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     Do you ever get the feeling of deja vu at the Blogging from A to Z Blog?  Why do we repeat topics?  Why do all of us bloggers repeat topics?  Maybe sometimes it's because they bear repeating.

     I realize you may have seen more than one blog post about Word Verification, Following, Social Media, and many others.  I've also seen these topics on some of your blogs.  In fact today on my blog Tossing It Out I've got still another post about Blog Comments.

      Why do we all do it?  It's because there are new bloggers out there who don't know about some of these things and there are still old bloggers who haven't gotten the message apparently.

       So please bear with us because we may be repeating things we've said before.  We may do it here and the co-hosts may do it on their own blogs.  And we certainly don't mind if you take on some of these topics as well.  If something needs to be said, let's say it!


Thank You A to Z'ers!

        We try to keep an eye out for those of you who help to promote the A to Z April Challenge and we periodically recognize those who have caught our attention with special promotional efforts.  We encourage you to do whatever you can to get the word out about the April Challenge so we can get more participants joining in the fun.

         Some of the things you can consider is shouting out on all the social media platforms, posting notices, contacting your newspapers, doing radio or TV interviews, and holding up signs on street corners.  Be creative!  Send us links, stories, or pictures that tell us about your efforts and we'll put them up on the A to Z Blog site.  

        Here are some of the wonderful bloggers who featured the A to Z Challenge on special blog posts:

       A to Z Opening day saw plenty of blog announcements including one from Scribbles From Jenn.

Halls of the Nephilim was one of the sites that actually put up the Linky list for sign-ups.

Sophey Says she saw the A to Z links on Twitter which just goes to show the effectiveness of the tweets.   Keep on tweeting about the Challenge people!

 Returning for another year of A to Z is Catherine Ensley's Words World and Wings.

As is Heather at Stretching My Wings -- Welcome back!

Nicki at Off the Beaten Plan described her intent for April.  Sounds like she'll have her hands full with a real Challenge to herself.

Shannon at Moments of Introspection provided a big send off to help start the Challenge sign-ups.

Tim Brannan is a Challenge veteran and knows how things roll with us.  Thanks, Tim, for helping to promote opening day on your blog The Other Side.

Also returning for another year is John at The Sound of One Hand Typing.  He put in a nice plug for this April's Challenge.

Alana from Writercize is also back for another go at the A to Z.   In a recent post where she gave the Challenge a promo she also included a link to the very nice story she did about me last year.

If you're still trying to decide whether or not to join in the A to Z event, pop on over to Raising the Curtain to see if that post convinces you.

Connie at Peanut Butter and Whine linked to the Challenge in her announcement to join up.

Another blogger returning for the A to Z fun is Patricia Stoltey, who offered some helpful tips about the Challenge at her blog Patricia Stoltey.

Jennifer at A Creative Exercise also called out for the cause of the A to Z.

A special A to Z post was offered at the blog Pouffia--another first timer for the Challenge.

Tami at Thrift Shop Commando let her A to Z intents be known to the world.

If I weren't doing the A to Z Challenge already, Mina at Some Dark Romantic would have convinced me with her great post about why one should do the April Challenge.

       I'm sure there are many more of you who provided special posts and we thank you for them.  We'll try to keep up with all of you, but we're sure you'll understand the magnitude of catching every one of your posts and listing them on this site.   Don't let that stop you!  Keep promoting the A to Z.

Special Co-Host Announcement:
     
      Damyanti, at her blog Daily (W)rite, has an offer of featuring books for authors during the #atozchallenge.    She still has a few openings.

     Here's what Damyanti has to say:   "Basically, I’m going to feature excerpts from 26 books with Titles beginning from the 26 letters of the alphabet. These could be books I have fallen in love with, or books by friends whose work I would recommend."

        If you have a book you'd like to have included go to Daily (W)rite for more information.


Be sure not to miss a single post at the A to Z Blog or you might be missing something you need to know.  Even if we do sometimes repeat ourselves.

       Will you be doing a feature post on your blog about the Challenge?    Can you think of some other ways to get the word out to bloggers about the A to Z?   What are some topics you'd like to see covered on this blog?    

Related articles

• 8 Places You Should Promote Your Blog to Get More Readers
• A - Z April Blog Hop Challenge
• Would you like your Book Excerpt featured this April? #atozchallenge

Alphabet Soup - Only One

This word puzzle is brought to you by Nicole at The Madlab Post...

Since Loca4Crafts won the previous Alphabet Soup game, today’s word scramble was going to focus on Letter L. We already covered that letter in all three of the Friday Fun Time series, so I decided to move on to the next one in the alphabet that has not yet been featured in Alphabet Soup -- O. It stands for One, particularly where movie titles are concerned.

Unscramble the following movie titles that make up one word only. The first commenter who is able to correctly unscramble all or most of these one-word titles at best wins this weeks’ Alphabet Soup game. Answers to the game and the name of the winner will be posted here at the A to Z blog during the next Friday Fun Time - Alphabet Remix.

1. bOdoyl is _________________________.
2. Osssebde is ______________________.
3. Opucossyt is ______________________.
4. hOanpr is ________________________.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Make sure to satisfy your curiosities about all of the A to Z Co-Hosts by adding a comment to the 2013 Co-Host Questionnaire.

Have a Fun Friday, Everybody!

Nicole
Also @MadlabPost on Twitter

Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly group blogging series that inspires discussion about entertainment in a whole new light and provides recommendations for your DVD, on-demand or theater fix. New topics are posted every Monday at The Madlab Post!

Guest Poster: Li Vooght ~ Great Ideas for A-Z 2013

Please join me in welcoming Li Vogt, two-time challenge participant, who works in the field of special education, adores history and science (especially

the weird and the gross), and admits to being a terrible procrastinator. She also does a little folk art painting in her spare time. While she'd like to publish a collection of flash fiction at some point, right now she's concentrating on honing her writing skills and getting individual pieces published. She's got some great ideas to get our creativity flowing for April 2013. 

Hi A to Z ers! 2012 was my second year of the challenge, and I had a great time both years. I met a ton

of people, and found some really great blogs to follow. The A to Z community is a warm and welcoming place to be throughout the year.

Since it's never too early to start thinking about the next one, here is my A to Z list of possible topics and resources to get your creative juices flowing.

A. Almanacs have lots of cool trivia and stats to give you ideas.

B. Beneficence. Highlight charitable organizations throughout the world.

C. Cliches. Love 'em, hate 'em, explain their origins.

D. Dictionary. As writers/bloggers, we can all benefit from an expanded vocabulary.

E. Eating. We all do it. Feature exotic foods, cool restaurants, worst cooking disasters.

F. Fiction. If you've always wanted to try your hand at short stories, the A to Z is a friendly environment

to give it a whirl.

G. Guinness Book Of World Records. Lots of people/events you could feature.

H. Home improvement. Any DIY whizzes out there? Give us a few pointers/projects.

I. Inventions. From the practical to the wacky, there are plenty. Or, make up your own!

J. Jokes. We can all use a laugh.

K. Kings, real or fantasy.

L. Languages. Feature a word each day in a particular language – or several!

M. Movies are a popular topic. Suggest alternate casts/endings, or dig up little known trivia.

N. News. My local newspaper generally has at least one odd/weird/interesting tidbit each day.

(Drunk Bicyclist Arrested After Hitting Police Cruiser!)

O. Origins – of words, folktales, customs, etc.

P. Prompts. There are several sites which feature writing prompts on a daily basis.

Q. Quotes. I thought that it was a lame idea, and yet I am still getting plenty of hits on that post.

R. Rare anything – elements, animals, plants, diseases.

S. Superheroes

T. Torture through the ages, for those with a slightly macabre bent.

U. UFOs or unexplained/paranormal phenomena.

V. Vintage. Choose a particular time period in the past and write about clothing, customs, everyday life.

W. Weather, wars, wines, witchcraft...it's a fun letter.

X. Xerox this list if you want, but for x ideas you're on your own.

Y. Yiddish words, expressions, and terminology.

Z. Zombies. Of course. Give us an A to Z prep list in case of attack.

Right now, I'm planning on writing flash fiction again for the 2013 challenge, but in creating this list I generated two ideas that I might pursue instead. I hope you find some inspiration here as well! 

See you at the 2013 A to Z Challenge...

Li @ I Write At Flash Fiction

P.S.  I of course find her "L" idea the best.  Ahem...probably because that's what I did last year.  (Shameless self-promotion...sorry.)

Tina

Call for More Guest Posters!

Greetings fellow A-Zers! I'm just dropping in to remind you that you are welcome to guest post here at the A-Z blog! It can be a post about any topic that would be of interest to your fellow alphabet friends, or if you're feeling shy, I've written a questionnaire that you could answer as your post.

Last year, as we were gearing up for the challenge, each of the co-hosts answered a set of questions so that all of you could get to know us better. This idea is similar, but the questions are a bit different. It's in the vein of Alex's every other Wednesday featuring a participant. However, he interviews them each personally, and this would be something you do on your own.

Guest post go up on Mondays and Tuesdays since we have regular features the other days of the week. If you're interested, please email me (Tina) at tndowney (at) gmail (dot) com. The info@ email address is about to just bounce everything directly to me anyway as we make the transition to the 2013 info@ address.

Here are the questions you can use to base your post on, if you'd like some guidance:

1. When did you start blogging and why? Tell us a bit about the kind of blog you have.  Be sure to include the name of your blog and the link.
   
   
2. How did you find out about the challenges, and how many have you done? What was your favorite part of participating?
   
   
3. What suggestions would you have for visiting new blogs during the A to Z challenge?  What blog visiting strategy has worked for you during the challenge?
   
   
4. What topics or themes would you like to see other bloggers cover during the challenge? What types of content (poetry, short stories, writing tips, photos, reviews, etc.) would you enjoy reading during the A to Z Challenge?
   
   
5. Please tell us something unusual about yourself – don't be shy. Check out my revelation from last year here.
   
   
   
   
6. Are you joining the challenge in 2013? Are you doing a theme? Please share any plans you have. We promise not to steal your ideas.
   
   
   If you'd like to guest, leave a note in the comments AND email me. I'm hoping for a bunch of brave participants so that we can have all our Mondays and Tuesdays filled until 2013. It's always good to have goals...
   
   
   Tina