What Blogging Strategy Works Best? (#atozchallenge)

        Our thanks to guest poster and A to Z Challenge veteran Stepheny Forgue Houghtlin who blogs at  Stephenyhoughtlin.com and Mainstreetrockymount.com.   In this post Stepheny shares her April blogging strategy--some tips you might find helpful in your own blogging.  

Reflecting on the A to Z Blog Challenge

“It’s true, with bloggers or a box of chocolates,

you never know what you’re going to get.”

Stepheny Forgue Houghtlin

Everyone comes to the blogging world in their own way with interests that are particular. The Challenge is like taking a class from a plethora of teachers who demonstrate what works, and more importantly, what doesn’t. I know I’m a better blogger for this teaching. After four years of participation, I hope this reflection adds to the consideration of the matter.  

There is major agreement that it is important to start early with the research and writing, placing your posts in a queue before April 1. Visit as many blogs as possible, leaving a comment behind will improve your stats as people return the favor. If you didn’t get a lot of comments perhaps the process is too complicated to be worth the effort. When I find a new blog that has my name on it because of content and presentation, I feel rewarded for the time it takes to work through the participation list. I gladly hit the FOLLOW button when the stars align, but I have high standards in that decision. If it isn’t readable, or the site is difficult to navigate, I’m a step away from moving on. An edgy blog does not persuade me either. Clarity: background/font size are essential. I want an uncluttered presentation that does not take away from the point of the post...to be able to READ the information. Short posts work best not only during The Challenge, but all year long. People are too busy to take the time no matter how worthy the content.

The subject matter you pick for the challenge has ramifications. Remember, a visitor might find you on day one or later in the month. You have one shot to intrigue them. A long tale that makes no sense on day 12, or a subject that is heavy, worthy as it may be, isn't great for what I call a "26 day expiration date opportunity." I encourage careful consideration of this goal: posts which demonstrate your blog is easy to read, the writing is your best effort, and that your blog is worth someone's valuable time to return and follow. NEVER start a post with, I don’t know what I’m doing, but here goes. Ask yourself, have I picked a subject that is better published at another time? The time frame of the Challenge should influence these decisions.

Whatever theme I have followed during April, I want people to know that the blog will continue on with content you would expect a writer, gardener, addicted reader and book-alcoholic to write about. I ask them for their company in the coming year. After reading this reflection, do come and find me by the garden gate at Stephenyhoughtlin.com where I’ll be waiting, or visit my 2nd blog about the revitalization of a small southern historic downtown, Rocky Mount, NC. Let’s have sweet tea and talk about blogging.   

About Stepheny Forgue Houghtlin

Stepheny grew up in Evanston, IL. and is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. She is an author of two novels: The Greening of a Heart and Facing East available on Amazon. She lives, writes and gardens in NC. Visit her: stephenyhoughtlin.com or Mainstreetrockymount.com






If you'd like to contribute a guest post to the A to Z Blog, please let us know. We are happy to consider any topics that might be of interest to the A to Z Blogging community. Contact emails can be found at "Contact" tab at top of the page or you can contact me at ArleeBird@gmail.com

April In July (#atozchallenge)

It’s July. Time for beaches, bar-b-ques and planning your A to Z posts!
What?
Why so early you ask?

Blogging in the A to Z challenge takes time. If you are not used to blogging every day there is that, but even those of us that do blog everyday there is more time needed for this challenge. Especially to make it successful and more importantly fun.

So for me, July is the time I start planning my posts for next April.
I start off with a simple spreadsheet with letters A to Z going down the rows along with the date and days.  Sometimes having a particular letter on a particular day might influence me.  Like one year Z appeared on Saturday. Since I did a regular posting every Saturday about the comic book character Zatanna, I knew I was set.

Now for me I love to work with themes. I have been doing the A to Z Challenge since 2011 and been doing it with themes since 2012.  Themes give me focus and make me reach as a writer and blogger. Over the years I have done Games, Witches, Demons, Vampires and most recently Adventure.  For me a theme helps bring people back. I know there were several blogs I followed because of their interesting themes.  I want to choose a theme that first of all my regular readers will enjoy and then one that new readers will also find compelling and want to come back for more.  Since I am typing everything into a spreadsheet (a in truth I am using Google Sheets for this) I can actually develop a few themes at a time. Presently I have three I am working on.

I know there is the big theme reveal closer to April so I am kinda stealing my own thunder here, but the themes I am considering are “Undead” (like vampires, ghosts and the like), “OSR Games” (games of the old-school renaissance) and finally “Free Games” (games that you get for free).

Ok. I have my spreadsheet in place. I have an idea of my theme or two (or three).  What do I need to do now? Well I have nine months, give or take, to start writing my posts and gathering up what I need to make this all work.  Some of the posts of my themes almost write themselves.  Most don’t.  So I start to fill in the blanks to see what I have for each theme.  Some letters, Q, X, Y and Z I know will give me some issues, so I try to figure out what will go there first.
Well for Games and OSR I can use the game “X-plorers” and “Zfers” for X and Z respectively.  So that is a good start. For Undead I have “Zombie”, so not quite as good.

And...the search goes on. But you know what? That is OK since I still have some months yet.
A week or so later in July I am much closer to figuring out what I am going to do.

I know there is a big reveal in March, but I am going to give you a spoiler now.
I put down my first post for April 2017.  It’s for B and I picked “Basic Fantasy”.  I am going to focus on free games that you can download and play right away.
It is set now. I am committed. I just need 25 more posts! But now I know what I am going to do and a pretty good idea what the content of each post will be.   Come April I can concentrate on visiting all of your blogs now!

I say this summer spend a couple of extra minutes each day doing your April posts and make your April more enjoyable.  Sooner than you think 2017 will be here!

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Tim Brannan is a blogger over at The Other Side a gaming and horror blog. He have been blogging since 2008 and been a participant in the A to Z Challenge since 2011.

He is also up for an ENnie Award (something like the Oscars of Gaming) for Best Blog and he would really like it if you voted for him.
http://www.ennie-awards.com/vote/2016/ballot.php?category_id=6 
Please click on the link and vote "1" under "The Other Side".

Themes That Rocked the Challenge - Retro Ads!

Today we welcome our very own Jeremy Hawkins and his awesome theme of old, retro ads.

Jeremy is also the genius behind the A to Z graphics. Many of his amazing graphics are available as t-shirts at Neat-O-Shop. He’s an author and you can find his books at Amazon. He also runs Howlin’ Wolf Records: Six Strings, a wicked cool online magazine, and he heads up the Horror Blogger Alliance.

Your theme was old ads – how did you come up with that idea?

Oh, I just completely love this kind of stuff, the early trial and error of the infomercial in written form. Coming up with it was simple, I had been downloading images for years and finally a place to share with people...

Which ad shocked you the most?

Many of the smoking ads, where at the time... putting babies with smoking mothers seemed like a good thing. Yes, the Fight Club soap for people who are heavy using headers “Fat is Folly”... what does that mean anyway?

Were you familiar with any of the odd products in the ads?

Not really, I think as I found them, I was like “what” are you kidding? It's amazing on crazy stuff then, transfers into crazy stuff now. There might have been much more “odd products” then due to there wasn't people look out like now.

Do you think any of the products actually worked?

Scarier thought, some of the corsets and nose products that actually look like they would just crush your bones... some of the products that are still in production today.

Why so many products about noses?

People with them big crooked noses, I am terrified to honestly know this actually work and how long people would keep using it before someone said, “hey stop that crazy thing”!

What was the obsession with the face vibrator? (And give people an idea how it worked. Well, not that it did…)

Well all vibrators work in all different ways, some better for others and in some in the best places... People must really needed them, think it's the early addition of Botox? Body shapes were like a bell or a pear... and coverage from neck to your toes, maybe it's the only thing people really see?

Any products you would be brave enough to try? (Besides the Vicks Vapor Rub of course.)

Honestly I am wearing Hanes underwear right now, though these adds have a body suit of coverage and I am sure I would never play sports showing my goods. I might even be up for using one one of those vibrator thingys for my face, yeah... my face. Lol.

If you participate in the Challenge next year, what theme would you run with?

I have always had a love for film score music for as long as I can remember, I might do a best of 26 composers, top 26 soundtracks that I like, best 26 sci-fi scores, best 26 horror scores, 26 scores you should skip or well the list goes on and on.

THANK YOU... for asking me to do this, you know I love talking about myself and it wouldn't be me if I didn't promote something... So here we go... Hey, everyone get the latest edition of our online magazine called “SIX STRINGS” where we share MUSIC, FILM, BOOKS, INTERVIEWS, etc. Some great stuff, it's free and some really cool giveaways. So please do check it out by going to Six Strings.




Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, CassaStorm, and Dragon of the Stars, founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, and his blog can be found HERE

Lessons from the Failure (#atozchallenge)

      And now for a bit of a confessional with some lessons for all from blogger Amita Gulia who can be found at Amita's Pen and Quotes.  Amita was also part of the 2016 Arlee's Ambassadors Team.  Don't feel too badly, Amita, at least you did some things right and most importantly you understand what some of your errors were.   Read on and enjoy...

Lessons from the Failure

         I first heard about the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge in May 2014 and was bit disappointed since I was late. I subscribed to the A to Z Blog and waited patiently for 2015. A to Z challenge 2015 was my first participation in the challenge and I was determined to survive it. I finalized on a theme and did some research. With some hiccups, I managed to complete the challenge and went on to write my reflections post. I was so proud of myself. Posting every day with relevant content on the blog made me feel bravura.

       My confidence touched no bounds as I managed to pull it off on two blogs simultaneously. Amita's Pen where I blog more often saw some great Indian women who made the road clear for future ladies in various professions. The other blog - Quotes, made me pen down at least one self-made sentence on Pregnancy. That section is very close to my heart and the words came directly from inside as I was expecting my second baby at that time.

       Then came 2016 and I was very confident of completing the challenge again. "If I can do it on two blogs at the same time while being eight months pregnant, nothing's going to stop me now", were my thoughts at the back of mind. I went a step further and went on to be on the team of Arlee Bird's A to Z Challenge Ambassadors. I had a great theme and finalized more great topics for each letter. April 2016 started and so did my challenge. After 10 days, I actually gave up. I knew I had failed it this time. I was sad. I felt embarrassed on not being able to contribute to Arlee's team - I volunteered myself for it and I was not doing anything. Honestly, I still feel bad more about being a non-active helper more than being a non-survivor.

I asked myself, "What went wrong?' 'Where did I lack?” My inner self shouted the following answers:

1. You did not Schedule the Posts

Plan, draft and schedule the posts. This is the top advice or tip anyone would get when it comes to any blogging challenge. And there I was an existing survivor and still ignoring this important advice. Mark it in bold letters:  If anyone want to survive the challenge with flying colors along with good content, scheduling the posts is a must.

2. You did not Seek Help

I have never had guest posts on my blog. May be this was the time to let the curtains up. I could have approached my friends and I am sure many of them would have helped even if I gave them the topics. But, I did not even try it. So next time, if you are having a hard time coming up with enough of your own original posts, try calling your friends - bloggers and non-bloggers both might be willing to lend a hand.

3. You were Over-Confident

Remember - success is never guaranteed. Just because I succeeded last time, does not mean I would continue to do so without more effort. Challenges often get tougher with each passing moment. Be prepared for them so they won't become insurmountable.

So, does that mean my failure was all my fault? Actually, I would not be so very harsh to myself. In my defense I had a very, very busy month at work. I was writing programming scripts at work all day long throughout the month of April and each day I when I took time to work on my blog posts, I got more behind at work. The official work pays me and needs to be completed at any cost. Thus, I forgive myself--just this time--for ignoring my dear blog. I would keep the learning in mind and definitely take up the challenge again in 2017.  Next year I hope to heed the lessons I learned in 2016 to make my life as a blogger far less stressful and uncomplicated.

PS - I hope I would still be chosen to assist on a team next time - Guilty me!  I'll do better next year!

        Thanks, Amita!   I'd be happy to give you another chance on my team.

         We're accepting guest post proposals for the A to Z Blog.   If you have something that you think might be of interest to the A to Z community of bloggers, contact us with your idea.   I'll be happy to work with you on a post for this site.

Some Good-Anytime Tips for Blogging (#atozchallenge)

       The following guest post comes to us from Sneha Sasikumar who blogs at Life As A Potpourri!!!  Currently she is working on a possible series to appear at the A to Z Blog over the upcoming months, but be sure to visit her site to learn more about her and read more of her fine work.   

 Key takeaways from the #AtoZChallenge:

1. Preparation is a must : 
Whether or not you have chosen a theme for your challenge, deciding it way before the challenge starts makes half the challenge easier. At least the 26 words or ideas that you would be using should be jotted down before heading into April.  This is something you can actually begin now for the 2017 Challenge.

2. Look and Feel of the Blog Posts:
If you have in mind to follow a particular style of font, images and other cosmetic customization for your posts prepare that well in advance. Also, consider drafting of all your posts with these basic things as a framework where all you would be left to do during or prior to the challenge is to post your content

3. Follow for a follow, comment for a comment:
The #AtoZChallenge is all about collaboration and networking. When so many people with so many topics have been registered for the challenge there is no point if you are just focused on your blog alone. Try to reply to all of the comments that have been posted on your blog (if not the same day, as soon as possible). Follow folks who have followed your blog, read their posts and leave them a comment as to what you liked about their posts. Mutual encouragement is very important during the challenge.   Who doesn’t like the appreciation of the hard work they put into their posts?

4. Stick to the deadline:
Ohh yeah, we are all so used to procrastinating things in life but having a deadline helps you to avoid this bad habit if you don’t already have your posts scheduled for the challenge way beforehand. There might be times when you’ll face the writer’s block, but don’t let this stop you from blogging. Just write even if it’s about how the writer’s block is not letting you come up with ideas but just do it.

5. Read Read and Read:
The knowledge base that is formed during each challenge is immense. One should spend more time in reading other blogs to gain knowledge in just 26 days and also do a lot of reading for your own topic if required.

Personally the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge has helped me in many ways: 

• It helped me organize and plan my posts. 
• It made me think how unique my next blog post could be and how much better than the previous one. 
• Picking up a theme like #Emotions helped me understand each of these 26 emotions personally as I did research on them. 
• The challenge helped me interact with so many old and new friends. <3 

I would also like to thank all the guest bloggers who took time from their blogging challenge to post on my blog and share their thought and views.

About Sneha

     A strong willed Sapiosexual / Cheerful person and a true Cancerian!!! I am a passionate dancer. I enjoy travelling, trying everything possible in life..I don't want to regret when I am about to kick the bucket. Besides cooking and writing, I enjoy all kinds of sports. Sadly none of these are my profession. I am a techie working with a product based firm and for the last six years have been in Bengaluru (aka Bangalore- which is the capital of India's southern Karnataka state).

       If you're interested in contributing to the A to Z Blog please email us at one of  the links on the Contact Page or shoot me a message at ArleeBird@gmail.com.   We are interested in articles about blogging or anything of general interest to the A to Z community.

Still Time to Sign Up! #atozchallenge Road Trip

Are You Ready To Road Trip?

          Sign-ups will be closing Friday night (That's tomorrow folks!) so you still have some time to join us on our journey through the A to Z blog list throughout the rest of 2016.  It's a great way to pass time on lazy summer days or any old time for that matter.   Discover new blogs that you missed in April and make new blogging friends.

           If you'd like to get on board the Road Trip Blogging Bus then add your blog link to the list below and then start visiting!


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      Be seeing you!

Debut Author Spotlight

J here of #TeamArlee (the BEST team in the A to Z Challenge— woot woot!).
I've taken over the Debut Author Spotlight at Operation Awesome on Wednesdays.
Here's an A to Z list making this news relevant to YOU!

• Authors who take part in the A to Z challenge know it's best to support one another
• Blogging has never been more vital for debut authors
• Connecting and commenting is the bread& butter of successful debut authors
• Debut authors are AWESOME and brave
• Entertainment is easily found in the pages of a new book
• Friends and family alone are not enough— debut authors need support and reviews from other people
• Genres from every shelf are eligible for representation
• Heartthrobs, hardships, humanitarian missions... it's hard not to find a good book
• Intellectual discussions about books are the cornerstone of culture
• Just leaving a nice comment on these posts could encourage the next Agatha Christie, Danielle Steel, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, John Grisham...
• Kindred book spirits are easier to find thanks to my short interviews
• Love 'em or leave 'em, you'll learn about the debut authors in just a few short minutes
• Maybe you'd find something you never expected
• New authors become favorite authors
• Only debut once!
• Publishing traditionally, small press, or self— all are welcome to be interviewed
• Quality or quantitiy— which increases sales more? Come discuss!
• Reviews are powerful! Determine if these debut authors will be graced by you giving them such a wonderous gift. A new author EVERY WEDNESDAY!
• Social Media and debut authors... The "We live by the sword, we die by the sword" idiom means, basically, what you use shall come around and be used equally on or to you. So when it comes to debut authors, "We live by the Tweet, we die by the Tweet." These are people longing to connect with their audience. Come make a new friend!
• Television and movies based on the works of debut authors have made billions. (Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, Nicholas Sparks's The Notebook, Ed Conlons's Blue Blood, etc)
• Utopia is a place where we never run out of new books to read
• Variety is the spice of life. Check out a debut author today!
• Whatever A to Z category you most love, there's a book on the subject
• X-treme book reading challenge: Read one book by a debut author every week!
• Years ahead of other shippers if you fall in love with the book first!
• Zip over to say hello and wish me luck on my new position interviewing debut authors at Operation Awesome.

Interested in being interviewed? Contact @JLenniDorner on Twitter!     
      If you're interested in submitting a guest post for the A to Z Challenge blog, please contact me at ArleeBird@gmail.com.

Themes That Rocked the Challenge – J.A. Scott and Childhood Shows and Commercials

Today we welcome author J.A. Scott and his rocking theme of childhood television shows and commercials. Prepare for a trip down memory lane!

What made you select television shows from your childhood?

My theme last year was pet peeves (though I call them rants). Though mostly they were something everyone could relate to, I was never too sure everyone found them enjoyable to read. I wanted to do something nearly everyone would have fun with. And who does not enjoy watching television? When I was younger, we didn't have cable and video games. Sure, they were around, but they were in their infancy and expensive. If not for the TV, I would be outside playing with a stick. Also, growing up, TV watching was something everyone in the family did together. So when I wanted to revisit those days, it was in the hopes it would bring back fond memories not only for me, but for everyone reading as well.

The bonus commercials from the past were funny. Did you get lost wandering You-tube looking for them?

If you mean, was there a snowball effect of watching one video, leading to another and another video, yes. Fortunately, I had a few tools at my disposal. A 1001 classic TV commercials DVD and an A-Z Guide to TV Guide book. These tools made it easier to look for the exact commercial I required. Hard to believe they were all on you-tube. Thankfully, some people have too much time on their hands.

What was the most obscure show you remember?

The most obscure in my list was most likely 'Quark'. A TV show set in the future about a crew collecting space garbage. As you might imagine, it didn't last long. It's so obscure, even I never recall seeing it. And I've always been into sci.fi.

As for the most obscure I HAVE seen, I noticed there were a few. 'Misfits of Science' was a zany slap-stick super hero series featuring a young Courtney Cox. Quite easily my favourite of the obscure shows I featured.

There was also 'It's a Living', a sit-com about waitresses in a swanky restaurant. The comedy was mediocre, but at the time, it was all I knew. And Ann Jillian certainly drew me in.

The final one (and I'm sorry I selected more than one), was the Krofft Supershow. Most people seemed to have no idea what it was. The theme music included an awkward 70's-ish, annoying theme. Most people did not recognize the show in question from the theme music. But when fast forwarded to the last minute, you would realize these were the people who brought us such children's classics as Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Wonderbug and Dr. Shrinker. Incidentally, they also were responsible for bringing us; Sigmund and the Sea Monster, the Far Out Space Nuts, the Lost Saucer, Lidsville, the Bugaloos and of course, the Land of the Lost. (Yes, I watched most of those…)

What was the show everyone remembered?

Whether a person watched it or not, I received many comment on Knight Rider. This was a classic show which everyone seemed to remember. There was a talking car and David Hasselhoff. There were even a generous supply of car jumps (to compete with Dukes of Hazard I guess). Ironically enough, I got almost as many comments for Dukes of Hazard.






How many of the commercial jingles did you still know by heart?

As long as I was aware of the commercial, 9 times out of 10 I could recite any jingle the commercials offered.

I can still sing the jingles from Coke, McDonald's, Oscar Mayer, Dr. Pepper, you name it, I probably remember it. Even the ones without a jingle, I could most likely recall verbatim most of the lines. (I’d like to teach the world to sing!)

What aspect of this theme was the most fun?

When putting this theme together, I loved searching the internet/You-tube for those rare gems. I particularly enjoyed recalling my favourite TV shows through the theme music. As for the commercials, I loved searching for the ones with early celebrities appearances or the ones not so PC any more. I found those the most humorous. After putting this theme together, the most enjoyable part was reading the comments. Seeing which ones people remembered or how many fond memories this theme revisited for many was another great result.

What was the worst commercial you featured? The one that you watched and wondered what the heck the company was thinking.

There was quite a few which made me scratch my head. The Ultra-Brite and Xerox commercials were utterly ridiculous. But then again, they were memorable. For Xerox, they wanted to illustrate the ease of their equipment and Ultra-Brite, well, sex sells. Essentially (Use our toothpaste and the girls will finally notice you). So those two get a pass from me because I see WHAT they were trying to accomplish. The Jell-O commercial might have been offensive to many, but it also was long before the PC world we live in now. Then we have the Winston commercial. It was quite the shock for me to discover Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble selling cigarettes. But that wasn't even the worse commercial as far as I'm concerned. The ultimate winner of the 'Who Were the Ad Wizards That Came Up With This One' award goes to the Nabisco Cookie Man Superhero commercial. Or was he Kooky Man? A portly man donned in a poor excuse for a costume, fights puppet like "greedy" monsters to rescue stolen cookies. Which, of course, he promptly eats when recovered. Don't miss the 10 second super extreme close-up of this super hero's mouth enjoying a cookie. I can only assume this was a "winner of a competition or something because it looks like a grade school class put the commercial together. Seriously, I've had nightmares better directed than this... this.... schlock.

What theme are you considering for next year?

There are a number ideas running through my head for next year. And like last year, I've already begun preparing a few. Whichever ones I don't do next year, I may do at some point on my blog as a regular feature. But what I have been considering are the following (and I would LOVE input on what others would like to see.)

1. Music - I own over 500 CD's. And yes, I already CAN put together a list of AtoZ of my favourite CD's.

2. Movies - I've started to amass a large film collection. Not quite as spectacular as my music collection, but it is starting to grow.

3. Milwaukee - Milwaukee is so much more than beer or Happy Days. But we have them too. People will truly be amazed at what Milwaukee has to offer. It's a great place by a great lake, and TONS to do, especially in summer.

4. Games - I'm a gamer, and I don't mean video games. Since I was young, games have been a big part of family time. And I have passed this on to my children. Board games, card games, dice or whatever else you can think of. I have a large selection, and they are all fun to play.

5. Story - Though this would be challenging and there were not as many people interested in this according to my reflections post, I'm still considering a group participation story. Essentially, it will be a flash fiction which develops over the course of the month. One paragraph a day will end with a choice for the readers. Depending on the majority vote, the story will shift and change according to what people would like to read.

Thanks, Jeffrey! And I won’t tell you how many CD’s and albums I own…


Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, CassaStorm, and Dragon of the Stars, founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, and his blog can be found HERE

Personal Challenges and Light Bulb Moments (#atozchallenge)

       This guest post comes courtesy of writer/blogger Lissa Johnston.   If you would be interested in contributing your guest post to the A to Z Challenge Blog please contact us. 

Personal Challenges and Light Bulb Moments

2016 is my first year participating in the A to Z Challenge, though not my first blog challenge and definitely not my first writing challenge. I’m familiar with deadline pressure - what writer isn’t? - but the A to Z presented a couple of different types of pressure, for different reasons. As I progressed through the challenge, and even afterward, my opinions on some blog-related issues have been swinging back and forth like a West Texas weather vane, to wit:

To Theme Or Not To Theme

When I started the challenge, I didn’t realize what was going on with the ‘theme’. I thought ‘A to Z’ was the theme. Once I figured it out, I thought, Whew! So glad theme is optional. Themes are stupid. Themes tie me down and restrict my writing. I’ll write whatever the heck I feel like. And of course after the hundredth random theme-less blog I visited, I was so thankful to stumble across blogs that had such narrowly focused themes I marveled in their ability to find 6 topics to write about, much less 26. I became a believer. Themes are the bomb. Themes are like fences. They may seem restrictive and unsightly, but in addition to keeping good things in, they also keep bad things out.

Categories and Comments

After the challenge concluded, we were encouraged to post a recap of our experiences. Of 1300+ bloggers who completed most of the challenge, less than a third shared a recap. Still, that’s over 300 opinions, and I’ve worked my way through nearly half.

Two areas were mentioned repeatedly: requests for tweaks to the blog category codes; and hand-wringing over the low percentage of participants who visited and commented at other blogs. My flip-flop on these two issues is intertwined.

First, to the categories: When we registered for the challenge, we were asked to describe our blogs using a two-letter code. The idea was to give other bloggers some idea of what your blog was about before they clicked. Many participants thought there should be more categories added. Some also suggested they should describe the theme, rather than the blog, since the two could vary wildly. My initial reaction to the category idea was, Categories? I don’t need no stinking categories! I assigned myself one. But I basically ignored other people’s blog categories because I wanted to visit ALL of them, regardless of topic.I will also admit my initial reaction to blogs being categorized is that it had the potential to hurt some blogs that might be at a disadvantage if ghetto-ized into a category with a very small niche.  

Secondly, the comments: Some participants said they didn’t leave comments because they couldn’t think of anything to say. And I’m like, What? Most bloggers are writers, for crying out loud. Surely you can come up with 10 words on the fly, like that old Toastmasters improv exercise. If you can’t come up with a few words for a token comment, blog comments are the least of your worries.

That’s how I felt about categories and comments - until I had my light bulb moment.

I’ve been listening to several writing podcasts recently. One in particular really solved a problem I’ve been having with a current WIP. I couldn’t wait to get to the keyboard and type up a comment. And that’s when I realized: If I’m not that excited about every comment I leave, I shouldn’t be leaving it. I shouldn’t be wasting my time on meaningless ‘hey, just dropping by from the A to Z’ comments in a likely fruitless attempt to increase my page rank.

After my light bulb moment, I now understand why people want the categories to be clear, unambiguous, and definitive of both blog and theme if possible.The bloggers who are asking for this have already had the light bulb moment. They know what they are interested in and where they will have the best chance of finding blogs they will want to comment on organically. Otherwise, they’re wasting their time as well as yours.

I like to think I have an open mind. I’m willing to change my opinion when I’m wrong, especially when learning through personal experience. The 2016 A to Z Challenge was full of those experiences for me. What were some of your light bulb moments this year?

Lissa Johnston is a writer. Her latest book, The Dala Horse, is a middle grade adventure available now at Amazon. She blogs at www.lissajohnston.com.

Lissa Johnston Writer  www.lissajohnston.com

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Time for the 2016 A to Z Post Challenge Road Trip

Are YOU ready to cruise through the 2016 A-Z Challenge list?  If you're like most of us, you didn't make the total rounds during April.  Now's your chance to catch up to some of the great bloggers who posted during the 7th annual Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  And the good news is that we've got the rest of this year to do our road trippin'.

Thanks to the late great Tina Downey at Life is Good and Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse who started the Road Trip (formerly known as the Post-Challenge Challenge) -- by calling on each other to visit all of the blogs on the list before the next A-Z Challenge rolled around -- we now have this year-round event to stay active in the blogosphere during the "off-season."

Now I invite you to join us on the 6th annual Post-Challenge Road Trip, a meandering journey through the 2016 list of A-Z participants, at your own pace, with your own rules, and very few expectations.

The most important thing to keep in mind is you're the boss of you're own schedule and approach to visiting blogs. Whether you want to visit one new blog on a daily basis or hundreds of blogs per day, you're the one at the wheel. The Road Trip is really just some buddies in the blogging community hanging out and visiting new voices in the A-Z world.

A few strategies that may have worked for Road Trippers include...

• Visiting all the blogs with similar topics or categories as yours
• Visiting all the blogs whose names make you curious
• Visiting all the blogs at even (or odd) numbers on the list
• Start from where you left off and keep on truckin'...
• Visiting blogs that are low (or high, or in the middle) on the list
• Visiting blogs randomly by just clicking on titles located in different areas of the list

Whatever you do, remember that signing up on the linky doesn't mean you're committed to visiting ALL of the blogs on the list. Coming along with us on this Road Trip just indicates that you're not done yet and would like to show your fellow A-Z participants some visiting and commenting love. These are among the things that keep a blogging community strong.  In your blog travels, if you run across any bad links on the list please let us know (contact info at tab)--we've tried cleaning up the list, but there still may be some bad links in there.

Who's with us for the 2016 Post-Challenge Road Trip?  Sign up below!

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I'm Not a Blogger (an #atozchallenge story)

Today we welcome 2016 A to Z Challenge survivor author Martin Reaves with some thoughts on "not blogging" and his A to Z experience. 

I’m not a blogger

.

Seriously, I’m not.

Odd that my words should continue to unspool before your eyes, isn’t it?

Well, they did the same under my fingers, and have done so for years now.

I keep telling myself I’m not a blogger, I don’t grasp the format, I don’t understand why anyone would want to hear (read) what I have to say.

So I write novels. Blame my characters if you get bored; after all, they told me what they wanted to say.

Books and stories, that the ticket. Not blogs.

No juicy rants about politics or—Heaven help us—religion.

But…

Ah yes, but.

Detractors be damned, blogging IS writing. It is the brain (or the Muse, or what have you) speaking through the fingers to an unknown and faceless someone. My stories generally start with a bare notion, a fleeting nudge of feeling that there might be a story if I start writing RIGHT NOW and don’t stop until that nebulous nudge is through with me.

Blogging is no different. Screw outlines, all I need is an opening sentence. Something to move the cursor forward.

Wanna know what the sentence was for this post? Wanna know exactly what it was that sent my fingers scampering over the keys?

Ready?

Here it is: “I’m not a blogger.”

I sat here, wondering what on earth I had to say to my fellow A to Z’ers. I scanned several other A to Z posts, saw the crafty lists, and thoroughly enjoyed those breezy, enchanting posts.

And I thought to myself: But I’m not a blogger. My blog posts generally have to do with my writing; my current work-in-progress; my ongoing review blog concerning movies about writers.

I’ve been not blogging for years now. And the more I don’t do it, the more natural it seems.

Exactly why did I start not blogging in the first place? Well, looky here…a list (albeit a very short one) emerges.


Why Martin Doesn’t Blog


1) To Keep From Writing. Think blogging is tough? Try writing novels. Sometimes the words thumb their collective noses at you and decide they’d rather not play right now. I find in those dark times that I can always write some random sentence (“I’m not a blogger,” for instance) and keep going stream-of-consciousness-style until something takes shape. Not blogging was my favorite way of not writing.

1b) Because It’s Easy. Wait…what?

Yeah, there’s the truth within the lie…or vice versa. Because the truth (or the lie) is that I should be writing every day. But sometimes I don’t feel like it. But I can always write something if I give it structure ahead of time. Hold on, didn’t he just say he likes to start with a sentence to see where it goes?

Indeed. But that only works once in a while. Try that on a regular basis and the result would be a chorus of irritated yawns. This is where the A to Z Challenge came into play. 26 posts; scheduled; clockwork. This was terrifying until I came up with my format. Make it short. Hell, make it Haiku. Honestly, I don’t know why that was easy, but it was.

2) To Figure Things Out. Some ideas are not meant to be stories. Some are not actually ideas at all, but random musings. Ruminations, if you will. Occasionally I attempt to come to terms with some horrific crap I perpetrated years ago. I have channeled that confusion and self-loathing into any number of stories (see Relative Karma and Relative Sanity), but there came one of those Dark Nights of the Soul when I imagined the Other Me as a beast that I kept chained. To learn from him; to study him and make sure he never got out again. I began to realize this Darker Me, hunched and drooling in a dark corner of my muse’s basement, was fueling my writing. That post became Chaining the Beast in the Basement of the Muse. Check it out HERE.

3) Because I Love Writing and Writers. I am endlessly fascinated with the mechanics of writing and the processes of those who do it well. I never get bored reading what writers have to say about the craft. And I am a bit giddy when I stumble on a movie that has something to say about the writing life.

So I began compiling a list of movies that deal with writers/writing/the writing life. And I began watching these movies and offering my opinion in review form as to how Hollywood treated those hacks and scribblers. I entitled the series Scribblers on Celluloid and if you haven’t had enough yet, feel free to check out the introduction HERE.

What is the point in all this? It would seem to be a simple admonition to find out what it is you are not doing at which you are half competent.

And then, regardless of what the haters may say, continue not doing that thing with a passion.

I am not a blogger, and I intend to keep it that way.


For more from this author, visit Martin’s website by clicking HERE.

Visit Martin’s Amazon page by clicking HERE.

      If you'd like to contribute a guest post to the A to Z Blog please let us know and we can discuss your idea.

A REALLY BIG Thank You!

One of the biggest annual blog challenges has come to a close for 2016.

We can't thank you all enough for participating.

Keep a close eye on all our social media sites. We will have guest posts, Themes That Rocked, information about the Reflections posts, and the A to Z Survey, and much more.

@AprilA2Z

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