IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The 2024 OFFICIAL MASTER LIST: coming soon

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

O for Onward in the #atozchallenge !

This Letter "O" post is brought to you by Damyanti, co-host for the A to Z Challenge.
So we're nearing the finishing line... and I'm thrilled to say a whole lot of us are marching on, commenting widely and often, and having a rollicking good time.
Posting to theme everyday for a month can drain a blogger, however, so to everyone whose energies are flagging, we say, "Onward! We're almost there!"
And now, I'll repeat the advice I've been harping on all month: 
1. Turn off your word verification. It helps no one. You may moderate comments for a while if you're unsure. I still find blogs with the Captcha on, and it makes me feel sorry.
2. In your comment id, link only to your AZ blog, NOT your profile which may have five other blogs. Trolling through ten links to find your A-Z blog is too much to ask any one visiting back.


3. Leave a link to you when you comment, so no one spends hours finding you.
4. Comment when you visit blogs, and you'll get comments in return.
5. Make it easy for people to follow your blog and follow you on social media.
So, Onward, folks-- 9 more days to go, and you'll be a winner! You can do this :)

Don't forget about the May 7th Reflections post.  Save the Date!  Details coming soon.








.

37 comments:

Julie Jordan Scott said...

I am continuing to enjoy this challenge SO MUCH! Last year I didn't complete it... got frustrated and just stopped. This year, with a theme I love.... it seems there is no stopping me. I could continue for another month... (perhaps I will?)

My Q and X and Z are.... more challenging and becoming ridiculously wonderful as well.

Thank you, LEADERS OF THIS SERIES! You rock, each and every one!

Julie Jordan Scott
Fellow A to Z Challenge Writer
twitter: @juliejordanscot
O is for Octavia
On a Mission to Spread Word-Love Throughout the World

Betty Alark said...

I'm marching on! Have plenty of energy - taking my antioxidants every day! haha!

Thanks for the tips. I do post my blog site everyday. I tried to turn the word verification ; with this new dashboard - I just couldn't figure it out. Sorry- hope posting my blog helps.

http://bettyalark.blogspot.com

JoJo said...

My biggest problem has been w/ the Captcha thing. I don't understand why people use them at all. Other than that, it's been a great time and I'm pleased to have more followers.

Rob Z Tobor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rob Z Tobor said...

Silly Qwerty Keyboard. I will be glad when I reach the end, it is bad enough not being able to type without the added complexity of an Alphabet

Rob Z Tobor

Mimi said...

thanks for your good advice, I wish "THEY" would listen.
:-)
Mimi Torchia Boothby Watercolors

Unknown said...

All things very good to know!

Different topic: um, one thing I can't find anymore is the daily schedule for the challenge. I'm kindof winging it. lol

Giggle, Laugh, Cry

Lynn Proctor said...

thanks for reminding people once again about turning off the word verification thing--i didn't even know i had it on--my daughter turned it off for me

Unknown said...

Listen will ya :) It makes it so much easier for me to visit you!

What an awesome experience meeting you all!

Jolie du Pre said...

I've visited all of the bloggers who have visited me. I wish more people would return the comment love that they receive. This bothers me way more than a silly Captcha.

Jolie du Pre
Precious Monsters

I Love Horror/Paranormal Novellas Blog Hop Aug 2012

Sherry Gloag said...

Great advice, until notified, i didn't even know my captcha was on, I find them sooooooooooo annoying, and since the last round of 'updates' by google almost everyone's captcha seems to be on.
As for the challenge, loving every minute of it. :-)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Go ahead and harp!

J.L. Campbell said...

I've barely been keeping up. I shall have to read your stories in 'one fell swoop' this year cuz I know what I'm missing.

J.L. Campbell said...

I've barely been keeping up. I shall have to read your stories in 'one fell swoop' this year cuz I know what I'm missing.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I am carrying on regardless , have had two shots in my painful shoulders it's still painful but I won't give up.

Yvonne.

Tina said...

Thanks for saying it again. It's the one most frustrating thing I'm finding. I've heard from bloggers that they have no traffic, and then when I visit I find it almost impossible to find where to comment (those non-blogger blogs are much harder - sorry, I'm just not used to them) and then when I do, there's the no robot again and I want to scream THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE NO COMMENTS! No offense meant to anyone. Just please turn the damn thing OFF! If you make it easy to comment, you will get more. Ok, rant off. Feel much better now. as men in little white coats leave the room...
Tina @ Life is Good
Co-Host of the April A to Z Challenge
Twitter: @AprilA2Z #atozchallenge

Arlee Bird said...

Our thanks to all of you bloggers who have taken heed of this advice. If you haven't done these things yet, then try them and see if your comments increase.


Lee
A Few Words
An A to Z Co-host blog

Elizabeth said...

I was a little late to the dance and didn't sign up until the end of March, but I'm hanging in there and learning a lot.

Nicole said...

Yep, Onward is the only way to go! Also, I just had a good laugh at the end of Tina's comment about the men in white coats, lol.

I don't have word verification on my blog. Now, I'm at a point in the challenge where I'll still comment on blogs that have captchas IF I like the blog.

Maybe it's just a personal thing for me...yes, it's VERY annoying to find them but if I like what I read or the blog overall and I have something to say, I'm willing to forgive a little word verification bumps in the road...and my new perspective on blog captchas do not apply to everyone who still has them turned on. It only applies to those blogs and posts where I really want to leave a comment, if for nothing else, to at least show some support during this massive A to Z beast that we're all trying our best to tackle this month.


~Nicole
Blog: The Madlab Post
-and-
@MadlabPost on Twitter

Kelly Barnes said...

@Sherry Gloag
"Great advice, until notified, i didn't even know my captcha was on, I find them sooooooooooo annoying, and since the last round of 'updates' by google almost everyone's captcha seems to be on."

I discovered mine was on and knew I had turned it off. So make a point of checking it, even if you KNOW.

Sonia Lal said...

I can't turn off the word verification, I have no control over wordpress.

But the rest! I agree about profile links with five different blogs attached. It's a little annoying.

Sonia Lal @ Story Treasury

EvalinaMaria said...

I'm so glad I accepted this challenge. I've met great bloggers and even bought couple books written by other participants! I still didn't have time to read them - checking blogs takes hours!

beccabooklover said...

Completely enjoying this challenge and loving giving people some info on The Lord of the Rings (my theme!). Its getting a little trickier now that we're getting closer to Q, U, Y and Z but I'm sure I'll work something out!

klahanie said...

"O" yes indeed. You know, on my shy, humble, unassuming and not worth wasting your time reading, blog, I've never had word verification switched on.
In my comment id, it always links to just my one and only blog. Of course, I don't have an A to Z blog. Just an alternative to this um alphabet challenge.
I comment on lots of blogs. I'm very proactive and I comment back, as best I can, to all comments on my site. Gives the personal touch and folks appreciate that. I look forward to your reply to my comment here. Thank you.
Anyway, have fun with the challenge all you wonderful bloggers. With respect, Gary :)

Unknown said...

I think I've been to the majority of your blogs--will be returning the visits to this post, and to those I'm meeting for the first time, howdy!!

Beth Stilborn said...

I've met some great bloggers, read some great blogs, and gained a few new readers. I'm pretty sure I've visited back anyone who has visited me.

I'll be glad to get back to normal blogging -- unlike those who are "winging" it, I pre-scheduled all my posts, and I really miss writing posts!

Theresa Milstein said...

Hardly any Word Verification. People are listening!

Musiqal1 said...

I'm enjoying this because I love to write and I think it is fun. Thanks for having this challenge. It's really great.

Tracy MacDonald said...

LOVING the challenge. HATING word verification on others' sites. I scheduled some posts in advanced, others I'm doing on the fly. The pressure on those days is good. I only wish I had more time for reading, but am hoping the new buttons from yesterday's post will help me read more new blogs. I've found some great sites.
A2ZMommy and What’s In Between

Arthur Brill said...

I got behind on "M", so I've already posted my "P" post.

"P is for Puppets!

http://mainstreetarts.blogspot.com/2012/04/puppets-and-marionettes-and-more.html

Pa Ul said...

cool and thanks for the encouragement :)


GAC a-z

Unknown said...

Whoo! We're winners :)

It's been frustrating to see blogs still with word verification on. Gets my dander right up :P

Jamie
Fellow A-Z Buddy
Doing a monumental blog catch-up
Mithril Wisdom

Narayana Rao K.V.S.S. said...

I feel it would be a good idea to leave a full month for reading others' blogs. Of course, participants are free to read blogs whenever they have spare time. But the challenge itself could be structured in a way that it is held over two months. In one format writing in the first month and reading in second month. The other format could be write on one day and read on the other day.

Anonymous said...

I took this 1st challenge of mine very seriously...really tried to give my visitors what they want and expect from a blog like mine. Can't thank you enough for hosting this. I'm already looking forward to next year's challenge...but I do hope you have something else in store for all of us between now and then:)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the words of encouragement! I am hanging in there and having fun. I hope to get to everyone's blogs eventually, even after the challenge. Thanks for putting this together, it must be loads of work.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the encouragement, it's good to know you're rooting for us into the home straights.

This is my very first A-Z Challenge and I have to say, it's helped me build awareness to my theme: Greece and all things Greek.

Thanks for all the tips too - hope to see you all at the finishing line!

Bex
www.leavingcairo.blogspot.com
Twitter: AdventureGreece

Darlene E Williams said...

This is my first A-Z blogging challenge and I think it's been excellent for me to grow as a novel reviewer. I've visited other sites and seen a number of ways to improve my own reviews. Plus, now I have a whole pile of books to read because my theme is "books I'd like to read". Well, prettty much gotta read and review them now!

Sometimes it is a bit hard to find the time but usually it only takes 10 minutes and is doable. But, I will be kind of relieved when I'm done.