don't have to be exotic or even something absolutely unique.  Good content is always desirable, but excellence in writing can outweigh the most original ideas that are written about tritely or dryly.

         Maybe give it a try.  Start a household chore with A to Z in mind.   Even if you don't come up with an A to Z idea this time around, you can try again later.   And if the A to Z idea doesn't come from your efforts then you've still ended up with a positive accomplishment--you'll have a cleaner more organized house.   Not much of a downside to that!

         Have any of your A to Z themes been about common items around your house?    What are some great discoveries that you've come upon while cleaning house?    Are there any A to Z themes that come to your mind in regard to this post?

Related articles

• Top 10 Ways To Trick Yourself Into Avoiding And Getting Rid Of Clutter
• 4 Ways to Keep Clutter-Prone Areas Organized
• Turn Your Clutter into Cash through These Unique Strategies
• Getting rid of clutter

When the Road is blocked: 3 Alternative Methods for Leaving Blog Comments

Every road trip has its setbacks and those of us on the A-Z highway are sure to encounter a closed lane or two when trying to comment on new blogs we visit. Sometimes these roadblocks appear in the form of word verification. Or maybe you’ll find a blog where the commenting feature is turned off.  

There is also the chance that, regardless of how many times you typed a response and clicked on that “submit” button, your comment still didn’t get published for reasons that only the technology geeks could explain.

Maybe Wordpress (or Blogger or Google or your internet service provider) just doesn’t like you that day. These types of roadblocks make some drivers want to turn around and go back to the routes we’re used to taking through blogland. That is especially enticing for those of us who are already running low on gas. The good news, however, is there are a few solutions to getting around these blocked lanes and continuing on with our road trip activities as usual.

Comment via Social Media

When you encounter problems commenting directly on a blog, tag it on social media using the author’s profile handle. Many bloggers are active on websites such as Facebook and Twitter, making it easy to also link directly to the blog post you are commenting on. Social media is not only a great alternative for leaving comments; it also helps you keep responses short and simple.

Comment via Email

Sending comments in an email is one of the easiest ways to get around glitches with the commenting box on blogs you visit. This alternative method for leaving a comment is also a good way to inform the author of the blog about any difficulties that you’ve experienced as an end-user. On many occasions, bloggers may not be aware of issues with their commenting box, so they are likely to be glad you let them know about it. Emailing comments directly to the blog author can also be ideal for subjects that you may feel less comfortable discussing or addressing in a public forum such as the blogger’s commenting section.

Comment in a Blog Post of Your Own

Blogging in response to someone else’s content allows you to complete two tasks at once. The comment gets its time to shine and you get a new blog post out of the deal. Everybody wins.

How do YOU get around some of the roadblocks you encounter while visiting new blogs?