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Tuesday, April 28, 2015

X is for X-hiliarated

Okay, so the word is actually “exhiliarated,” which means “happy, animated or elated,” at least that’s what Google tells me. That’s probably how you feel now, isn’t it? If it isn’t, well, you should.
  • You’ve managed to post every day, Monday through Saturday, in the month of April.
  • You’ve come up with 26 words, each one starting with the next letter in the alphabet in sequence. And most of you came up with 26 words, each one starting with the next successive letter, that fit into a theme. Whether or not you had a theme, you still managed to come up with a 26-word list, each word starting with a different letter. Including Q! and Z! and X! Those letters will break anyone, even the old pros!
  • Each one of your posts required preparation, whether it was going through photos in your collection, or reading web pages, or reading books, or listening to music, or drawing or sewing or knitting or cooking. And you did it!
  • You learned how to budget your time. You knew you had a post to do every day, Monday through Saturday, and you knew what you had to do to get that post out on time, every day.
  • You’ve been visited by people from all over the world, and you’ve visited people from all over the world, you’ve made some friends and read some pretty amazing stuff by some remarkable writers. They’re all in your feed reader (you do have them in your feed reader, right?), so, every time they post, you’ll know about it. And you’re in their feed readers so, every time you post, they’ll know about it.
It’s been an exhiliarating experience, hasn’t it? Whether this was your first A to Z Challenge or your fifth, it taught you a lot about blogging, and yourself.

So, what now? Well, there are still a couple more days left, so don’t quit yet. But, come Friday, this year’s A to Z Challenge wll be history. So, then what? Here are some suggestions.
  • First, there’s the A to Z Reflections, where you can recap your experience with the A to Z Challenge: what you liked about it, what you didn’t like, what you got out of it, what you wish you had gotten from it, things like that. The link might be different, so make sure you stay tuned to this blog for further details.
  • Then there’s the A to Z Challenge Road Trip. It’s a trip through the blogs that participated in the Challenge at a more leisurely pace. Where April is a dash, this is a meander. Take a look at the page linked above.
  • Make it a point to visit your new friends regularly, and to leave them comments. See who comments on their blogs and go visit those people, too. That’s what blogging is all about.
  • Keep an eye out for other challenges to participate in. As you follow your new friends, see what they’re doing when they aren’t doing A to Z, and join them. If it’s not as much fun as it looks, it’s okay to drop out of it. I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll enjoy.
  • And, by all means, make plans to join us again next year. This is the highlight of my blogging year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes yours.
Have fun the last couple of days of the challenge! Straight ahead!

John Holton
The Sound of One Hand Typing
The Sound of One Hand Typing FM

36 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi John - new people to find .. you for one! And it's my fifth year now ... and I've made some new friends and remembered some from last year ... it's a good learning curve, hard work - but fun to do .. enjoy everyone - cheers Hilary

Nilanjana Bose said...

Xhilarated is so right :) apt word choice. agree with Hilary above that it's a good learning curve and fun.

kaykuala said...

X-hilarating up to this point. None too soon! Hank is here!

http://imagery77.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-xylophone-gamelan-ensemble.html

Rosie Amber said...

Yay, we've nearly made it, the last few days have really flown by.

Romi said...

X is the letter which seems to be hardest to write about. It almost discouraged me to take part in the A to Z Challenge... Now that I've posted my X-topic, I'm "xhiliarated".

Letters from the Land of Cherry Blossoms

David Macaulay said...

Xhilirating but rather xhausting - yes x is a challenge...

Grammy said...

A clue for finding "X"words. Look through a Scrabble dictionary...That is what I did one year. It is always fun to take part in the Challenge... This is my fifth year, as well. I've always enjoyed it. Thanks for all your help in making it a success! Your blogging friend, Ruby aka Blabbin' Grammy.

Barbara In Caneyhead said...

This is my fourth year to participate, my first as a minion and I have enjoyed this challenge more than any other. Why? I think in large part because I was able to visit more than ever before. And to me that is the part that makes the challenge the most fun. Getting out of your "usual" and "comfortable" and seeing different blogs and meeting new bloggers.
Wearing my Survivor T-shirt to work today!
~ The end is in sight!!! ~
Visit me at: Life & Faith in Caneyhead
I am Ensign B of Tremps' Troops
with the A to Z Challenge

Jolie du Pre said...

I think I'll definitely do the "road trip" this year. In addition to the blogs listed on the road trip list, I'd also like to visit ALL of the blogs on the A to Z list. I don't have the time to do that during the actual challenge.

Precious Monsters

holli said...

My first time for this challenge and I cant believe this is the last week! Holy cow!! I'm so glad I did it and I made at least 4 new blogging friends in this adventure. Made it all worth it.

J said...

I have saved my favorite bloggers pages to my history, so it is easy to visit them each day.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I am grateful for some of the new bloggers I'm now following. It wouldn't have happened except for this challenge. :)
@dino0726 from 
FictionZeal - Impartial, Straighforward Fiction Book Reviews

Marie A said...

This was my first A-Z Challenge! I had a great time meeting other bloggers that visited and commented on my blog. Throught the challenge I had the opportunity to visit many wonderful blogs that I will be revisiting often. Will definately check out other upcoming blog challengers and look forward to joing the A-Z again next year.

i b arora said...

feels nice, i am almost there with only two posts left and a decent response, thanks all who stopped by www.obliqview.blogspot.in

Kathleen Jennette said...

I have saved bloggers too for the future. I have enjoyed the visits and posts.

Dee said...

It really is exhilarating to get to this point! We're almost to the finish line, then finally, we can start getting more sleep! :P

XmasDolly said...

This is my first A-Z Challenge also. I've been looking for new friends, and I hope I found a few. Today I want to blog hop around, and try to meet as many bloggers as I can before our challenge is over :( I must say it sure was fun. Thanks for letting me play along. :) have a great day! Oh, and also everyone that I stop by I follow... I hope you follow me back too! HUGS

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I think I'm going to take a nap on Friday and not even look at my computer. But as usual, it's terrific and frantic fun.

Sandra Wilkes said...

This is my first A To Z but hopefully, not my last. I seem to be a day short but will post about X very soon! I have enjoyed blog-hopping and hope to re-visit as it was often such a mad dash! Reflections is a great idea!

http://www.inspirationtolivewell.com/2015/04/v-is-for-vacation

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I didn't get to visit a lot of new folks, so I'll definitely be taking the road trip.

Anonymous said...

Whew. I'm ready for the mad dash to be over. Not sure I'll do the road trip. I tried one year and kept forgetting.

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

Jo said...

Posting is not the hard part as far as I am concerned.

Michelle Wallace said...

I didn't meet as many new folks as I wanted to, due unexpected work conditions which sucked most of my time...

J.L. Campbell said...

Encouraging post, John. I didn't visit my regulars as much as I was trying to reach out more. So many blogs, so little time!

J.L. Campbell - The Character Depot | A-Z Challenge Co-Host

Rachel Pattinson said...

Such a great post! I've just managed to catch up on my posts (I was two days behind), so I'm pretty happy with that. I've met some great people so far, but I'm looking forward to meeting more on the road trip :).

Rachel Pattinson
Rachel's Ramblings - full of writing, tea and cake

Billy Blue Eyes said...

X was my hardest to do but I sorted it

Kathe W. said...

I went with the eX approach also! Just could not go with Xylophone! cheers!

Mary Aalgaard said...

Will do. Although, I'm leaning a little more towards eXhausted.
Play off the Page

Anonymous said...

I'm glad I'm getting through this one! Scheduling makes a difference!

betty said...

Kind of sad it is wrapping up for this year, but already had a theme for next year :)

betty

Mark Koopmans said...

All I can say is Y is for YES !!!

(and D is for DONE!!!)

Sarah said...

This month really has been exhilarating (and exhausting!) - I am so glad I heard about the A to Z Challenge. It really forced me to blog everyday, and even better, introduced me to some great blogs. I am looking forward to perusing some other blogs during the road trip, as it has been all I can do to keep up with my own during the month (thanks to all the new visitors I have had have been visiting!).

- Sarah (and Choppy) -
Travels with Choppy

Chantelle said...

I have had an absolute blast!
I look forward tot he 2015 Roadtrip.

Chantelle @ Cocktails and Memories
http://www.cocktailsandmemories.co.za

Fee said...

Time management is the biggest thing I'll take away from the Challenge, I think. What a fantastic month it's been :)

Fee | Wee White Hoose
Scottish Mythology and Folklore A-Z

Claire Annette said...

this has been a most Xcellant month thanks to all of you who have led the way. I'm looking forward to reading more of the blogs in the months ahead. Time for some zzzzzzzz's.