Here's An Idea!: The Shopping List (#atozchallenge)

Found shopping list (Photo credit: vidalia_11)

 
      In my June offering of Here's An Idea! I discussed the A to Z theme of using lists of favorites in the April Challenge.    Another blogger offered a tongue in cheek idea that actually sounds kind of like an interesting concept.   Here's what she had to say in her comment to my post:

Of course I am unsure of what to write many times.
I do like going through lists but don't make any except shopping lists.
But after the challenge I have started appreciating lists. Might even do a few.

       Sometimes what seems like an almost silly comment or just a passing thought can turn into a darn good idea.  I like this one!   Why not use a shopping list as a prompt for the A to Z Challenge?

        There are tons of possibilities with this idea.  You can start with a shopping list and apply your daily letters to anything from recipes to food histories.  Get creative with your presentation in the shopping list format and then run wild with it.

       You don't have to limit this idea to food either.  You can make up Christmas lists, Back to School shopping lists, or any other list that has to do with shopping themes.

        Our readers come up with the neatest ideas that really get my brain gears cranking.  How about you?  Do you read through the comments of the posts to see what other readers have to offer?   Let us know your ideas as well.   I'm sure there are some "list" ideas that you can think of.

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Rosanna: Strategies for Next Year's Challenge

Today please welcome Rosanna of  Writing and Photo Prompts from Life. She hails from The Philippines, and has completed two challenges. She's so excited for next year, she's ready share some tips to get your thoughts going. It's never to early to start planning!

Last year I joined my very first 30-day blogging challenge - The Blogging from A to Z  2012 Challenge - and it was quite stressful.  After picking up my "Survivor" badge, I wondered if it was worth all the stress and decided that it wasn't.

"No more blogging challenges for me."  It was a firm decision that stayed with me till early this year, but as April approached, I asked myself, "Why not?"  I had been mulling the idea of featuring my country, the Philippines, in my blog and I figured that the A to Z challenge would be the perfect way to highlight the many beautiful aspects of my country.

I survived this year's challenge as well, and I'm proud to say that this time I had fun. I did things differently this year: I began the challenge with a list of topics that I wanted to write about - from A to Z of course. This year, I also made it a point to visit at least ten other blogs after posting - and that by itself  was a fun experience.  It was like visiting different places and meeting all sorts of people.

After this year's A to Z challenge, I was ready to join other challenges - both blogging and photo challenges. As a result, I have been blogging more and I've been having a blast. I've also been learning a lot about blogging, and come next year's challenge, I know I will have more tools at my disposal, which will make the one-month challenge easier, and will leave me with more time to visit other blogs.

Up until recently, my blogging skills have been quite limited, and as it was with my posts in this year's challenge, I wrote articles accompanied by photos in each and every blog post.  Now I know there are other ways to blog - a late bloomer I am!

Here are some things I hope to do for next year's challenge:

• Feature video clips in some blogs. As we all know, there are thousands of videos on file on YouTube. To embed a video in a blog post, all one need do is click on "Share" which appears under the video box.  Upon clicking, a highlighted code will appear.  Copy the code and paste it on your blog.
• Do a photo essay - colorful, inspiring, and easier to do than writing so much text!
• Switch guest posts with another participant
• Reblog an interesting post by one of the participants
• Feature a list of the five, seven - even ten - participating blogs I like best
• Interview one of the challenge organizers or another blogging participant
• Feature the blog of a frequent commenter

As you can see, I'm already gearing up for next year's Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  See you then!

Those are some great goals! I also encourage you to learn something new when it comes to the technical side of your blog. Thanks for taking the time to be with us today, Rosanna!

~Tina