#atozchallenge -- Meet your co-host: Csenge

Sziasztok!

My name is Csenge, I am your friendly neighborhood Hungarian co-host. This is my second year co-hosting, and my 5th year in the Challenge! It has been constant fun, and I am looking forward to yet another great year.

About me: 

I am a professional storyteller and author, currently working on my PhD in Culture Studies (my area of research is storytelling in role-playing games). Most of what I do revolves around epics, mythology, folktales, fairy tales, books, and RPGs. Usually in some combination of those. I am also a game- and comic book nerd, and I watch more TV shows than I care to admit. 

To my defense: I am minoring in Pop Culture Studies.

#PhDlife

Blogs and things:

The Multicolored Diary

Here I write about storytelling-related things. Past Challenge themes include Epics A to Z, Weird Princesses, and Tales about Colors. 

MopDog: The crazy thing about Hungarians...

Exactly what it sounds like: My musings on weird and unique Hungarian things. Last year's theme was "26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary."

Twitter: @TarkabarkaHolgy

Book: Tales of Superhuman Powers (55 myths, legends and folktales that featured superpowers way before comic books came along - stories with notes, sources, and pop culture references) 

Oh, and I have an Old English Sheepdog. I thought that was important.

Sometimes I crochet mythical animals. 

I am looking forward to visiting with all of you in April! :)

Why do I love the #atozchallenge so much?

 Today's post is from Vidya Sury, who is part of my team for this A to Z 2016.

Some of us co-hosts are still finalizing our teams, so if have participated in the challenge before, and want a turbo-charged AZ this time, email us at the contact address:  contactatozteam@gmail.com

---------Take it away, Vidya!

The A to Z Challenge is one of my favorite blogging activities.

Okay, okay, my favorite!

That I love to write, is a given. I do occasionally take part in other blogging/writing challenges. But why am I absolutely hooked to the A to Z Challenge?

I first learned about the A to Z Challenge in 2013 when Damyanti of Daily (W)rite tagged me on Twitter. I fell in love with the concept. Blogging daily with thousands of people in a specific pattern appealed to me tremendously. So many perspectives and so many genius themes and ideas to meet! The whole idea filled me with joy and I energetically jumped in. I could think of nothing but ideas for April - my kitchen shelf was full of my scribbling. My writing pad was filled with doodles and mind mapping for ideas. My friends and family got a bit tired of me trying to fit everything into the A to Z sequence. I suspect they loved it, though! So, in my first A to Z Challenge in 2013, I participated with one blog. In 2014, 2 blogs, in 2015, 3 blogs.

This year, 2016, I am participating with 4 blogs - I enjoy the challenge so much.

Why A to Z Challenge is my favorite :

• It keeps my adrenaline pumping and my writing muscles flexed and ready
• It cultivates a writing discipline I enjoy
• I get back into the groove with posting regularly on two of my 5 blogs.
• It encourages planning ahead - this is a major life lesson I follow in other areas of life, but not always with blogging. To truly enjoy blogging challenges, planning is critical.
• It boosts my creativity, making me think of freaky ways to entertain my readers, rather than just give them info. Yes, I like to think they love me!
• I get to meet new and wonderful bloggers via the challenge. I've met several who are fast friends now, location no bar!
• I've been part of a co-host's team for two years and enjoy the team work behind the scenes, team spirit and fun. Sort of like a girl gang, only wiser! (You can join in the teams too-- write to the email on top!)
• The A to Z is a great way to actually plan your book if you aspire to write one. I mean, write around a theme for 30 days and you have a pretty good premise for a book or an anthology!
• If you believe that travel broadens the mind, youíve got to believe that blog-hopping also broadens the mind, and heart.
• Talking of travel, I almost always travel in April, but that doesn't stop me from sailing through the challenge, thanks to the kicks encouragement of my supporters!
• The learning. This is tremendous. Can you believe I actually converted from being a pantser to a scheming theming planner Yes I did! Go check out last year's letters to my son! I have to confess a theme feels good and keeps you focused.
• I love getting in a couple of guest posts from my blogging friends and highlighting them as there are usually more visitors in April and that makes me feel good.
• I enjoy doing the Reflections post - what activity is complete without a review and some learning points - and how to do it better next time, eh?
• The A to Z encourages me to explore my own writing abilities and I am surprised to discover how much more I am capable of.
• Consistent writing and online conversations are good for ranking- which means more paid opportunities for your blog.

So it is hardly surprising I am doing it this year - and will continue to do it for as long as I blog! To sum up, the April A to Z Challenge is, hands down, the best motivation for bloggers to write, connect and grow.

Let's just say, if you like blogging, if you need the motivation to get back in the groove, the A to Z Challenge is for you! So what are you waiting for? Grab a few of your blogging buddies and Go sign up NOW!
 -----------
 Vidya Sury is living her dream as a Writer | Editor | Blogger | Social media explorer, after a couple of decades in the corporate world in marketing and training (sales and soft skills).  She blogs at Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, tweets as @vidyasury and flits around Facebook.

If you like #blogging the #atozchallenge is for you! Right?

The A to Z Blogging Challenge already has nearly 700 signups, but we want more, more! This post is for those of you who haven't added your name to the list yet.

The A to Z Challenge is 26 posts on 26 days of April, on a theme of your choice, or without a theme.

The Challenge is not for you if:

1. You don't want to grow your blog audience
2. If you don't want more followers.
3. If you don't like networking.
4. If you don't like posting more than once a week or month.
5. If you don't like the alphabet (Like our very own Gary Pennick! Love you, Gary!)

With the above reasons, you're right, the A to Z Challenge is not for you. You might be fence-sitting for other reasons:

1. You're very busy in April (That's all right, really--you can schedule your posts now!)
2. You're scared by the idea of writing everyday. (It's ok, you don't have to. As above, you can pre-schedule some/ most/ all your posts)
3. You're worried you may not be able to handle all the comments that come in. (Ditto as above-- pre-write all your posts so you can comment away and respond to comments in April!)
4. You did not get many comments last time you tried. (We might have a solution for you Here)


So there you go: 8 shiny reasons for you (not) to join the challenge. For a gazillion reasons to join the challenge, check this post, and this one, and this one.

Oh, just go and sign up already!

And if you want to give us reasons (not) to join: let's have them in the comments!

--Damyanti Biswas

Navigating the Challenge with Clones and Ninjas! #atozchallenge

Just how does one visit over a hundred blogs a day? Either through the use of a time machine or a band of stealthy Ninja Clones!

Teleportation is also an option.

As much as I enjoyed writing about teleportation on my books, I decided that the Ninja Captain needed clones instead. And of course, a clone machine. Which does have its drawbacks. Everyone wants to borrow it. Plus there was the time I cloned way too many versions of Kate Beckinsale…

All kidding aside, I really don’t have any of those things. I’ve just made it a point to visit all of my blogger buddies, whether it’s during the Challenge or IWSG post Wednesday or just another day.

Yes, I do have a lot of blogger buddies! Where did they all come from?

I’ll give you a hint – it has to do with the alphabet.

In 2010, Arlee Bird challenged others to join him as he posted almost every day throughout April in alphabet order. At the last minute, I made the commitment and joined a hundred others in the very first A to Z Challenge.

My blog has never been the same!

I’ve been a co-host since 2011, managing the Linky List and helping in other areas. Of course, that’s not all I do.

I started this whole blogging nonsense as an up-and-coming author. Since that time, I’ve had four books published (CassaStar, CassaFire, CassaStorm, and Dragon of the Stars), one boxed set published, and been in numerous anthologies and magazines.

I also started this little group for writers. You may have heard of it – the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. We started as a monthly blog hop, and then grew into a website, two Facebook groups, and a newsletter. We even put out a free book for writers and last year partnered with a publisher for an annual IWSG Anthology Contest. (First anthology due out this spring.)

Offline, I maintain a full time job in web design and technical editing. I’m also a guitarist in a Christian rock band, as God and music both play very important roles in my life. I’m happily married, live in the Carolinas, and like to drive my sports car really fast.

Because darn it, teleportation machines don’t really exist!

Find me here: Blog, Insecure Writer’s Support Group, Twitter, What Are The Kargrandes, Goodreads, and Google+

Roll Out The Welcome Mat

This is for the rookies out there, who have never participated in the A to Z Challenge until this year. Many of you, I suspect, created a blog on Wordpress or Blogger just so you could do the challenge. I know that's how I got my start doing this. This is also for those of you that are getting complaints that people can't leave you comments, or for those of you that aren't getting comments and can't figure out why.

Both Wordpress and Blogger have settings that allow you to screen comments. Some of them are set as defaults and others are options you can set if you think they're necessary. They ensure that the commenter is a real person and not just a bot from which you'll be receiving junk comments for the rest of your existence. Setting the options will cut down on spam, but some of the options also make it practically impossible for legitimate bloggers (e.g. the participants in the A to Z Challenge) to leave you comments.

Kind of defeats the purpose of having a blog and participating in the challenge, doesn't it ?

There's also an impression out there that, while blogs on Wordpress are friendly to Wordpress commenters, they're mean to commenters that don't have a Wordpress account. You hear the same thing about Blogger: nice to people with Google accounts, nasty to everyone else.

Bottom line: You want to make commenting on your blog as easy as possible for anyone who drops by. Let's see how to do that.

WORDPRESS

You can find the settings for comments at https://[your blog URL]/wp-admin/options-discussion.php

Allow people to post comments on new articles - Should be checked. This allows people to comment.

Comment author must fill out name and email - Should be checked. Having a name and email address generally indicates the commenter is a real person. Of course, spammers can fill that in, too, but it prevents posting by bots.

Users must be registered and log in to comment - Should be unchecked. This means that you have to have a Wordpress account to comment.

Automatically close comments on articles older than _____ days - This prevents people from posting comments on old articles, a favorite trick of spammers. I turned this on and set the number of days to 60 for a while, then realized there were new readers who might want to comment on older articles, so I turned it off. If you start getting a lot of spam on older articles, you might want to set it.

Comment must be manually approved - Leave this unchecked unless you start getting a lot of spam, or if you've attracted a troll.

Comment author must have a previously approved comment - I have this unchecked. I don't think it's necessary.

Hold a comment in the queue if it contains ____ or more links - I have this set to 5. Some people like to put links to their blog here rather than in the box for URL's on the comment form, and if this is set too low, their comment disappears with no word as to why.

There are also areas to put in words or URL's in comments that will either get the comment put in the moderation queue or in the spam queue. Use these with caution, or you might be blocking comments you didn't intend to block.

BLOGGER

Sign on to Blogger and select your blog. Then click on Settings > Posts and comments.



Who can comment? - Typically you'll want to choose Registered User. This allows people who don't have a Google account to comment using their Open ID, Wordpress, LiveJournal, TypePad, or AIM account. Anyone allows anonymous commenting, probably not a good idea.

Comment Moderation - Setting this to Never means anyone can comment. If spam becomes a problem, you can set it to Always. Sometimes allows you to specify a number of days after publication when commenting is open, after which comments must be approved.

Show word verification - This forces a commenter to enter a CAPTCHA code before the comment is accepted. Most people think that's an enormous pain in the backside and might just leave without commenting and never come back. Turn it off.

Whether this is your first challenge or you're an old pro, welcome! We hope you have a good time, make lots of new friends, and find lots of new blogs to follow.

John Holton
The Sound of One Hand Typing on Wordpress
Simulcasting at The Sound of One Hand Typing FM on Blogger