Wednesday 9 May 2012

The 2012 A to Z Challenge Reflections Post


This week is the time when all A to Z blogging participants get to reflect on how they thought their challenge month went. 

 For anyone still unsure on what this challenge was, it was a challenge, set by Lee at Tossing It Out, where we post every day but on a Sunday during the month of April, and the posts have to be topic related alphabetical. A great challenge to meet new bloggers as this particular challenge had well over 1,000 participants. 

The key to what this involves is in the word - challenge. And for me this year, it was just that. I managed only 15 posts. I'm not sure whether that entitles me to reflect or not. I had some health issues halfway through and had to take care of myself and stop. I wasn't happy about it as I really quite enjoy the experience of meeting new bloggers and finding new and interesting blogs to follow. 

 One thing I did take out of the experience is that I need to start planning for this well in advance. The main idea is to visit new blogs and boost fellow bloggers followers numbers. If you're busy writing posts during the month, then you lose the interaction time. I would fully suggest if you intend to take part next year, that you write all 26 posts before the month starts. I know that sounds like a feat in itself, but I think it would be well worth it. You would/I will, get more out of the month. 

 The other thing I would say on the challenge, is in relation to a comment I read on Laura Marcella's blog, Wavy Lines, about having categories in the list of participants. I think this is a great idea. I want to connect with fellow writers, readers and generally chatty people. I'd be less interested in a knitting blog, car blog or snake blog for instance and with this challenge, you get many and all joining as it's such a great thing to engage in. Having categories would make it easier to get through, comment and follow more blogs. You can also check out new area's of blogs if you want to. 

 All in all I do love the month of April and the A to Z and I hope I haven't broken any rules by reflecting on only half a month!

12 comments:

  1. haha i am sure you didn't break any rules--although i am new at this---:)

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  2. I enjoyed your A-Z posts, but your health had to come first! I think there were a lot of people who didn't even make it as far as day 15, so you did pretty well! :D

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  3. lol @ 'snake blog'!

    I planned most of my post well before the start - some were much trickier and needed more careful thought!

    It was a shame you had to stop, but - as some people mistakenly say about football - it's only a game! Your health comes first. The linky list got smaller as the month continued, so there were many people who needed to stop for various reasons.

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  4. I don't think anyone is going to mind you reflecting on the challenge. 15 posts isn't bad and I think you had great reasons. Be healthy and then blog. =)

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  5. Hi, Rebecca,
    It's so easy to lose track of people the blogging world. Haven't visited you in a while. I hope you've gotten over your health issues. It's good sense to write in advance, but, well, some of us get sidetracked.

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  6. Yes, planning is the key. I didn't and winged it instead. So when I got to "S" I had to take a trip away and didn't have internet access! Moral? Schedule the posts well in advance. Mind you, that's all very well - but what about commenting on others' posts? You have to be around to do that :-( I also agree about categories.

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  7. Nope, no rules breakers here.:) You participated as best you could, but health always comes first. Happy to hear you are better.

    I'm looking forward to getting to know more about you and your work and thank you for choosing to follow my Imaginarium. I do love to talk and I think we have some wicked cool discussions.

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  8. I saw a couple of Disney-themed posts, which isn't really my thing. But I visited those bloggers a few times.

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  9. Fifteen posts in one month is a spectacular feat! Up until I took on this challenge, I think the most I posted in one month was 4 or 5. Congrats on that!

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  10. Planning is certainly key. I learned that in my first year of the A-Z challenge. This year was definitely way better for me because I'd written the posts ahead of time. I like the idea of categories--it might make things easier?
    Happy weekend!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  11. Visiting from A/Z post challenge reflections; I think you did great completing what you could complete before your health issues; that always takes first place in our lives; that and our family. I do agree with you about writing ahead; I tried to keep two to three posts ahead, but I did admire those that had the whole month written before the challenge even begun.

    I hope you have a great weekend!

    betty

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  12. I'm stopping by for the Road Trip. Congratulations for finishing the challenge. I agree with you about dividing the list into categories but it was a fun month.

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