Ups and Downs ( #AtoZChallenge )

You never can fully understand how up you can get if you haven't experienced a few downs now and then.  If life were consistently going our way then it might get kind of boring.

       How's your April been so far?  Has everything gone as you had expected?   Hopefully you haven't had to deal with any computer problems or sickness this year.   I know that some of you as well as I have had to face those difficulties in the past.  In other years I've had travel scheduled during April making the Challenge an extra challenging ordeal.  A few of you could be traveling this year and if so I hope you've handled A to Z okay.

       But that's life isn't it.  Good days, bad days.  Smooth sailing, rough waters.  Sometimes you're feeling fine, other times you want to scream out of frustration.  If life didn't have its little problems then we might have to create them just to make things more interesting.

        Look no further!   The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is just the remedy you need to really mix things up.  You likely have run over a few bumps in the road, but you've kept going until you've reached this point.  We usually expect ups and downs in life, but life works best when we accept the ups and downs.  Since it lasts for a month, the A to Z Challenge is a sort of microcosmic metaphor for life:  Filled with ups and downs, but hopefully a darn good time for all.

          Utterly fun!   That's how I see it.


If you wish to include a direct link to your blog post of this day's letter, please click:
 https://goo.gl/forms/6uQrstqCNj9XGY1x1
If you wish to visit other blogs in this bloghop challenge who have incorporated today's letter into their current post, please click:
 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fktfdOgINo_Udn38LuwFEdxAvrrwK7ncB-wAay8SwtY/edit?usp=sharing

Click here for the MASTER LIST of all participants who signed up for the #AtoZchallenge 2018!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nd9634nZWf1FmHFZ6ofKxBiIwGPWqkct9T9H5ugDQBA/edit?usp=sharing

      Have you run into any major problems in this year's Challenge?   What is your most dreaded blogging hassle?    Do you see your life as mostly ups, mostly downs, or a healthy balance of both? 

How To Solve The Biggest #AtoZChallenge Problems

Here is a list of the most common problems A to Z challenge participants encounter, along with suggestions of how to solve them.

Time Crunch/ Forgetting to Post :

• Write as many posts as possible ahead of time.
• Schedule your posts in advance.

Post Ideas (Too Many/ Too Few) :

• Using a theme helps focus ideas.
• Brainstorm with a friend (or a fellow A to Z participant) #AtoZBrainstorm

How about an #AtoZBrainstorm for #AtoZchallenge participants in need of theme or post ideas for April 💡⛈️

— J Lenni Dorner (@JLenniDorner) January 20, 2017

Lacking Comments :

• Be sure you have A to Z posts up.
• Check that people can leave you comments. (This may require asking someone who is not logged in as you to test it using another Internet-accessed device.)
• Make certain your link is posted on the correct blog post, Facebook thread, and is on Twitter. Be sure it is going to your blog. (And not, for example, to your Wordpress Admin page.)
• Leave more comments for others. (It's what bloggers do for each other. How important is it to you to be a valued member of the blogging community?)
• Include the #atozchallenge hashtag in your post titles and be sure to share your posts on social sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
• End each post by asking a simple, open-ended question.
• Consider hyperlinking your signature.

Instructions for hyperlinking a signature:
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2012/02/how-to-make-hyperlink-signature-guest.html
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2013/01/blogging-basics-hyperlink-signature.html
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2014/03/get-more-visits-by-hyperlinking-your.html
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2016/03/a-to-z-tips-creating-signature-for.html

Not Enough Blog Post Shares :

• End posts by asking people to share them.
• Enable sharing links at the bottom of the posts.
• Come up with creative blog post titles that will make sense and intrigue people.
• Share the posts of others.

Not Enough Social Media or Blog Followers :

• Check that your links actually work. (Sending people to Twitter.com or Goodreads.com is not going to get you followers. Either link to your profile on social sites or don’t have those buttons at all.)
• Be sure people can still get to your follow links when using a mobile device.
• Follow others.
• End blog posts by asking people to please follow you.
• Follow back when someone comments that they are from the #AtoZChallenge and have followed you.
• Keep your posts and comments interesting, relevant, engaged, and friendly.

by J Lenni Dorner
Reference and Speculative Fiction Author
A to Z Challenge Co-Host
Operation Awesome Debut Author Spotlight Organizer