Infectiously Interactive Blogging

“Imagine the possibilities, Isaac. I mean, I can write about anything I want, as long as it’s related to a letter of the alphabet. I only have to write during 26 days in April, giving me Sunday’s off for good behavior. It’s such an innovative way to blog, I just know I can do it!” Isabelle sat idly at her computer, remembering this conversation with her husband last January. Here she was, barely finishing up the second week, and she was feeling the pressure.

She stared down at her cell phone, noticing the text her husband just sent. “Ignore the insecurities, dear. Just do it! You know you can, and when you’re all through, you’ll be so proud and incredibly successful! Now get out there and start blog hopping to get some inspiration. I want to hear all about at least 15 new blog friends you’ve made when I get home.”

“Intuitive as usual,” she replied with a smiley face. Then she infectiously interacted with an increasingly large number of bloggers, and ingeniously scheduled three of her remaining posts.

If Isabelle can do it, so can you!

Thanks for taking part in the A – Z 2014 Blogging Challenge this year!

M. J.

©2014 All Rights Reserved

Photo credit: Nick Michael, Sampler by Elizabeth Laidman (1760), Public Domain

H is for HOPE

Hey there, hi there, ho there!  How are you doing? Yesterday you may have been GO GO GO with AJ, but a lot can change in a day.  I learned this the hard way.

We can be cruising along, all is fine, email is under control, we're getting our posts done, though at the last minute and under the wire and not without stress, but it's working.  We're even finding time to return comments!  Visit friends!

Then BAM.  Up against a wall.  Something in life derails us, and we feel hopeless, and like giving up.  It may be a sudden problem at work , it may be a crisis with a child, or it may be a health situation.

Now all looks bleak.  You can't do this anymore.  You're too far behind to catch up. You missed a post or two.  You didn't visit. Email is backed up.

Don't give up!  There's always HOPE.  There's always tomorrow.  Write the next letter.  Get it up there!  Look forward, not back.  Missing one or two isn't the end of the world nor will it cause you to "lose" The Challenge.

This whole crazy undertaking is about the journey, and as in life, we find pot-holes, construction, detours, we might even get lost.  We need to go around them, wait for it, follow the signs, and ask for directions.  Your co-hosts are here to help.

We HOPE you know that!  Now get out there and post!

~Tina, who is not going to be counting how many posts you wrote in April, but did you make it to the end?  I have HOPE in you.

Go, go, go!

Good job, team, we've finished an octave-worth of the Challenge! (Yeah, yeah I'm a music Geek - forGive me!) How is it Going?

Here are some G things we hope are happening for you at this point in the Challenge:

• Growing as a writer. How have you challenged yourself? Can you feel yourself Growing?
• Gathering resources and followers. Who have you found that is really Great? Are you Gaining readers? (and if not, have you been visiting lots of people to help foster those connections?)
• Gumption! Sometimes it can be a little intimidating to go out and meet people, even online. But we hope that you are Growing in Gumption and becoming more comfortable making bloGGing friends!
• Goofiness - Have you seen some of the silly bloGGers on our list? We've certainly got some Goofy folks in this Challenge! Hint: Many of them are using the (HU) tag :)

Alright everyone, Go Gallavanting, find some GREAT Guy and Gal pals, and Give it your all!

F is for Fight Club

As a librarian, I'm often asked for book suggestions.  To be sure, I can usually find a book for just about anyone.  So, for letter F I would share an unusual book with you. The Title?

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk 

photo courtesy Goodreads.com

Yes, Fight Club was a book before it was a movie.  Fight Club is a cult classic!  

An underground classic since its first publication in 1996, Fight Club is now recognized as one of the most original and provocative novels published in this decade. Chuck Palahniuk's darkly funny first novel tells the story of a godforsaken young man who discovers that his rage at living in a world filled with failure and lies cannot be pacified by an empty consumer culture. Relief for him and his disenfranchised peers comes in the form of secret after-hours boxing matches held in the basements of bars. Fight Club is the brainchild of Tyler Durden, who thinks he has found a way for himself and his friends to live beyond their confining and stultifying lives. But in Tyler's world there are no rules, no limits, no brakes.

 I'll be honest. I watched the movie mostly with a look of confused disgust on my face.  I didn't get all the reason for the violence but I enjoyed being in the know and being able to quote classic lines as if I belonged to an elite group! Lines like: The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club.

Ironically, many bookish people and librarians know this line too.  Kinda makes you not want to cross that librarian on a bad day, huh? So that's only one book that starts with the letter F.  Surely you can think of another? 

List the title in your comments; keep it clean, people; my mum reads my work!  :)

E is for efficiency in the A - Z

Working the A - Z requires a certain amount of effort and efficiency for all bloggers involved. Here are some tips for making your A - Z journey a little bit more efficient.

1. Keep up by posting the letter of the day. Getting behind in your posting can be frustrating, and it’s very time consuming to catch up again. Luckily, we have Sunday off to catch up, or take a breather and simply catch our breath.

2. Blog hop by visiting those who visit you. In the interest of efficiency, click on links from their comments too, rather than navigating back to the main list all the time.

3. Choose a section of the list and visit those blogs. Make it a manageable number, so you don’t get overwhelmed.

4. Visit your new followers to build your own community and network efficiently.

5. Pre-schedule your posts for a couple of days or the week, leaving you more time to blog hop and get to know more bloggers.

These are only a few ideas about how to be more efficient in the A - Z Challenge. We want to know your tips and tricks for being efficient in this electrifying annual blogorific event. Please share them in the comments. Thank you.

Here’s to all you wonderful A - Zers out there! We hope you’re having a wonderful time, getting lots of exciting comments and meeting a ton of energetic bloggers out there!

M. J.

©2014 All Rights Reserved