It's nearly here. Sign up time. I know a lot of veteran A to Z participants will be putting their names on that list next Monday. I hope you'll announce it and link from your own blog to this blog on that happy day. But there will be people new to this great event and they could benefit from some advice.
The first year I participated in A to Z, I had only been actively blogging for a few months and trying to grow my audience. I had lots of doubts going into that first year. I was busy in my personal life. I was teaching full time and my daughter was still in high school playing softball which meant attending games two or three times per week. Our firewall at work didn't allow access to blogs so I couldn't do A to Z work even during my lunch break.
I also didn't realize how important it was for my sanity to schedule my posts ahead of time. Or how much easier it would be to create my posts if I had chosen a theme. By the time April ended that first year, I felt frazzled and like I'd failed the challenge even though I managed to post every day. For a short while there, I hated blogging. Only my stubborn determination to never quit something I started kept me going until the end. I ended up getting no writing done on my work in progress and visiting only a very few bloggers every day.
My second and third years went much better as I followed the advice of other bloggers. Things like settling on a theme, scheduling posts ahead of time, and keeping posts short. Though still a challenge, A to Z was fun instead of agonizing. Last year I took on the responsibility of being a minion for Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh and this year I joined the A to Z team to help everyone else have fun. I couldn't have arrived at this point if not for the advise shared by others.
So when you shout out to the world that you've taken on the Challenge, share some advice for the newbies to this April tradition. Tell them what helps you make it through the Challenge. Even something very simple, like 12 cups of coffee per day, may be the thing that helps someone else enjoy April as much as you do.
Are you ready with some advise? Keeping that theme a deep secret until the reveal post? How many years does this make for you in the A to Z?
April Blogging from A to Z Challenge #AtoZChallenge
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
Turning Over A New Leaf in 2015
I'm often tempted to "Turn Over A New Leaf" when a new year arrives, aren't you?
Here's how I imagine categories of folk might try to turn over a leaf or two.
Book Blogger: Begin blogging in Spanish and become as successful a blogger as Paulo Coelhos.
Novelist: Write the next Hunger Games trilogy.
Chimney Sweep: Have a good facial scrub before the singing begins.
Gardener:
Now this guy would take me literally. What better time to mulch stuff than in January. Those leaves make the earth ripe and ready for the seeds come April.
What's your new leaf? Or do you prefer to ignore the idea of fresh starts in a new year? As for me, I'm off to find a pitch fork and do some turning of the earth. I'm already itchy to plant my April crop.
- Be a kinder person.
- Eat more vegetables.
- Save the world.
- Have the best theme for AtoZ ever.
- Floss.
Here's how I imagine categories of folk might try to turn over a leaf or two.
Book Blogger: Begin blogging in Spanish and become as successful a blogger as Paulo Coelhos.
Novelist: Write the next Hunger Games trilogy.
Chimney Sweep: Have a good facial scrub before the singing begins.
Gardener:
Now this guy would take me literally. What better time to mulch stuff than in January. Those leaves make the earth ripe and ready for the seeds come April.
What's your new leaf? Or do you prefer to ignore the idea of fresh starts in a new year? As for me, I'm off to find a pitch fork and do some turning of the earth. I'm already itchy to plant my April crop.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Preparing a Theme and Daily Topics for the Blogging A to Z Challenge
 |
| 2015 Badge Soon To Be Revealed |
Here it is already January 2015 and before you know it, April 1st will be here and once again the annual April Blogging A to Z Challenge will begin.
It is recommended to have a theme for the event. Makes writing the daily posts much easier. And if you do not have a theme, now is a good time to think of one. Try to have one by the end of the month.
Then, open a Word document and type the 26 letters of the alphabet like so:
A-
B -
C -
D -
...
...
...
Z -
Then begin selecting topics that fall within the theme. Example: my theme is Paranormal and the Supernatural.
A- Angels, Astral Projection, Apparition
B - Bilocation
C - Clairvoyance, Challening
D - Dreams, Deja-vu, Doppelganger
...
...
...
Z - Zenoglossy
Select one final topic for each day (you’ll want to cap your posts at 100 words), write an explanation of each topic, then prepost throughout February and March. By the time April 1st rolls around, your posts will be ready to go and so will you.
We will be having a Theme Reveal Blog Hop in March where you can announce to the world what your theme will be, then visit your friends around Blogdom and see what their themes will be.
Happy theme hunting, and the sooner you start outlining your posts, the better prepared you will be for the 2015 Blogging A to Z Challenge.
You can visit Stephen Tremp at his Website Breakthrough Blogs
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
#atozchallenge #roadtrip - Stormy's got some new BFF's!
Hi!
It's ME!
Stormy the Weather Gnome!
 |
| Running with Scissors! |
We're changing things up a bit so you don't get bored.
Don't worry, we're still on the road to nowhere, still can't drive 55, AND still running against the wind.
I have some new friends I've met on my journey to tell you about!
Lisa Buie-Collard
Lisa is an author and traveler! A student of life!
Her 2014 A to Z theme was: "For the Love of France"! So many really wonderful photographs and lots of great history about the country! You won't be disappointed.
I have some new friends I've met on my journey to tell you about!
Lisa Buie-Collard
Lisa is an author and traveler! A student of life!
Her 2014 A to Z theme was: "For the Love of France"! So many really wonderful photographs and lots of great history about the country! You won't be disappointed.
Joy is also an author with a long list of titles to her name.
Her theme was A to Z Scenarios. Each day she posted a drawing and asked her readers to explain how they would handle the situation! Very fun and inventive way to keep your visitors engaged!
 |
| Sliding to my destination! |
How is your road trip going?
The 2015 A to Z Challenge sign up list opens in two weeks! Are you ready for the sixth Challenge?
Monday, January 12, 2015
Themes That Rocked the Challenge - Sharon Arthur Moore and Food!
Today we welcome Sharon Arthur Moore and her theme of all things food.
A little background about Sharon:
After 39 years as an educator, Sharon Arthur Moore "transitioned" to the life of full-time fiction writer. She's an intrepid cook, game-player, and miniatures lover.
She writes culinary mysteries, women's fiction, historical fiction, short stories, plays, and erotic romance (under the pen name Angelica French). Oak Tree Press published Mission Impastable, by Sharon Arthur Moore, a culinary mystery, in 2014. Sizzler Editions published Streetwalker, by Angelica French, in 2013.
Sharon has lived in every region of the country except the Pacific Northwest and loved every single one of them. Her current favorite region is the desert Southwest. She is married to the most extraordinary man and claims four children, one daughter-in-law, two grandsons, and an old, fat, yellow lab rescue dog, Maudie.
Thanks so much, Alex, for including me in this blog series! I love A-Z and work at recruiting others to participate, so it is an honor to be here.
Your theme was basically all things food related – since that’s the theme of your blog as well, did you have any challenges?
Just keeping up with daily blogging was the major challenge. I normally post once a week on three different blogs, so daily posts get to be wearing. At least I got Sundays off, right? In February, for the last several years, I post a recipe a day in some category my readers select. That’s fun, and it’s sort of training for posting a couple of months later for this challenge.
In terms of challenges with the topic, I did have to scour the Internet to find terms for a few letters. But, in the end, every letter had at least two options for me to select from.
The other challenge was keeping it to two or three terms. I see my blog as an instructional one, so I tried to cram as much as possible into each day. But I never did more than three terms per letter--well, almost never!
Which letter was the easiest and why?
Both S and M were by far the easiest. Huh, maybe because those are my initials? I had so many more options for those two letters--all of which I wanted to do--than I could manage. The hard part was limiting it to two.
Which letter was the most difficult and why?
It wasn’t “Q”. There’s not a plethora of Q cooking terms, but enough so I had a choice and still did two. The end of the alphabet always presents a challenge when finding category terms, so I didn’t have as many choices with U, V, Y and Z.
But what really surprised me was how few P terms there were. I mean, you have pour and pound, but words that people might not know well were very few. That was true for N as well.
What fun fact surprised you the most?
Hmm! What a good question! I had to look back over my twenty-six posts and remind myself of the learning that occurred. Irradiated food and hydrogenated oils had tons of technical and science terminology and findings. Those were really interesting for me to read about. I am not anti-irradiation, but I am not a proponent either. I am waiting for more definitive research. But I’ve been against using hydrogenated oils for a long time. Now I know why and it’s not just a knee-jerk reaction!
What is Vichyssoise?
Potato soup sounds so much classier when you use the French name, n’est-ce pas? And of course, vichyssoise, is so much classier than my mother’s potato soup. It’s a thick soup made by pureeing leeks, potatoes, onions, cream, and chicken stock. While traditionally served cold, like gazpacho, cucumber soup, and fruit soups, vichyssoise can be eaten hot.
Have you ever made a Fricassée?
You got me there! Nope! Even though I cook all the time, there are techniques I haven’t yet tried or tools I haven’t used. But, I am marching my way through techniques so I can die having done it all. My husband gifted me with one-on-one cooking lessons with a chef so I could increase my expertise!
Still, how hard can it be? You cut up meat, sauté it, braise it, then serve with a sauce. I’ll make friscasséed chicken just for you, Alex, if you want to drop by Phoenix.
Sweat isn’t just perspiration, is it?
Umm, well sort of. The onions “sweat” when cooked over low heat. They perspire, like we do, giving off their fluids when heated. When onions are sweated, not browned, the flavor is intensified and deepened. That adds a new layer to my chili.
If you participate in the 2015 Challenge, what theme are you considering?
Oh, I’m in! I’ve met some terrific bloggers through A-Z. It’s choosing that’s the hard part. I have three blogs to choose among. Last year’s challenge was on “Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time” where I focus on food and mysteries.
I am dithering. I have two themes I’ve been developing. I might go back to “Romance Righter” (pen name Angelica French) to blog this April just as I did in 2013. If so, I’ll be writing about relationships and terms associated with relationships and interactions.
Or I might write on my third blog, which I haven’t featured on A-Z yet. “Write Away” deals with general writing issues. If so, I’ll be writing about terms and strategies in fiction writing. I am only missing a few letters at this point, so I’m almost there for planning both of them! Can you tell I’m eager to begin this year’s series?
You do sound excited, which is awesome! Thanks, Sharon.
Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, and CassaStorm, and his blog can be found HERE
A little background about Sharon:
She writes culinary mysteries, women's fiction, historical fiction, short stories, plays, and erotic romance (under the pen name Angelica French). Oak Tree Press published Mission Impastable, by Sharon Arthur Moore, a culinary mystery, in 2014. Sizzler Editions published Streetwalker, by Angelica French, in 2013.
Sharon has lived in every region of the country except the Pacific Northwest and loved every single one of them. Her current favorite region is the desert Southwest. She is married to the most extraordinary man and claims four children, one daughter-in-law, two grandsons, and an old, fat, yellow lab rescue dog, Maudie.
Thanks so much, Alex, for including me in this blog series! I love A-Z and work at recruiting others to participate, so it is an honor to be here.
Your theme was basically all things food related – since that’s the theme of your blog as well, did you have any challenges?
Just keeping up with daily blogging was the major challenge. I normally post once a week on three different blogs, so daily posts get to be wearing. At least I got Sundays off, right? In February, for the last several years, I post a recipe a day in some category my readers select. That’s fun, and it’s sort of training for posting a couple of months later for this challenge.
In terms of challenges with the topic, I did have to scour the Internet to find terms for a few letters. But, in the end, every letter had at least two options for me to select from.
The other challenge was keeping it to two or three terms. I see my blog as an instructional one, so I tried to cram as much as possible into each day. But I never did more than three terms per letter--well, almost never!
Which letter was the easiest and why?
Both S and M were by far the easiest. Huh, maybe because those are my initials? I had so many more options for those two letters--all of which I wanted to do--than I could manage. The hard part was limiting it to two.
It wasn’t “Q”. There’s not a plethora of Q cooking terms, but enough so I had a choice and still did two. The end of the alphabet always presents a challenge when finding category terms, so I didn’t have as many choices with U, V, Y and Z.
But what really surprised me was how few P terms there were. I mean, you have pour and pound, but words that people might not know well were very few. That was true for N as well.
What fun fact surprised you the most?
Hmm! What a good question! I had to look back over my twenty-six posts and remind myself of the learning that occurred. Irradiated food and hydrogenated oils had tons of technical and science terminology and findings. Those were really interesting for me to read about. I am not anti-irradiation, but I am not a proponent either. I am waiting for more definitive research. But I’ve been against using hydrogenated oils for a long time. Now I know why and it’s not just a knee-jerk reaction!
What is Vichyssoise?
Potato soup sounds so much classier when you use the French name, n’est-ce pas? And of course, vichyssoise, is so much classier than my mother’s potato soup. It’s a thick soup made by pureeing leeks, potatoes, onions, cream, and chicken stock. While traditionally served cold, like gazpacho, cucumber soup, and fruit soups, vichyssoise can be eaten hot.
You got me there! Nope! Even though I cook all the time, there are techniques I haven’t yet tried or tools I haven’t used. But, I am marching my way through techniques so I can die having done it all. My husband gifted me with one-on-one cooking lessons with a chef so I could increase my expertise!
Still, how hard can it be? You cut up meat, sauté it, braise it, then serve with a sauce. I’ll make friscasséed chicken just for you, Alex, if you want to drop by Phoenix.
Sweat isn’t just perspiration, is it?
Umm, well sort of. The onions “sweat” when cooked over low heat. They perspire, like we do, giving off their fluids when heated. When onions are sweated, not browned, the flavor is intensified and deepened. That adds a new layer to my chili.
If you participate in the 2015 Challenge, what theme are you considering?
Oh, I’m in! I’ve met some terrific bloggers through A-Z. It’s choosing that’s the hard part. I have three blogs to choose among. Last year’s challenge was on “Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time” where I focus on food and mysteries.
I am dithering. I have two themes I’ve been developing. I might go back to “Romance Righter” (pen name Angelica French) to blog this April just as I did in 2013. If so, I’ll be writing about relationships and terms associated with relationships and interactions.
Or I might write on my third blog, which I haven’t featured on A-Z yet. “Write Away” deals with general writing issues. If so, I’ll be writing about terms and strategies in fiction writing. I am only missing a few letters at this point, so I’m almost there for planning both of them! Can you tell I’m eager to begin this year’s series?
You do sound excited, which is awesome! Thanks, Sharon.
Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, and CassaStorm, and his blog can be found HERE
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