Share and Advise

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?

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?

• 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.

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