Arrival! A to Z is Here! ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

All Aboard!

                         (Charlesbridge)

     The A to Z train has pulled into the station once again.  The train has arrived, but this is just the beginning of a great journey.   Many of you have climbed onto the train to start off another trek through the alphabet.  It might be a first for some or just another journey with which you're familiar.

      This year promises to be another wild ride with all sorts of sites to see and ideas to entertain us.  The trip tickets are free and all that is required from those riding with us is a bit of work that is hopefully more like play.  If you've got your mind set in the right place then you're going to have a great time.  But many of you have been down this way before and know pretty much what's going to be happening this April.

       Whether you're a new traveler on this journey or a veteran of this train trip, you've got what it takes.  Resilience and creativity.  Hang it there.   The trip might seem a bit wild and grueling, but don't let it overwhelm you.  It's all about fun!

        Are we ready?   Then let's go!

#AtoZChallenge 2023 Master List SIGN UP for the April #Blogging Challenge

Get your graphics: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/2023-graphics-to-z-challenge.html

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

What will your theme be, if you'll have one at all?

Sign up for the 2023 challenge! Click this:

https://forms.gle/1XKdAiEiYjdgHksZ7

Get on the Master List! You aren't officially part of the challenge without completing this sign-up form.

(The Theme Reveal is a *separate* A to Z Challenge activity. Signing up for the Theme Reveal did NOT automatically sign you up for the Challenge. Thank you.)

What information will you need to sign up this year?

• Blog name -- This is what you call your blog. It doesn't include the word "Wordpress." ⛔ It isn't a link. There's NO "www" or ".com"⚠ -- It's just what you call your blog. This blog's name, for example, is "April Blogging from A to Z Challenge."
• Author's Name -- How you would like people to refer to you. ("Great post, *name*!")
• Blog Link -- This is a link to your blog. It isn't the hidden place where you create posts. It's what people type or click to get to see your posts. (For example, you're currently viewing "http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com" which is our LINK)
• It must go to a PUBLIC blog where anyone doing the challenge may COMMENT WITHOUT LOGGING IN, SIGNING UP, or SUBSCRIBING. 
• Category -- There are 49 choices, including the option to "prefer not to say." Pick whatever best aligns with your theme. Don't have a theme? Pick whatever best matches the type of blog you have.

• There's then an option to name your own category if you couldn't find something suitable.
• Adult content? -- As this is an all-ages event, there is an obligation to note if a site is unsuitable for young people. Adult content blogs generally have any of the following:
• Excessive Violence — If your blog reads like a how-to guide for Hannibal Lecter, you have excessive violence. If you've written the A to Z guide of how to pummel someone, make 💣, create 🔪 weapons from ordinary objects, or kill without detection, you have excessive violence.
• Nudity for sexual purposes — If you write erotica, you have adult content. 👙 If body parts normally covered by swimwear or underwear are visible on your blog, you've got adult content. This gets tricky with art blogs, so if you fall into that gray area, ask the team for a ruling (before April 8, please). 
• Strong and frequent harsh language — If the F word is being used as a verb, or it is used more than three times in 500 words, that is considered adult content. If most of your blog posts have three curse words, that is adult content. 🤬
• Continuous story? -- If someone visits your blog for the first time in mid-April, will they be able to figure out what's going on? Or will it be like reading a book from the middle, watching a movie without the first half, or trying to enjoy a show without character introductions?
• People may wish to visit daily to keep up. Or might want to read it all at the end of the month.
• Voting? -- Some bloggers will let the audience decide what their next post will be.
• Blogs that mark this as "yes" especially need to attract commenters daily!
• Will you hop to other blogs? -- The April Blogging Challenge has two parts. One is posting to your blog every day in April (except most Sundays), and the other is commenting on the blogs of others in the challenge. Here are your choices:
• I will seek out new blogs from the list 😁
• I will visit those who comment on my blog 😊
• I will visit my friends' blogs 😏
• I'm new, so I don't know yet 🤔
• I won't be visiting other blogs 😐
• Other:
• Author's Pronouns -- he/him, she/her, they/them, abstain, other (Use "abstain" if you prefer not to select the pronouns by which others may correctly refer to you.)
• Year -- The challenge has run for THIRTEEN years! What year did you first try it?
• Twitter Link (optional) -- If you use it. Remember, this link starts with "https://twitter.com/" and then has your handle. There's no "@" symbol.
• Facebook Link (optional) -- If you'd like people to friend or follow you there.
• Instagram Link (optional) -- If you use it.
• Other social media (optional) -- If you use some other social media site you wish to share.
• Comment Name (optional) -- If, when you leave comments, your name does not match the one on the MasterList. If when you comment on other Wordpress sites, you "comment as" a name different from what you have on the MasterList.
• Physical location of blogger (optional) Country first please -- This is an International blog hop. A great way to find others beyond your homeland, or to discover those living nearby, is to share a general location.
• Theme (optional) -- Please keep it to 100 characters or less. A short summary of your planned posts for April. https://tinyurl.com/AZtheme22 The theme reveal hop had the option for longer descriptions.

That's it. Now you know what to expect when you sign-up. It looks like a lot, but it doesn't take long to fill out the Google form. 

Remember to make sure that your blog is open to public comments and that people do not need to "log in, sign up, or subscribe" to leave you a comment.
(If you use Wix -- https://support.wix.com/en/article/wix-blog-about-wix-comments#guest-commenting  -- please learn how to allow people who don't use Wix to leave you a comment.)
(You must create and sign into a Tumblr account before you can leave comments. This is why the A to Z Challenge does NOT recognize Tumblr blogs as official participants.)
(The A to Z Blogging Challenge is not a "blog by email sign-up" either. We do not support or recognize "private blogs" that request email addresses be sent first, and then blog links or posts are privately sent later.)
Any blogs found in violation will be removed. Please privately contact a team member if you feel you've found such a blog on the Master List. (Include the blog name, please.)

Master List Sign-up Form
https://forms.gle/1XKdAiEiYjdgHksZ7

Are you ready to make posts and hop to other blogs this April?

bloglovin.com/blogs/blogging-from-a-to-z-april-challenge-3294742
@a.to.z.challenge @atozchallenge
@AprilA2Z Our hashtag is #AtoZChallenge
Please follow us on social media.


File, Make a Copy of the Master List for yourself! Click this:
https://tinyurl.com/3we8aa84
The Master List will be complete on April 9, when sign-ups close.
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!

Copy of Theme Reveal List 2023 #atozchallenge

Here's something new we're testing.

Jayden has created a way for the spreadsheet FOR THE THEME REVEAL 2023 to be visible here on the site. 
This is not your personal copy. You won't be able to reorganize the entries. You can't change "no" to "yes" as you leave comments for others. 
You CAN see if anyone noted "other" with their theme category, and see which sites are "adult," by scrolling left and right. (see the image pointing out where the bottom scrollbar is located). 

Depending on feedback, if this method is popular with our blog-hopping participants, we will make a post like this for the other forms too. So please, let us know if you enjoy having the completed list on a post on our site.