Now or Never, or maybe Next Time #AtoZChallenge 2024

We are past the halfway point! Pat yourself on the back, if you have made it this far! The Challenge is an intense undertaking, for sure. So this is your halfway reminder to be kind to yourself. Celebrate the posts you made! Even if you didn't have as much time, or haven't done as much research, or visited as many people... you are still doing it, and that is great!

Also halfway through the challenge, whether you are a newcomer or a veteran, things usually become more clear. Take a moment to take some NOTES. 

What are you doing well NOW? What are the things you are enjoying this time around in the challenge?

What are you NEVER doing again? Is there something you would change?

What are you going to do NEXT TIME? Keep, discard, change - were you inspired by someone's blog, or theme, or style? Do share in the comments!

Keep on blogging! :) 

MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/w54yupwe

Hop to as many blogs in the challenge as possible. Grow and strengthen the community.

Please follow us!

bloglovin.com/blogs/blogging-from-a-to-z-april-challenge-3294742
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com
@a.to.z.challenge     @atozchallenge
@AprilA2Z Our hashtag is #AtoZChallenge

Gathering Things #AtoZChallenge 2024

What are you gathering during this year's Challenge? 

Experience? - A challenge is a great way to practice blogging, and learn what style of posting best fits you. It also helps with forming a regular blogging habit.

Information? - Setting a good theme for yourself can inspire some in-depth research that can come in handy for later projects too!

Comments? - I love reading the comments during the challenge! They light up a blogger's day. (If you leave thoughtful comments, you are the best!)

New blogs to follow? - Yes please! I love finding new and interesting blogs, and new and interesting people who write them.

Books to read? - A to Z always adds a whole lot to one's TBR, beware! :)

Momentum? - Keep going! You have already completed one whole week!

MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/w54yupwe

Hop to as many blogs in the challenge as possible. Grow and strengthen the community.

Please follow us!

bloglovin.com/blogs/blogging-from-a-to-z-april-challenge-3294742
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com
@a.to.z.challenge     @atozchallenge
@AprilA2Z Our hashtag is #AtoZChallenge

Challenge Yourself #AtoZChallenge 2024

Sign-up for the challenge! ***https://forms.gle/41PjgHFL4zwnM2Am7 ***

You! Yes you! Welcome to the April A to Z Blogging Challnege! CHALLENGE is in the title for a reason. You have taken it on, and that is amazing! Whether you see it through or not, whether you are preparing or pantsing, whether you are a first-time blogger or a returning participant - you are doing great! 

Just joining A to Z is a great step. You might not finish this year. You might come back next year anyway. That is okay. We are all here, CHEERING you on!

Are you setting an extra challenge for yourself this year? 

A THEME can be an added challenge! A lot of people do it. It makes selecting each letter a bit more tricky, but it also gives your readers something to come back for.

PANTSING can be a challenge too. It makes you write regularly every day - write fast and with enthusiasm. Good job!

PLANNING is also a challenge, because it takes foresight and preparation. Well done!

You may also challenge yourself to VISIT others during the month of April, reading their posts and cheering them on. That also takes time and effort, and we are very grateful if you do it!

Are you setting an extra challenge for yourself?

Tell us all about it in the comments!

And if not - don't sweat it! Just by participating in A to Z, you are already doing a whole lot! :) Pat yourself on the back!

MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/w54yupwe

Hop to as many blogs in the challenge as possible. Grow and strengthen the community.

Please follow us!

bloglovin.com/blogs/blogging-from-a-to-z-april-challenge-3294742
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com
@a.to.z.challenge     @atozchallenge
@AprilA2Z Our hashtag is #AtoZChallenge

Fall in Love with Blogs and Blog Hops Again!

February the Month Of Love: Image by Freepik

February is often thought of as the month of love. Here at the A to Z Blog Challenge, we're falling in love with Blogs and Blog Hops again! With my own blog, I have found my attention to it waxes and wanes throughout the year. I try so hard to keep updating it consistently, and I have definitely found that my best success has been through the community of bloggers (and the support of my husband and co-blogger!) and I am very much looking forward to my next round of A to Z Challenge posts to keep my momentum going!

So tell us, what are your favorite blog hops or blog challenges that you participate in throughout the year?

~Jayden R. Vincente

Erotic Fiction Blogger (adults only!)

jrvincente.com

 B is for Beauty

There is beauty in resilience, don't you think?

Whenever I see a rainbow after a storm, I'm reminded of the resilience of nature. The beauty that is encapsulated in this simple act of nature makes me think of other beautiful and resilient things in nature. I always think of all the animals who had to literally weather the storm. There is beauty in imagining the emerging of the animals from their shelters as the storm lets up and the sun begins to shine again.

As we embark on Day 2 of our A to Z Challenge, let's all remember the beauty in our resilience as writers, as bloggers, as people. 

Tell us about the beauty you find in resilience!

#AtoZChallenge W is for WHY

 

WHY?

Why do we do this? Why do we take the A to Z Challenge (many of us year after year after year)? Why do we challenge ourselves? Why do we blog at all? Many articles on many platforms have pointed out that blogging is slowly becoming less popular than other, more dynamic social media platforms. Why blog at all? And why do it so intensively for an entire month in April?

I am not claiming to have universal answers. Every one has to answer these WHY's (along with When, for Whom, and What) for themselves. But is important to keep in mind our own reasons for blogging, so that outside opinions can't easily affect us.

Why do you blog? Who is it for? Who is your audience? What do you want to achieve with your writing?

Why did you join the challenge? What do you get out of the experience? And when next year rolls around, are you willing to do it again?

See, me personally, I like blogs. I enjoy blogging. I like that it is static, leaving information easily available later on. I like it that it is written, because writing is an important medium for me. And I especially like it that there is a World of other bloggers out there, sharing whatever they are most enthusiastic about.

What about you? :)

#AtoZChallenge Q is for Questions

 

QUESTIONS. WE ALL HAVE THEM.

There are 10 days left of the challenge! You have all been wonderful and inspiring so far. Soaring or struggling to keep up, pantsing or planning, lurking or commenting, you are all doing great! Don't forget, this challenge, first and foremost, is about having fun. 

I am sure you have a bunch of new questions now. Or maybe old ones that you did not get to ask before. Feel free to ask them in the comments!

Here are some, from me to you, just out of curiosity:

Do you have a favorite blog or theme that you discovered in this year's challenge?

Which one was the most difficult letter to complete so far?

What was the nicest / most fun comment someone has left on your blog?

Did you end up adding something to your TBR pile / bucket list / travel plans, thanks to a post you read?

How are you planning on celebrating after you complete the challenge?

Keep going, keep blogging! :)

#AtoZChallenge I is for Integrity

The team's theme of the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge this year is:

ACCOMPLISHING YOUR DREAMS, AND THE DUALITY OF 22

If you are a freelancer, an entrepreneur, a self-employed content creator, an artist, or anything of the sort, you probably spend a whole lot of your time trying to promote your work online. Blogging might or might not be an integral part of that - or even the entire business in itself - but we are still constantly bombarded information on how to blogging bigger, better, more profitable. How to optimize content, posting frequency, posting times, social media shares, tags and hashtags. Sounds familiar?

This post is just here to remind you to take a break. Integrity is important. Your blog, your contant, first and foremost, has to be you. Accomplishing your dreams is not worth changing those dreams to fit some kind of an expectation. It is good to learn how to do your own thing better - but you don't need to change your content, your stories, your interests into something "more marketable." As cliché as it sounds: you are the content. The person, the personality, the enthusiasm, the dreams. All of it. Stay true to that.

Also, hey, we are done with the first full week of A to Z! How are you feeling? :)

Find the list of participants by clicking here.

#AtoZChallenge H Is For Happy

The team's theme of the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge this year is:
ACCOMPLISHING YOUR DREAMS, AND THE DUALITY OF 22

A lot of you are already experienced bloggers and don't need to hear this. Or maybe you do. But this is more for the newer bloggers out there, for whom maybe this is your first challenge, this is for you (but everyone's welcome to read along).

One of the reasons that I started blogging was because I saw a few blogs that were participating in the A to Z Challenge and thought "hey, that looks like fun, maybe I'll do it next year." The next year came along, and I joined up. I learned a lot about blogging that year, and it's grown from there. In short, the A to Z Challenge made a blogger out of me. How, you ask?

1. It taught me to set a schedule and stick to it. Before I did my first A to Z, I was posting whenever the spirit moved me. Whatever readers might be have been interested in reading me didn't know when they'd see another post from me, and few waited around to find out. Doing A to Z taught me that, when they when they knew when to look, they did. You don't have to be out here every day, like I am, but commit yourself to one day a week, or every two weeks, and make it the same day.

2. It taught me that, to get traffic, you have to give traffic. One way to let other bloggers know that you're out here is to comment on their blogs. More often than not, it results in a return visit. Plus, when other bloggers see your comments, they'll be curious to know who you are.

3. It taught me to find the joy in what I was doing. That's really what it's all about: having fun! Meet people from around the world, share your thoughts with them, write whatever's on your mind, have a few laughs along the way.... you get the idea. If you had fun writing it, they'll have fun reading it.

I had come into blogging thinking that I wanted to be a fiction writer. Part of the reason I didn't write on my blog initially was that I was trying to force story ideas out of my head. Fiction didn't make me happy, blogging did. I had more fun coming up with blog ideas than I did coming up with story ideas. Blogging made me happy.

I hope it makes you happy, too.

Does blogging make you happy? How?

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@a.to.z.challenge @atozchallenge
@AprilA2Z Our hashtag is #AtoZChallenge
Please follow us on social media.
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Be sure your copy is updated with everyone who signed up for the challenge. Hopping to other blogs to leave comments is half of the challenge!

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#AtoZChallenge E is for Encouraging Each Other

 

The team's theme of the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge this year is:

ACCOMPLISHING YOUR DREAMS, AND THE DUALITY OF 22

Day 5 of the challenge. You may be hitting your stride by now, or you may be starting to reconsider your choices... either way, we are in full swing! If you are a perfectionist like me, who wants to make the most of everything, I am here to tell you: You are doing great. You are doing ENOUGH. Being in this challenge, putting your posts up, visiting some others, is enough. Don't let the pressure to do more spoil the fun.

We are here to help you! All of us. My favorite thing about the Challenge is that we cheer each other on. Everyone can use a little encouragement from time to time, right? That's what visiting and commenting is for! Seeing that people have read what you've written. And they are engaging with your content. And letting you know you are doing an excellent job.

Keep going! Keep exploring! Tell us about your visiting experiences in the comments!

Find the list of participants by clicking here.

Visit some fellow bloggers, and leave some encouraging words! 

Isn't it nice to cheer each other on?

 

A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal 2022! #AtoZChallenge

 

It's that time of the year again, bloggers! 

Welcome to the 2022 A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal!

If you are planning to do a theme on your blog in April, this is your chance to share it with all of us! Fill out this form (link) to sign up! Make sure you put in the direct link to your theme reveal post, not to your blog. And take a look at our list of Categories, because this year we have some new options for you!

Then, head over to the list of participants (link), and visit others to see what themes they are doing! If you take a copy now (File> Make a Copy), be sure to come back after sign-ups close to grab the information of the rest of the participants.

Please join the Theme Reveal by March 21st. After that, this form will be closed. The Master List for the challenge will open on March 30th!

DRUMROLL PLEASE

The theme of the A to Z Challenge main blog this year is:

ACCOMPLISHING YOUR DREAMS, AND THE DUALITY OF 22

J Lenni Dorner writes about this theme:

Eyes close and dreams come to those fortunate enough to get the escape of entertainment. Perhaps they allow the imagination to stretch. Or give the mind an alternative way to work out problems from the wakeful hours. Some say these images from sleep carry messages and meanings that require interpretation to better steer our lives. There is much debate on how much control we have over those dreams. 

Yet there is no light without dark, each day needs the duality of night, and entertaining dreams of the sleeping mind shouldn't be confused with the loftiest goals of a planner. 

 It is smart to set goals and to have dreams among them. To strive for what we know we can achieve, but also to note what might be possible if we push ourselves, if we prioritize one dream over the inevitable obstacles that will come. Achievement of a dream always requires a change, a sacrifice, and a dedicated choice to put its achievement first. 

Duality is about more than two opposites. It's also about how one cannot or does not exist without the other. We recognize the protagonist by the battle against, and change because of, the antagonist. 

Perhaps, to some of you, blogging is an outlet, a place for creative expression to be shared with the world. Yet, in our trying times, blogging for a month and the pressure to visit others might feel like an antagonist. It may require you to change your schedule to post that much, there is an inevitable sacrifice of spending time visiting other blogs- time which you otherwise spent watching television, reading one more chapter, or running one more block. Taking on the A to Z Challenge in April is a choice to be part of the blogging community, to make a difference in the world by connecting with others, exchanging ideas, and connecting with people in the medium where they feel comfortable sharing and expressing themselves.

We may not agree with every blogger. Duality shows that there are always two sides. Perhaps there will be a chance to learn something new, to expand your mind and experience ideas beyond your own. There's also always an option to close a window and click to the next. (Perhaps there's a duality between a hyperlink and the site "X" close icon?)

The number 22 represents duality and the power of dreams. Thus, the team has selected these concepts as our THEME for April 2022. We will also be honoring Jeremy, the great graphic artist of the challenge who passed away this year. We encourage you to make this April your best blogging and best blog-hopping year yet! Make it your dream come true. There will be times that it feels impossible, forces that make it difficult... this isn't the A to Z spa treatment, it's the A to Z Challenge. It's not supposed to be a stroll in the park.

We are all looking forward to being on this journey with you!

Get your 2022 merchandise here: 
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I is for Inspiration! #atozchallenge

What inspires you? What makes your mind wander, and wonder, and ask things like "what if...?"

Look for some extra inspiration today! Whether for your blog, or your WIP, or just for fun, here are some sites that will give you a fresh dose of inspiration!

Use this Random Art Generator to find a classic painting, and see if it becomes a story in your head!

Try this Random Landscape Generator, and see if you can imagine what happens there!

Start up the Random Music Generator and see if the music inspires you!

Play around with this amazing Random Folklore Motif Generator, and see if you can make up new tales!

Use this site to get Random Geographic Coordinates, and see what that place inspires in you! (Or learn more about it, if it is new to you!)

Inspiration can come from unexpected places. What inspires YOU in this challenge?

2020 Vision: The Old Shelter - Sarah Zama's author blog (#AtoZChallenge)

The team decided our theme for this month's posts here would be a take "2020 visions of blogging." This set of posts focuses on:

A Blog with 2020 Vision

Do you like historical fiction? How about historical fantasy? Are you excited to be living in the 20s again? How about escaping into the 1920s?

Sarah Zama is a long time participant of the A to Z Challenge with her blog called The Old Shelter. This is her sixth year joining us! Since as an author she works with the past - specifically, the 1920s - I thought she would be a perfect candidate for being featured in our "2020 Vision" series!

Sarah's challenge posts are always a delight to read. This year, her theme is Living in the Twenties! In the past she has done other themes related to her research work for historical fiction:

2015 - The Roaring Twenties
2016 - Jazz Age jazz: early jazz as a social phenomenon
2017 - 1940s film noir
2018 - The Weimar Republic
2019 - Berliner Cabaret

What I especially love about Sarah's posts is that they are extremely well researched and well organized. I always learn a lot from them. And what makes her an even better participant: she always visits back!

Sarah is an author who writes historical fantasy, focusing on the 1920s - or as she describes it, 1920s Dieselpunk Noir. It's history mixed with fantasy, and some fairy tale elements. If you want to find out more about her stories, follow this link!

If you haven't visited Sarah's blog yet, stop by and say hi to her!

You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Grab a copy of the Master List! Click this

Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: NeatoShop.com/artist/Jeremy-Hawkins

Oldie but goodie (#AtoZChallenge)

The team decided our theme for this month's posts here would be a take "2020 visions of blogging." This set of weekday posts focuses on:

Blogging Hopes and Dreams for the Future

I was once told "blogging is for old people." And that was about eight years ago (when I was in my mid-twenties, thank you). Technology ages, and it ages fast: Social media keeps reminding me that the generations growing up right now don't blog, and barely use Facebook or Twitter anymore. As someone who likes to keep up with technology, this has been bugging me for a while:

Is blogging getting Old?...

And then I realized I am asking the wrong question. The real question to ask is: Do I care? And if I care, why?

People use social media for a lot of reasons. Some of us do it for audience outreach and marketing. Some do it for community building. Many of us do it as a writing exercise, or to share written resources (in my case, folktales and book reviews). Some of these functions can be moved to newer platforms. Some can't (believe me, I tried sharing folktales on Instagram...). And that's okay.

I ask myself the question: Do I care? I like blogging. I enjoy writing posts, and publishing them, and sharing them on my social media. I enjoy reading the posts of other people. I enjoy reading text that is more than 240 characters long. Maybe it means I'm old. But if I actually grow old, and one day I will be sitting in my hover-chair and scrolling through blog posts on my holo-projector... well, I'll be Okay with that.

Maybe by then, blogging will be retro.

Have you tried moving blogging activities to other media? 

What are your thoughts on the matter?

Grab a copy of the Master List! Click this

Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: NeatoShop.com/artist/Jeremy-Hawkins