How to use the #atozchallenge to help your writing efforts

How to use the A to Z Challenge to help your writing efforts
Timothy S. Brannan, The Other Side

It is that time of year again. The holidays are done. The kids are all back in school. It is way too cold for yardwork or being outside so naturally our thoughts turn to writing.

Or maybe that is just me.

Strange Brew cover by Peter Bradley

I think I will hear some notes of agreement from many of you when I say I am not sure what I would be doing if I couldn’t write.  It is what keeps me sane…if you consider listening to imaginary people in my head and writing down what they should be doing sane, then yes.

I write. I blog. The lines blur until it comes to the final product.  But honestly it doesn’t have too.
Allow me to take a step back.  I have been blogging now since about 2007, prior to that I maintained a website since about 1995 or so.  I have always had something to say.  I began blogging as a way to gather up my thoughts for the book I was working on at the time.  So for me there is a lot of harmony between “book” writing and “blogging” writing.  I first took part in the A to Z Challenge in 2011.  I made it my own goal to visit and comment on everyone’s blog.  My own efforts though were less focused, I posted what I wanted on that day.  Yeah. I was pretty busy in April of 2011.  For 2012 I went really crazy and blogged on a theme (which is in my opinion the best way to go) and I also posted on my other blog, The Freedom of Nonbelief with the A to Z of the atheists that had most influenced me.  Both of these were good and it was a lot of fun, but I was still really busy.

Last year though I hit on the magical recipe.  On my main blog I actually focused on something I was doing for my book writing and made the A to Z part of my research and rough draft cycle.

The Witch

I write game books. That is books for Roleplaying Games. Think Dungeons & Dragons. Actually that is exactly what I was doing.  I began my blog as a sort of a “design journal” for my WIP “The Witch”.  As I went on I added another book, “Eldritch Witchery”.  So yes I write a lot about witches, magic and all that fun stuff.  Last year I did an A to Z of Demons.  This will all become part of my next book which I am currently working on the drafts.   This idea though really struck a chord with me.  Not only did I get my posts start and done sooner, I could use the feedback given by all my visitors to make edits in my document.  It went beyond the normal theme and into “theme with a purpose”.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to do the A to Z again this year.  I have new Kickstarter out for my next book on witches (and it is a huge manuscript) and that is taking up a lot of my time now.  Plus I didn’t get as far as I wanted on the demon book as I wanted.   But yet the material I got out of it last year is just too good NOT to do it again.

So this year I am once again doing my “Theme with a purpose”.  At present I have a few WIPs on my hard-drive. I am a freelancer and I use Kickstarter to help fund editing, art and layout so my projects are largely my own.  Top of my list is an A to Z of Vampires.  I have wanted to get a vampire book out for some time and it was almost my topic last year.

Here is my strategy:

1. Make the A to Z posting part of my own research.  I tend to research all over the place, so with something like this it is good to start early.  I might not have anything on Aswang yet  but a lot on Baobhan Sìth.   
2. The posts are notes, not the final document.  With the Demons last year sometimes I all had was a name and a vague idea on how I was going to use it.  Other times I had material that I could almost cut and paste right into my document.  The goal though isn’t to be “cut and paste” ready but have an idea on what I want. 
3. Post for feedback.  During the A to Z I get a much wider variety of readership than usual.  I also get more people replying to my posts.  You might not know anything about my games but there are enough horror writers on this challenge that I am certain to get some great feedback.
4. Make it worth your time and make it fun.  No one will read my posts if it looks like they were a chore to do.  If I am phoning it in so speak cause I can’t find a Vampire for “Q” (and I haven’t yet) then why should I expect anyone to read?  By the way if you do know of a Vampire that starts with Q then email me!

As of the writing of this post there are almost 600 people signed up for the A to Z Challenge and about 20% of these self-label themselves with the Writing (WR) or Book (BO) labels.   So this is something they could certainly try and anyone could do it.

Doing the A to Z Challenge is a Challenge, but it doesn’t have to be a Chore.

About the Author
Timothy S. Brannan is the author of The Other Side blog, http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/
He is also the author of “The Ghosts of Albion RPG”, “The Witch”, “Eldritch Witchery” and the upcoming “Strange Brew” which is currently in a Kickstarter Campaign. Please stop by and see if this is something you would like to support.

Related articles

• Tim Brannan guest post
• Eldritch Witchery Print Proof
• Guest Posting on A to Z: The Value of the Blogfest
• Ultimate Witch & Warlock

Getting to Know Your Fellow #Bloggers #atozchallenge

Featuring New Blogs and Blogs with

 <100 Followers

One of the things we like to do here at the A – Z Challenge is help new bloggers, and bloggers who don’t have a lot of followers, get more followers here in Blog Land. It’s one of those little things we do, to promote community and encourage people with their blogs. We even started a page at the top of this blog titled, Blogs with <100 Followers, because every blogger deserves to be cheered on with their blogging.

Here are a few blogs we know you’ll enjoy visiting that we’ve found.

My Daily Disaster: Matthew is a soldier sharing his unique perspective on how he sees the world. His blog is brand new, and his posts will definitely give you food for thought.

Fanny Barnes Thornton: Fanny participates in a lot of blogfests, so you never know what she might be writing about next. She’s an exciting writer, who shares all sorts of neat things about her world on her blog.

Runner 5: Runner 5 is currently in the midst of a 6-month total overhaul challenge. She’s taking one day at a time, to make herself into the best person she can be.

Yeakley/Jones Family History: Ann Hinds explores her family history on her blog. She’s a strong writer, with some wonderful stories to tell.

Midlist Writer: Sean McLachlan is a freelance writer specializing in history and travel. His blog includes satisfying book reviews and an eclectic variety of information bloggers, writers and readers will be sure to find exciting.

Of course, this brief list is far from exhaustive, as is the page of <100 followers we’ve added to this blog. Be sure and take a browse through all the links there, and if you know of someone not listed, please don’t hesitate to share a link to their blog in the comments.

Thanks for being such a great part of our community here.

M. J.

©2014 All Rights Reserved
Photo credit: Blogfrog, Blogfrog Logo, CCA-Share Alike 3.0

Calling all #atozchallenge participants to #SocialMedia !

A to Z April Blogging challenge is all about networking, connecting with interesting bloggers and making blog friends. 

To that end we usually recommend following other blogs, commenting on their posts.

Another way to cement these relationships is to follow each other on social media.

One of the things I want to encourage this year for AZers is cross connection-- follow as many AZ bloggers as possible on the following social networks:

Facebook

Twitter

G+ page

Start with following Blogging from A to Z April Challenge :

Facebook page

Twitter id and hashtag: @AprilA2Z and #atozchallenge

G+ page: +April Hosteam 

I'll also share my details here:
My co-host blog: Amlokiblogs
My participant blog: Daily (w)rite

My Facebook 

My Twitter: @damyantig

My G+: +D Biswas 

If you're on any of these networks, leave me the details in the comments below-- I'll follow you, and encourage others to do the same. While adding your social media details, make sure to mention the name and number of your blog in the sign up list. 

Use this format for your details:

My Blog Name and Number on the list
My Facebook
My Twitter
My G+

Follow each other as more AZ participants drop in their social media deets in the comments below.

Following other AZ participants on social media would create a buzzing network. And who doesn't want more followers, right?

 It would deepen a sense of community come April and the Blogging from A to Z Challenge! So what are you waiting for? Sign up for the challenge if you haven't already, and leave us your details in the comments.

Copyright and Copy Wrong

By M. J. Joachim

Copyright Defined

Copyright is the exclusive right given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same. Without copyright, anyone can use and copy your work.

By law, intellectual property is owned by the individual who created it, and is therefore inherently protected by copyright. This applies to creative works including writing, photos, artwork, digital work and more. If you made it, you own it, and it is protected by copyright, unless you give it away.

In other words, no one can reproduce, alter, distribute or display your work, without your permission first. You also have the right to determine how your work is used, changed, distributed or displayed. You even have the right to sell your work, trade your work and donate your work. No one else has these rights for your personal intellectual property, or the work produced from its creativity.

Including the © symbol at the end of your posts (and in the sidebar of your blog), along with All Rights Reserved is a valid way of protecting your work with copyright. It is also a good idea to include the year. “As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author, plus an additional 70 years,” according to the U. S. Copyright Office.

By adding your copyright notice to your work, you automatically have a time and date stamp on it, something necessary to prove the work was yours to begin with, should you have a dispute with someone unauthorized who uses your work. It is not enough to simply put your work out there, in hopes that no one takes it. You have little recourse if they do, especially if you can’t prove it’s been copyrighted, and the date your work was originally published.

Crediting Others for Intellectual Property

Photos and artwork, often used to enhance written articles, belong to the person who created them. Many of them are free for the taking, provided some fundamental rules are followed, mainly that of crediting the author and acknowledging the provided copyright agreement.

Pictures on the web provide information about whether or not anyone can use them, as well as how they can be used. They also provide the terms for people to use them. Many are for sale, some offer minimal rights for a one-time fee, others are free to use, providing you credit the author, per the specified instructions listed where the picture can be found.

It is not enough to post a picture stating it came from Wikipedia or someone’s website or blog. It is not enough to link to the picture, without giving credit as specified by the author.

To find out the copyright information for a picture you want to use, click on the picture and read the listed copyright information. Then follow it to the letter, before using the picture for your own purposes. If you can’t find copyright information, it is advisable to contact the owner of the work and ask if you can use it. By doing so, you ensure that you are protected from actions of piracy being filed against you.

Thank you for visiting and commenting on the A – Z Challenge Blog today.

M. J.

©2014 All Rights Reserved

Photo credit: Copyright (Simple English) Wikibook Header, Public Domain; Copyright Machine, *doctormo, Creative Commons Attribution – Share Alike 3.0

Boldly Going Where no Swedish Immigrant Has Gone Before! #AtoZChallenge

Today I have the honor of interviewing a dear friend and fellow Challenge co-host, Tina from Life is Good. Trust me, she rocks, and Tina makes the behind-the-scenes stuff a lot of fun!

Her theme for the Challenge was Adventures in America, and she told personal stories about her first year as an immigrant.

As she stated on her blog – “These are the continuing adventures of a Swedish immigrant during her first year as an American. She boldly went where she'd never gone before...please come along on Adventures in America.”

1 – Your first year in America was quite the adventure! Did it hurt your head trying to remember everything from that first year?

Funny you should ask. It WAS hard to remember some of it, but I had several good sources. First, my mother, known on my blog, "Life is Good," as "The Nutritionist", could easily have been nicknamed "Momarazzi". Every, and I mean every, moment of our lives was documented in pictures. I didn't know that what irritated the living daylights out of me then, would be such a treasure today. "Honey, will you kids do that again? It will make such a cute picture!" was the refrain of our childhood. However, looking through those albums sparked a lot of memories.

Of course my little sister, nicknamed Swissie, has a fantastic memory and I relied on her to straighten out a lot of what I only sort-of remembered. Then of course there was The Swede to straighten us both out on misconceptions that kids get about adult matters. So the stories you got were the truth as the three of us were able to piece it together from 38 years before.

2 – What fun story DIDN’T make it into your Challenge posts?

There were several, but I'll keep this to two. I didn't write about the more intimate details about taking care of a person in a body cast. It was going to be called, “Sponge Baths and Bed Pans” but I decided even I didn't want to go there.

Also, we built these awesome hide-outs in our massive forsythia bushes, but it didn't make the cut either, just because I felt other stories told more of the differences I experienced. Building hide-outs was one of our favorite activities in Sweden, so it wasn't really something new.

3 – How many players from the Washington Capitals did you meet?

I'm going to need Smooshie for an accurate answer on this one, but conservatively, I'd say between 15 and 20. We were total groupies, but young, so we actually got more attention because the players knew we were harmless. We were only hoping for a picture, whereas some of the adult female fans were looking for...other perks.

4 – What’s your opinion on flame retardant pajamas?

They ought to be burned! Seriously. Have you touched that material? If you have the slightest snag of dry skin anywhere, it adheres to your pajamas and it might as well be fingernails on a chalkboard. I know the government means well, but what about all the kids who don't wear pajamas? My nephew for example, always wore tomorrow's clothes to bed to save time in the morning. Yes, he's eccentric, but brilliant and was just being logical. The PJ police would have gotten him for sure!

5 – Are you a Swede or an American?

I'm a proud Swedish immigrant who now calls America her home. I'm a Swedish-American.

6 – Do you still watch Scooby-Doo?

Yes, of course. Scooby is the best! I of course introduced my kids to Scooby-Doo! They wanted to watch some of the movies that came out when they were in elementary school, so I made them watch some original episodes first. I mean, how can you appreciate the movies fully if you've never seen Shaggy and Scooby run from room to room down a long hallway, being chased by The Ghost? Or have the authorities pull of the mask and find “old man Jenkins” complaining about “those meddlin' kids.” A true education is valued in our family. We still watch it together, when I can drag them away from their XBOX headsets...

7 – Your hit-by-a-car story was rough! What was something good that came out of that?

I believe something good always comes out of what we see as bad. We don't have the advantage of an eternal perspective. As a kid, I remember thinking that going through all this was going to make me more popular at school when I returned. That didn't happen, but a girl can dream.

Looking at it as an adult, I see the lessons as patience, the need to ask and accept help, and the realization that we are in God's hands no matter what happens. THAT lesson I apparently wasn't done learning then, because medical disasters have continued to follow me to this day.

8 – Any more stories this year for the Challenge or are you planning something different?

I'm still going Swedish, since I find it fun to make each year's theme part of this larger, ongoing theme. This year I plan to...have you come visit me and see what I've cooked up. I think you're going to like it. After all, “It's very Swedish to...”

Thanks Tina, and looking forward to your Challenge posts!

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of Amazon Best Sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, and CassaStorm. He is the founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and his blog can be found HERE