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Monday, September 30, 2013

Road Trip Pit Stop - Time to Refuel Your A-to-Z Engine!

Beep, Beep! Who else is still awake on this alphabet route? 

Photo by Little Peppercorn
After running low on gas and making multiple pit stops, I nearly fell asleep at the wheel. Good thing I have two partners – Tina Downey at Life is Good and Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse to share in the driving duties as we move along through the A-to-Z Challenge list, stopping by the blogs we missed in April, to pay them a visit before the next challenge rolls around. Although I put the car on cruise control, I did manage to read more A-to-Z Reflections posts and visit some blogs located in the first half of the sign-up list.

During my visits, I found that some people either stopped blogging after the challenge or kept new blog posts coming sporadically until early-to-mid Summer. Still, the last posts that were published on these blogs were worth a looksee. I also came across some places on the list with blog posts that were cool to read, yet, difficult to leave a comment on. For those of you who are still on this Road Trip with Tina, Shannon and I, this is likely not a surprise, as you’ve probably encountered similar situations during your blog visits. 

When I started this road trip, I planned to visit at least five blogs per day, keeping in tune with the recommended visits of the April challenge. Now, I’ve reduced that number to one blog per day. I figure that way, it will be much easier to fit a visit to a new blog into my schedule – and – if I encounter non-active blogs or blog posts where leaving a comment feels like I’m participating in some type of three ring circus with no instructions, my Road Trip efforts are still time well spent.

Photo by Hayley Bouchard
As co-host, I want to try to also make sure that your time is also well spent, so in the name of efficient fun, here is some roadside assistance to stay on course if you find yourself running low on gas or hit something on the road that caused a flat in your tires at this stretch of our Post A-to-Z Adventure. 

Now, I’m no Allstate or AAA, but these blog visiting methods can be especially useful if you’re taking the one-and-done approach, or a similar one, that I’m using for the A-to-Z Road Trip.

Pick a Number – Think of a number…any number during your day and then visit the blog on the list that corresponds with this particular number.  You could also make this a theme and visit all of the blogs that fall under a specific area of the number table such as every hundredth or so (102, 202, 302, 402 and so on).

Heads or Tails? – Visit a blog that is among the low numbers (1-100) on the sign-up list and then visit another blog that is among the high numbers (101-500 and up) on the list. The number range doesn’t matter…you determine what is considered “low” and what is considered “high” just so long as two blogs on both ends of the list get a visitor today (or tomorrow or whenever you’re doing your A-to-Z Road Trip visits).

Hit the Reflections – If you haven’t read all of the 2013 A-to-Z Reflections posts, visit blogs on that list. That way, you’ll know that the blogs you’re visiting are run by people who finished the challenge – or at least attempted to complete it.

Funny Names – Scroll through the signup list and visit blogs with names that either make you laugh or fill you with curiosity. These are usually the types of blogs where, at first glance, you have no idea what the topic or theme of the blog is about such as Big Girl Panties (#264 on the list), Buttered Toast Rocks! (#365) or Cabin Goddess (#432).

Photo by Zach Dischner
It’s all about making it fun. If we make this road trip as simple and as fun as possible, we’ll have enough gas to keep our cars steady and well maintained…at least until the next Check-in. Now, the only thing left to do is call Allstate and tell them that you don’t need them because you’re in better hands. Ha!

Cheers to all!

~Nicole

9 comments:

  1. I've just been plugging away using the main list, but I think I'm going to switch it up and try some of those other ideas - using the Reflections posts list, skipping around, etc.

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  2. Excellent ideas, my dear co-host of the Road-Trip! I've been parked a while, but I think I'm going to go read some intriguing sounding names...
    Tina @ Life is Good

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  3. Must admit to a long pitstop on mine with the reflections, I really must get back and get along with them

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  4. I feel sort of bad I was doing really well getting round everyone.... I must admit I look but seldom leave comments, I know this is not really the plan, but I am sure folk don't want comments from a mad old bloke and part time artist who cant type or spell.

    Anyway I got entirely lost as to whom I had seen and who I had not and that just finished me off.

    I did find the last A to Z rather frustrating and after loads of work writing posts and drawing associated pictures which as it happened I rather enjoyed, but it did all seem to vanish into the vast voids of cyberspace with hardly a friendly wave

    I may be wrong but the A to Z does seem to be geared up to the USA authors and aspiring authors market. OK enough grumbling (I like grumbling by the way); and anyway I will no doubt be back next year with yet another cunning plan, work, health and the universe willing . . . . Yes sorry but I am persistent...

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  5. You all have been doing better than I have. I blew my engine and all my tires have gone flat. I try to keep up with the folks who drop in on my blogs and even that's been hard to do.

    Keep up the great work! And if you see me sitting by the side of the road can you give me a lift?

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  6. Excellent roadside assistance. Yep, a lot of people stopped blogging after the challenge, and some of the reflections are locked for comments, but I'm moving through slowly, but surely to pay visits.

    Shannon at The Warrior Muse

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  7. Good gravy, where have I been? I had no idea this was going on! Time to up my gingko dose...that is the herb for memory ... isn't it?

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  8. Great ideas for navigating the list. . .thanks for the reminder!

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  9. I have found a new annoyance - blogs where you either have to be a member of WordPress (have sign in with Facebook) or Google+ in order to leave a comment. I don't like to sign in with Facebook, since it was linked to a different email than my blogs and I just haven't gotten the point of Google+ !! GRRRRR people!

    I have been visiting the blogs with interesting names. That being said - I have changed the names of 2 of mine, just because they were ordinary and/or common. Hopefully they won't get lost in the list next year!

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