Well, What Now?

So, we have four days left in this year's A to Z Challenge, and I'm sure some of you are going to ask yourselves "Well, what now?" You've made some serious changes in your blogging lifestyle to get through this month (or not), you've probably made some new blog buddies, you've read some new blogs... and, if you're like me, you feel badly that you didn't do more...

Well, just because April is done and dusted doesn't mean you can't just keep going. To the best of my knowledge, no one's blog shuts down until the next challenge. No one says you can't read some of the blogs you didn't get to read during the month. That's what the Master List is for, so now would be the time, if you haven't done so already, to snag a copy of it.

You might want to go through your comments and make sure you've replied to everyone, and that you've visited everyone who visited you. You might even want to subscribe to their blogs. (By the way, did you know that you can subscribe to Blogger feeds using the Wordpress reader?)

Another thing you might want to do is start giving some thought to possible topics for next year's Challenge (you will be back, I just know it!).

We're going to do the A to Z Road Trip again this year, as always. Signups start May 10!

Hope you've had fun and found some great reading material. See you in the funny papers!

John Holton

Be sure your blog displays the participant badge so people know that you're doing the Challenge!

Please consider getting a t-shirt.

Be sure to get a copy of the Master List! Go here and select File > Save A Copy.

V is for Variety #atozchallenge

Today your challenge (should you choose to accept it) is to switch it up a little! Variety is good for creativity and good for the soul - especially in times like this when many forms of entertainment are not available, or have migrated online. 

So, change one thing today! Here are some options:

1. Find a Category on the Master List that you usually are not interested in, and visit some blogs!

2. Write a genre you don't usually write!

3. Read a genre you don't usually read!

4. Find a new challenge! (another blogging challenge, a reading challenge, a kindness challenge, etc.)

5. Try a new form of exercise!

6. Eat breakfast for dinner!

We are nearing the end of the A to Z Challenge, but it is not quite over yet. I hope you all are having fun posting and visiting! Don't forget to schedule a Reflections post (Reflections starting May 3rd) so you can tell us about the experience! :)

U is for Ultimatum #atozchallenge

 U is for Ultimatum

Give yourself an ultimatum (don’t accept them from anyone else!). Use that ultimatum to challenge yourself to do the best you can as we get close to finishing out A to Z! We have one more week. Set your ultimatum to help yourself achieve your goals!

As we end the week, I’m specifically talking to those of you (myself included) who haven’t quite made our goals yet. Give yourself an ultimatum to meet those goals.

Meet that goal OR ____ [fill in the blank]. What happens? Give yourself some consequences. Or better yet, give yourself a reward!

My Ultimatum: 

If I don’t finish my goal, I don’t get to go on a shopping spree at a book store!

Then work toward it. Figure out what’s motivating to you and set your mind to it! With just 5 posts left, we can do it! Don’t give up now.

T is for Takeaways #atozchallenge

T is for Takeaways

As we start to wind down (only six more posts to go!), what Takeaways do you have from this year’s A to Z? Have you challenged yourself in new and interesting ways? Have you done anything you’re particularly proud of? Share with us in the comments what your Takeaways are so far!

Then get ready to share your Reflections in a couple of weeks. Our Reflections officially open on May 3rd, and brainstorming your Takeaways is a good starting point for that. If nothing comes to mind, look back to our bonus challenges and see if you can squeeze one in this final week.

My personal takeaways so far:

- Blogging is so much easier and so much more fun when you share the load. Bringing on a co-blogger in January has been the best decision I ever made, writing-wise.

- A to Z is a lot more fun the years I had pre-scheduled all my posts. I feel like it’s been a struggle to go out looking for new blogs, but I did manage to do that some this month. I’m very much looking forward to May and the Road Trip (which officially opens on May 10th). If you aren’t familiar, the Road Trip is when you post the link to ONE of your A to Z posts that you want people to go back and read. It’s a lot of fun, even if we are going back and reading something from a month prior.

- I need a challenge to achieve my goals. Just having a vague goal isn’t enough of a motivator. During a sprint, I can write so much more than just setting a timer for myself.

- I am a social creature. I am desperate to be back into normal socializing patterns. It’s coming! Sooon!

Okay, so I knew some of these things about myself before, but I bet you didn’t!
Now it’s your turn. Share with us your Takeaways so far!

Solve Word Puzzles #atozchallenge

Solve Word Puzzles!
This is yet another game you could play on your blog.
Once again, ANSWERS will be posted at: https://twitter.com/AprilA2Z on Sunday!

Here are SIX words with SEVEN letters, each starting with S:

1. S _ _ _ _ _ _ Hint: 😞😢😭 unhappy
2. S _ _ _ _ _ _ Hint: An expensive red spice
3. S _ _ _ _ _ _ Hint: the rescue of a wrecked or disabled ship
4. S _ _ _ _ _ _ Hint: these have an absorbent, porous body
5. S _ _ _ _ _ _ Hint: multiply a number by itself
6. S _ _ _ _ _ _ Hint: 🤔 what you are when you can't figure this out

Or perhaps you prefer a word search? https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/2139471/a-to-z-wordsearch/

You'll seek another set of six words with seven-letters starting with S, plus four words relating to the #atozchallenge.


Be sure your blog displays a participant badge so everyone knows they're in the right place!
Please consider getting a t-shirt.

The Master List - know what blogs are officially taking part in the 2021 challenge:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mvSm8FsuFVkOQulQ0EgzslGiNd8CZWWrqaRhCG8Sv4o

#atozchallenge R is for Ring Around the Rosie - guest post by C. Lee McKenzie

The game called Ring Around the Rosie has a mixed and long history. There are reports of one version appearing as early as the 1300s, other versions came into popular use in the 17 and 1800s. Today, young children still link hands, walk in a circle, and sing the lyrics.

Some believe the “ring around the Rosie” refers to the sores that appeared on plague victims’ skin—the “pocket full of posies” to either the practice of putting flowers inside doctors’ masks to protect them while they treated patients with plague, or gravesite tributes. The repeated “Ashes. Ashes.” was supposed to mimic the sound of sneezing while “We all fall down…” Well, if the game did refer to the Black Death, it’s obvious what that sentence meant.


I’d rather just think of it as a fun game that happens to begin with today’s stellar letter R.


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The Master List - know what blogs are officially taking part in the 2021 challenge:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mvSm8FsuFVkOQulQ0EgzslGiNd8CZWWrqaRhCG8Sv4o

Quiz Time!

If you find yourself scrambling for something to write a post about, I have a suggestion: A QUIZ!

"Quiz" probably isn't the word for what I'm thinking of. I've seen it called a meme, a blog hop, even a blog award. Whatever you call it, you ask some questions and invite your readers to answer them, either in the comments or on their own blog with a "ping back" to yours. (Or, if you work with Blogger, a comment on your blog with the address of their answers.)

One I participate in is Share Your World, hosted by Melanie. She gives us four or five discussion questions, which we answer on our own blogs and "ping back" to hers. It's fun to do, and even if the questions are serious, I usually find a way to make my answer humorous, which is not the same as humerus, the bone between your shoulder and your elbow.

Give it a try sometime. I think you'll enjoy it.

Be sure your blog displays the participant badge so people know that you're doing the Challenge!

Please consider getting a t-shirt.

Be sure to get a copy of the Master List! Go here and select File > Save A Copy.

P is for Perfection (or lack thereof) #atozchallenge

Are you a perfectionist? It can be both a good and a bad thing. Do you struggle with needing everything you do to be absolutely perfect, just so? Is it a driving force in your work, or does it keep you from writing? Do you keep endlessly tweaking your WIP, and not letting anyone read it until you think it's good enough?

If any of these things sound familiar, I have a challenge for you:

DO SOMETHING 'OKAY'. Not perfect. Just okay.

Write something imperfect. Show an unfinished story to a stranger. Publish a blog post that could probably use more editing. Take a leap. Not everything has to be perfect all the time. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. (It really is harder than it sounds.)

And if you are on the reader/commenter side of this thing, here are some things you can do to help:

1. Compliment specific things! It means a whole lot to writers to read compliments that go into detail.

2. Tell people what you want more of. More of that character. More of that kind of story. More of that fantasy world. It is a lot more inspiring than "constructive criticism." 

3. Don't message people with "I found a typo!" Just. Don't.

Happy writing, happy reading, happy blogging! :)

Off Day Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is an "off day" in the Challenge. Remember, we take Sundays off from publishing A to Z Challenge posts. So tell me, what are your plans for tomorrow?

• Write and schedule this week's Challenge posts. Many of us completed all our Challenge posts and scheduled them before April started, but many others are writing their posts while the Challenge is ongoing. You might want to use tomorrow to get a few posts written and scheduled.
• Write and schedule this week's non-Challenge posts. Just because the A to Z Challenge is ongoing doesn't mean that all other blogging activity has to come to a halt. I have several features (Song of the Day, One Liner Wednesday etc.) that I'm continuing this month. How about you?
• Catch up on your Challenge reading. We get so busy reading and replying to comments on our blogs that we might let our reading and commenting on other blogs fall behind. That's part of what Sunday's for. It's also what the Road Trip is all about. More on that later.
• Something else (maybe nothing?) Spend time with your family! Watch a ballgame! Do some more work on that novel! Take the whole day off from blogging and the Challenge. It'll all be there on Monday.

Whatever you choose to do tomorrow, enjoy your day! We're past the halfway point. Only two more weeks to go!

Be sure your blog displays the participant badge so people know that you're doing the Challenge!

Please consider getting a t-shirt.

Be sure to get a copy of the Master List! Go here and select File > Save A Copy.

N is for Never Give Up!

N is for Never Give Up!

Think about the challenges you have set for yourself this month. We’re just over the halfway point in the month. Have you given up? Are you still working toward your goal?

If you’re making good progress on your challenges, great! Tell us about it in the comments.

If you’ve given up, think about how you could restart your personal challenge or adapt it to fit in the second half of the month. It’s never too late to get back up and try again!

My first A to Z was abysmal. I think I finished finally in June(?), but I never gave up. I kept going. I started my blog just so I could participate in the A to Z Challenge. That whole year, I had only 155 visitors to my blog. Just five years later, I have had 858 visitors in 2021 SO FAR, and we’re only 1/4 of the way through the year. Posting consistently and visiting other blogs has made all the difference.

But all that time, I never gave up. I kept going. I posted whenever I could. And in the end, it has paid off. The moral of the story is NEVER GIVE UP. Keep trying! And let us know how it’s going for you in the comments.

Magnifying Glass Game #atozchallenge 🔎

🔎 Magnifying Glass Game:

In this game, you post close-up (magnified 🔍) pictures on your blog and visitors guess in the image in the comments.

(You'll also find out how dusty your camera is. Yikes. 😬)
ANSWERS will be posted at: https://twitter.com/AprilA2Z on Sunday!

The following all start with the letter M:

(Hint: marine mammal)

(Hint: may attract metal)

(Hint: Meat condiment)

(Hint: 💪🧀)

(Hint: Makes 🔥 fire)

How many can you guess correctly? 

 

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THE SIGN-UPS ARE CLOSED!
The Master List - know what blogs are officially taking part in the 2021 challenge:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mvSm8FsuFVkOQulQ0EgzslGiNd8CZWWrqaRhCG8Sv4o

#atozchallenge L is for Ludo ~ Guest post by Jemima Pett

L is for Ludo

Ludo is a board game derived from the ancient game Pachisi. Most of us have probably played at some time! 2 to 4 players roll a die in turn and move their piece around the board accordingly. You have to get all your pieces home first to win.

I also played it as Kappit - probably a version of the German Coppit.

Picture by Micha L Reiser (via Wikipedia)

Ludo as a character

Ludo is the name I gave to the Pirate King in the second of my series The Princelings of the East. He was eventually exiled in that book. I interviewed him in 2012, and realised he would return to cause trouble, which he did, from book eight, The Princelings of the North, to the final one, Princelings Revolution, which came out last October.

This is part of that interview: you can see why I wanted to write more about him… now who asked if I had more spin-offs to write?

Jemima meets Ludo, the Pirate King

I’m sitting with Ludo at a beach table under a cloth awning, drinking the local wine. I ask how the pirating business is going. He glares at me a lot.

“I was the legitimate crown prince of Castle Marsh, going about my business according to the rules laid down by others. They were happy for me to take their produce across the water and bring them the profit, with a little charge for the service. They accused me of smuggling. Then they closed off my source of business and I formed a plan to survive in spite of them. And they called that piracy.”

There was nothing about this that came out in the trial.

“Pah, trial. One step away from a lynching to save certain people’s skins.”

I ask him to name names. He is a big chap, an imposing presence. His tan is an even deeper red than it was when I last saw him, at the trial. His black eyepatch is just as rakish. I’m not sure he actually needs it. He has a very stylish hat with a wide brim, which currently lies on the bench next to him. 

He declines, after consideration, so I ask him how he came to take up sailing. 

“Got in with a sporty crowd who raced small boats, then got onto one of the big ships and loved it. Told grandfather I was going to take a year to sail on these big ships, then come back and be crown prince properly, and he wasn’t bothered, so I did.  Took me six months to get my own ship and crew together, get the business going nicely, earning lots of gold, then someone turned everyone against me.”

“So you think you should still be king of Castle Marsh?”

“Of course I should. Although I’d rather have the ships. Free to roam, no responsibility except to your crew, and they obey you anyway. I’m doing well now, thank you!”

So while he doesn’t want any responsibility for Marsh, he still wants the recognition and the title.  

He doesn’t have any contacts in the realms he wishes to keep up, “although Uncle Vlad is a good sport.” He surprises me by recounting an embarrassing moment; I had expected him to be one of those that didn’t have them.

He’d most like to change the power play in the realms so he can be king again. He does not explain what he means by ‘power play’. The Kings’ Council, which unites the various castles, deems that he could not live in harmony with them. So is he an outsider who sees authority working against him, or is there actually someone in the Council working to undermine the peace? I am unsettled by Ludo’s accusations—or are they merely insinuations? 

I feel increasingly uncomfortable in his presence. The ferry is docking at the quay, so I have an excuse to finish.

We exchange formal thanks for the interview, and I get up, relieved. He has a casual manner that could lull you into thinking he’s a playboy, an anachronism, playing at being a pirate. But he’s not. He’s the real thing, and he’s dangerous.

About Jemima Pett

Jemima writes fantasy and science fiction, and is writing the third in her scifi series during the April AtoZ. Check on her progress at her blog jemimapett.com. She also has several books of her flash fiction coming out in time for summer. Get Critters and Crises at Amazon now, and pre-order Greed and Retribution, out 6th May.

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What Would You Do For Klondike?

Here's a hint if you're feeling the need to rest: Play a few games of Klondike!

I've found that, when writing ideas stop coming to me, the best thing to do is to give myself something mindless to do. Klondike is perfect for that: it's challenging, yet the type of game that you know almost instinctively how to play. This gives you a chance to let your mind work on something more challenging, like what to write for your next post. For an added boost, put on some instrumental music or white noise to quiet the voices in your head.

Don't have a card deck nearby, or don't have a Solitaire program on your computer? Try World of Solitaire. You can play right in your browser. And if Klondike's not your thing, there are hundreds of other solitaire games you can play there.

Only one thing: don't forget to stop and come back to the writing. Okay? Okay!

Be sure your blog displays the participant badge so people know that you're doing the Challenge!

Please consider getting a t-shirt.

Be sure to get a copy of the Master List! Go here and select File > Save A Copy.