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Sunday, December 18, 2011

A-Z Reflections from K C Woolf

                Contemporary fantasy writer K.C. Woolf has her blog at The Woman Condition and that's where you'll find today's Reflections post.  And a nicely done post it is. We hope that K.C. will be able to find time to return to the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge in 2012.  She did some great things last year.



Z is for Zzzzz ...

Wow, I've made it. This is the last day of the A to Z blogging challenge. 26 mad days of posting every day, visiting tons of other blogs, commenting and connecting.

What a ride it has been. I've met a bunch of people, who feel like they've become friends. I've discovered a number of blogs that inform me, entertain me, make me think or put a smile on my face.

My blog has grown and become more lively, with a lot more visitors dropping by and adding to the party. It feels like it's got more of a soul now, and will continue to thrive.

Over the course of 1 month, I've gone from a wonderful 10 followers (I owe you all at least one of those legendary caipirinhas!), to an even more fabulous 72.

And what I like most, is that those 72 followers all have a face to me, an identity of their own - even those I've never met in person. I've read pieces of their writing, I've exchanged ideas and information, and I feel like I know them a little bit - enough to want to learn more.

The Web is a huge place, where it's easy to feel tiny, insignificant or intimidated. What initiatives like the A to Z challenge do, is to fence off a piece of that vast universe and define the borders of a (temporary) playground.

All of a sudden the blogosphere doesn't seem so big any more. Even though there were over a thousand participants, the challenge we all had in common made it more manageable and accessible.

At first, you see just names and profile pictures, but soon, those names start looking familiar and turn into people. Then they become individuals you respect and appreciate.

With some, I feel I've connected on a more personal level, because we think alike or because we're complementary and can teach each other a lot; because we're all writers or because we share a love for particular books or genres; because we've been through similar experiences, or because we're drawn to the same people.

Whatever the future brings, I'm happy and grateful for this experience.

I would like to express my special thanks to Lee (Arlee Bird), word and idea juggler extraordinaire, for coming up with the A to Z challenge, and to science fiction guru Alex J. Cavanaugh, whose tweets informed me about the challenge in the first place.

And now it's time to relax, take a weekend off, catch up on some sleep, and then I'll be back with a whole list of topics, dealing with writing, life, love and my quest for authentic and worthwhile experiences.


See you around!


Funky fact: at a given point I had 666 unread messages in Google Reader, ànd 66 followers. I'm sure it was a sign, but of what?

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Image 2: 'web' by Brenda Anderson. Available under a creative commons license. © 2005, Brenda Anderson.
Image 3: 'Friends' by Leon Rice-Whetton. Available under a creative commons license. © 2010, Leon Rice-Whetton.
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       Congratulations on a job well done.   We'll look for many stories like this in 2012.



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9 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

KC said it so well - those names and profiles turn into real individuals and friends.

Anonymous said...

And now look, 295 followers. It really was a great time; so exciting to turn on the computer in the morning and see all those messages waiting. I can't wait to do it again.

Luanne G. Smith said...

Hey, I think I was one of those first ten! ;-)

That was a great wrap up of the A to Z challenge. I love the part about feeling like the blog has a soul now. I totally get that.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I have made and is still friends from the first A to Z. which made the challenge worth while, next April will be my third and can't wait.

Have a good day.
Yvonne.

J.L. Campbell said...

Blogfests are where I seem to meet the most interesting people and the A-Z is no different.

Sarah Tokeley said...

What a perfect description of blogging :-)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi KC .. great reflective write-up on the the A - Z challenge .. it's so interesting the way the blogging world has its own place in our own history now ..

Lee particularly did an excellent job at setting it up and promoting it - and I'm so glad I participated .. thanks KC - good luck with 2012 and the April A - Z .. Merry Christmas .. cheers Hilary

K.C. Woolf said...

I'm a bit slow these days, but here I am, and how great to see a bunch of familiar faces! :-)

Thanks to all of you. You make it all worth while! :-)

Shannon Lawrence said...

Well said, and what a warm reflection!