2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge Reflections

The A to Z Reflections Post is a post presented on your own blog site giving the A to Z Team, the other Challenge participants, and any other readers your thoughts about this year's April Challenge.

We are looking for feedback about the Challenge. Tell us what you liked and didn't like, what worked and what didn't. If you have suggestions about making future A to Z Challenges better, this is a good time to let us know. You can highlight other bloggers who you felt did an outstanding job or direct us to specific posts that particularly impressed you or that you found to be very helpful.

In other words, we want to know how the A to Z Team did and how the Challenge worked for you. If you'd do it again, tell us why. If you would never consider A to Z again, let us know what would make you feel that way.

Please put up your Reflections post between now and Friday, May 8. AFTER your post has gone live, add the link to the Linky List below. Enter the link that goes DIRECTLY to your Reflections post and not your general blog address. The list will be accessible for the remainder of this year. Be sure to grab the badge.

The list is intended for A to Z Reflections posts only. Any links to advertising sites or non-relevant posts will be removed from the list. General links added before you actually post will be removed. And remember that these posts will be directed to a diverse audience of varying ages and sensibilities so please respect others by refraining from posting obscene materials or hurtful attacks upon others. We want a productive interchange of ideas that can lead to positive innovation.

Add your name to the list below!

Theme Reveal Blogfest: 2015 April A to Z Challenge

Today is the theme reveal blogfest for the 2015 April A to Z Blogging Challenge! In past years, (2013 and 2012) I have focused on Etymologies (which you can see here for 2012 and here for 2013, if you'd like) but this year I'll be doing something different (you run out of words for X pretty quickly, which is why it's a Challenge, I suppose).

This year, I'll be focusing on stories for my theme. Basically, I'll just be posting a short summary of a favorite story whose title begins with the letter for that day of the challenge. It might be a film, a TV show, a book, a play, or maybe even a famous legend, but whatever it is, it will be short and sweet, because the point of the challenge is discovering new blogs, and networking more than it is focusing on yourself or your own posts.

What will your 2015 April A to Z Blogging Challenge theme be? Be sure to visit as many of the participating blogs as you can, listed at the main A to Z Challenge blog, here!

My assistants for this year's challenge are Sylvie from Life from An Optimist's Point of View, and Carrie-Anne Brownian/Ursula Hartlein from Welcome to My Magick Theatre. Please make sure you visit both their blogs and follow them!

A Call for Minions: 2015 April A to Z Challenge

It's that time of year again!

Yes, I know I skipped it last year, and to be honest, I'm not sure if I know what I'm getting into this year, but I've barely been blogging lately, so I thought signing up to co-host the April A to Z Blogging Challenge again this year might help kickstart my blogging bug again.

And that's where you come in!

I know no one reads this blog anymore, but hopefully a few people might see this who are participating in the Challenge, and know me or have read my posts in the past, and might be willing to help out.

If you're interested, let me know in the comments, and you can be on my team for the challenge.

Some co-hosts are calling their helpers minions, others muffins, others probably random other names I haven't seen yet. I don't have anything that creative to call mine, but I think just friends or helpers is good enough.

What will you need to do?

Basically, help me police the list. This year looks to be a little less crazy than previous years so far, but in the past thousands of blogs have joined the Challenge. That's a lot of entries to check to make sure people are participating, have necessary adult content warnings, and aren't just advertising or spam blogs.

Even with the number of co-hosts we have, it's not enough to police thousands of blogs, so we all enlist a few helpers. In 2013, the last time I co-hosted, I had 5 assistants. You can read about them here. I'm hoping to have as many this year, but would be willing to accept more if people are really interested.

Also, I completely forgot to blog the other day to mention my Five Year Blogiversary! I started my blog on March 3rd 2010, and it has now been over five years I've been doing this. I'm met some of the most amazing people, and even though I don't blog as much lately as I used to, I still love it, and do miss it.

How long have you been blogging? Are you joining the A to Z Challenge?

Please let me know if you have any questions, or if you're interested in being an assistant!

A to Z April Challenge 2015

The 2015 A to Z Challenge List is Open!

Please read and follow the sign-up instructions outlined below so you sign onto the list correctly!

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays (we get those off for good behavior.) And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 3 is “C,” and so on. You can use a theme for the month or go random – just as long as it matches the letter of the alphabet for the day. 

The A to Z Challenge is a great way to get into the blogging habit and make new friends. For more details and its history, go HERE

We recommend short posts, turn off Word Verification, and visit five blogs (or more) a day beginning with the one after yours on the list. 

Blogs must be on an open platform – no Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. – and comments enabled. 

To streamline legitimate blogs from advertisement blogs, the Co-Hosts will be visiting each blog on this list throughout the Challenge. Blogs on the list showing no activity once the Challenge starts or miss five days in a row will be removed. 

Please note your blog name and number in all correspondences. Remember that as blogs are removed, your number will change. 

There are categories for those looking for like-minded blogs. Select ONE category code and enter it after your blog’s title/name. The code applies to your blog, not your theme for the Challenge and is purely optional. See the first few blogs on the list for examples. However, if your blog has adult content, you MUST mark it (AC) or it will be removed from the list. Codes are as follows: 

ANIMALS: (AN) 
ART: (AR) 
BOOKS/REVIEWS: (BO) 
CRAFTS: (CR) 
CULINARY: (CU) 
EDUCATION: (ED) 
FASHION: (FA) 
FILM/MOVIES: (FM) 
GAMING: (GA) 
GARDENING: (GR) 
HISTORY: (HI) 
HUMOR: (HU) 
LIFESTYLE: (LI ) 
MEMOIR: (ME) 
MUSIC: (MU) 
MYTHOLOGY: (MY) 
PERSONAL: (PR) 
PHOTOGRAPHY: (PH) 
POLITICS: (PO) 
SCIENCE: (SC) 
SOCIAL MEDIA: (SO) 
SPORTS: (SP) 
TRAVEL: (TR) 
WRITING/STORYTELLING: (WR) 
ADULT CONTENT: (AC) 

Be sure to grab the badge and display it in your sidebar so we know you are participating and link to the A to Z Challenge Blog.

For more information we recommend you follow the A to Z Challenge Blog and the hosts: 

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
Nicole Ayers @ The Madlab Post
Author Stephen Tremp
Heather M. Gardner
AJ @ Naturally Sweet
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Matthew MacNish @ The QQQE
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
S. L. Hennessy @ Pensuasion
C. Lee McKenzie @ The Write Game
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
Susan Gourley @ Susan Says
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing
Lisa Buie-Collard, Author

We also have a Facebook Page
Email address is contactatozteam@gmail.com
Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge and Twitter id is @AprilA2Z

Sign up below and join us for a month of alphabet fun! 

A to the Zizzle

There's a tiny little announcement over on the A to Z Challenge Team Blog this morning. I'm hoping that maybe being involved again can re-invigorate my passion for blogging. Or at least introduce me to some new bloggers. Will any of you be taking part?

A to Z Challenge 2013 - Reflections

We made it. Can you believe it?

An entire month of posting every day but Sunday, once for each letter of the alphabet, and visiting as many blogs as you can. It's a lot of work. Especially being a co-host. But it's worth it, in the long run, I think.

The thing about blogging, and especially about blogging for A to Z, because it's just a heightened example, is that it's a two way street. You get out of it what you put into it. The more people you visit, follow, support, and comment on their posts, the more people will do the same for you. Of course, not everyone reciprocates, but not everyone understands.

A to Z is about challenging yourself to write blog posts, sure, but really it's about meeting other bloggers, and discovering new blogs you might enjoy reading that you probably would not have discovered otherwise.

Anyway, you all probably knew all that. So let's talk about how I did in this years challenge.

I survived! That's one thing, but it's only a small part. As a co-host, to be honest, I didn't accomplish as much as I'd hoped. I visited all the 150 blogs in my part of the list, and many others, but I did not make it to every single blog signed up like I did last year. It was just too much. In some ways I wish I had, but on the other hand, sometimes quality has to trump quantity. What really matters to me is that I met some new bloggers this year that I will now be following and reading on a regular basis. If you ask me, discovering even only one or two new blogs like that is worth more than visiting every blog on the list one time.

So, for a brief look at my stats:

My E post, Eurythmics, had the most page views of the entire month. Page views is a slightly different stat than hits, but it's the best way to judge your traffic, if you ask me.

My A post, Asinine, had the most comments, which makes sense, since everyone is really excited on the first day.

My J post, Jaded, and my K post, Kenosis, had the fewest amount of page views for the month, which is a bit surprising, because I don't think fatigue had set in too much yet.

My X post, Xanthous, had the least amount of comments, at only 14, which is not surprising at all, since it was the last Saturday, and X is the hardest letter.

What about you? Did you survive? What did you like most about the challenge? What did you like the least? Be sure to add your post to the reflections list, once you have it up. You need to use the link to your actual post, not the main URL for your blog. You can find more information about it, here.

Gearing Up For A to Z

Wow. I can't believe A to Z is almost here. Worse, I can't believe I'm going to be out of town for the first week.

Don't worry, I'll still be participating, and I have my first week of posts written and scheduled, but I just wish I'd be more available to visit blogs. I'll be visiting some, and as a co-host, I'm obligated to support a certain section of the list, but I still wish I could do more, because to me the spirit of A to Z isn't so much about my blog, or my posts, or my readers, but about being a blog reader and discovering new blogs.

Anyway, I'm just curious to hear how many of you are participating, and if you are, do you have a theme picked out, and do you have any of your posts written yet? It's a lot of work, which is why we call it a challenge, of course, but it can be a lot of fun too.

Co-Hosting the A to Z April Challenge

No, I'm not blogging about what it's like to co-host, sorry. I'm just pointing you to my post at the A to Z Challenge blog, where you can get to know me a little better. That's all!

Something

I need to put something up just so that stupid screaming goat/sheep/whatever video isn't the latest post on my blog. I know, I'm sorry.

I've been extremely busy this week, but I'm getting a lot done. Mostly revising based on notes from an awesome critique partner, but also critiquing some work for a dear friend of mine. I've also been taking time off in an attempt to gear up for the A to Z Challenge, which is always fun, but a lot of work.

Anyway, happy Wednesday! Send me queries if anyone needs help; I don't have anyone waiting!

Happy President's Day

Amazingly, today is a company holiday. So I'm not actually here. I'm at home, playing Lego Lord of the Rings with my nephew, in my pajamas. You can be jealous, go ahead.

Anyway, my dear friend, author of Rouge and The Truth about Faking, and co-contributor to The Kindness Project, Leigh T. Moore interviewed me a few days ago, and she's putting the thing up today, at her blog. Please go check it out, and leave a comment there. It should be pretty funny.

Also, I'm announcing my assistants for the A to Z April Blogging Challenge today. Please go visit all these blogs, and make sure you're following my assistants. You'll be interacting with them quite a bit during the challenge, if you're taking part.

Jay Noel

Sheri Larsen

Melanie Shulz

Josh Le Nerd

Deniz Bevan

I'll be emailing you guys with some more info tomorrow, but don't worry, it's gonna be pretty easy. If you have any challenge related questions, or just want to thank these awesome volunteers, you can do that here.

Project Mayhem and a Call for A to Z Assistants

First off, I'm over at Project Mayhem today, analyzing some Middle Grade First Lines. Please drop by and share your thoughts.

Secondly, I mentioned some changes with A to Z this year, and one of the first and most important is that we're calling for assistants to help us police the list. We're not just asking you to work for free though. You can find more detailed information at the main A to Z blog, but the reason I'm posting about it here is that my fellow co-hosts have already laid claim to all the volunteers who were people I know! So I need your help.

I really only need a couple people. So if you're interested, please leave a comment here, and let me know.

A to Z Sign Up List is Now Open!

The sign-up list opens today – but read first before adding your name!

The A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays. And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 3 is “C,” and so on. You can use a theme for the month or go random – just as long as it matches the letter of the alphabet for the day. We recommend short posts, turn off Word Verification, and visit five blogs (or more) a day beginning with the one after yours on the list.

This year we are adding categories for those looking for like-minded blogs. Select ONE category code and enter it after your blog’s name. This is purely optional. However, if your blog has adult content, you MUST mark it (AC) or it will be removed from the list. Here are the codes:

1. WRITING : (WR)
2. BOOKS: (BO)
3. FILM : (FM)
4. PHOTOGRAPHY: (PH)
5. GARDENING: (GR)
6. CRAFT: (CR)
7. ART: (AR)
8. MUSIC: (MU)
9. CULINARY: (CU)
10. LIFESTYLE: (LI )
11. FASHION: (FA)
12. PERSONAL: (PR)
13. SOCIAL MEDIA: (SO)
14. GAMING: (GA)
15. EDUCATION : (ED)
16. POLITICS: (PO)
17. HISTORY: (HI)
18. SCIENCE: (SC)
19. HUMOR: (HU)
20. TRAVEL: (TR)
21. MISCELLANEOUS: (MI)
22. ADULT CONTENT: (AC)

Be sure to grab the badge and display it in your sidebar so we know you are participating and link to the A to Z Blog.

You’re A to Z Hosts are founder Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Tina Downey at Life is Good, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude 2.0, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Matthew MacNish at The QQQE, Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Livia Peterson at Leave it to Livia, L. Diane Wolfe at Spunk on a Stick, and Nicole at The Madlab Post.

This is the fourth Challenge. I've only co-hosted once, but last year introduced me to more new blogs than any month since I started blogging! Are you ready to join us in the greatest blogging event ever?

NOTE: Please read the instructions carefully, and follow them, because we won't be able to change your entry once it is added to the list.

A to Z Sign-Ups Open on Wednesday!

So ... there are going to be a couple of changes to the A to Z blogging challenge this year. Nothing major, just some fun stuff to include more people.

We'll be making some announcements soon.

For now, just be ready - the list will open up on Wednesday, and you can all start signing up then.

Until then, have the best Monday you can!

A to Z Blogging Challenge 2013

The time has come, folks (actually, the time already passed, if you know the other co-hosts). Today I am announcing the co-hosts for the 2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge.

This is the fourth year the challenge has taken place, but only the second year I've been involved. Sometimes it can seem like a lot of work, but it really is the biggest thing in blogging, and it is the absolute best way to meet new bloggers, and gain followers.

Anyway, the sign-up list isn't open or anything yet, we just want to announce the list of co-hosts, because we've added a couple of awesome bloggers this year. Please double check and make sure you follow all of us:

Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out

Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs

Alex J. Cavanaugh at Alex J. Cavanaugh

Tina Downey at Life is Good

DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude 2.0

Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie

Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse

Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small

Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs

Livia Peterson at Leave it to Livia

L. Diane Wolfe at Spunk on a Stick

Nicole at The Madlab Post

and of course, me, but you're already here

Well, that is all. Happy Friday, and I hope we all have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

A to Z Challenge: Reflections

Happy Monday, everyone! Did you survive the A to Z April Challenge? As far as I'm concerned, even if you didn't post every letter on the exact correct day, as long as you put a post up for all 26 letters, I think you survived the challenge. So if you did, congrats!

This was my first year as a co-host, in fact it was my first year being involved at all, and I have to say that while it was a lot of work, I consider it a huge success. My posts were great, nice, short, and easy, but really what the challenge was mainly about for me was discovering new blogs. I met so many new bloggers, and for the first time expended my network outside of the book and writer blogosphere.

It was my first time working on something of such a large scale, and with so many awesome co-hosts. In particular, I want to thank Lee, for creating this challenge, and Alex, for administering the linky list, but I also want you to make sure you visit all the other co-hosts, and thank them as well:

Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs,
Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report,
Tina Downey at Life is Good,
Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie,
DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude,
Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse,
Elizabeth Mueller,
Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs,
Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain,
Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small.

For me personally, the challenge started out very strong. I was averaging almost 100 comments a day on my posts, and I was visiting around 150 blogs a day for the first week. Then things got really busy at work, and my ability to keep that up dropped off significantly. I still have not visited every single blog that signed up, but I'm slowly working my way through.

I did have some favorite themes. I'm sure everyone saw how Alex featured other bloggers, and Jeremy's head to head posts, but another favorite theme of mine was Joe Lunievicz's Greek inspired posts.

I don't really have any regrets or complaints, and I will be participating next year, because I had so much fun. I do wish I'd had time to visit more of the blogs involved, but I spent most of my time concentrating on the section of the list that had been assigned to me.

How about you? Did you take part in the A to Z Challenge? Did you feel like it was a success? Do you have any complaints, or regrets?

Christine Hardy's Current Query II

First - a few announcements. The A to Z Challenge banner has been removed. It's a little sad, because I'd gotten used to it, but the challenge is over, so it is what it is. The Challenge Reflection post badge is still up, so mark your calendars if you haven't already, and the navigation buttons will stay up for at least a month, because I'm still using them to try to make sure I visit every blog that signed up at least once.

In other news, I'm honored to have been invited to join the group blog YA Confidential, which is an exciting blog about YA Books, writing for young people, and everything in between. Please do visit, and make sure you're following us! Speaking of which, if you're new here, from the challenge, I also blog at Project Middle Grade Mayhem, which is another group blog, with a focus on Middle Grade books and readers, so please check and make sure you're following there as well!

Finally, I know a lot of people are taking some time off after the challenge, but I don't have that luxury. I've got several people waiting for query critiques, so I have to get right back to work. I will dearly miss those nice, easy, short posts, though.

So, here we have Christine Hardy's query, again. You may remember she had a query letter for this same project on the blog not long ago, but she asked me to critique her revision, so he we are. Visit the original post, to find links to Christine's blog.

Here we go:

Dear Agent,

Faldur is a captain in the king’s rangers of Belhanor. He battles rebels, hunts killer lions left over from the last war, and keeps an eye on Marenya, the now-grown daughter of his deceased mentor. When Marenya’s cousin becomes engaged to the crown prince, he is assigned to escort the ladies to the capital for the wedding. Rebels attack them on the road and Marenya allows herself to be captured in her cousin’s place in order to allow an injured Faldur and the bride to escape.

Faldur must leave Marenya behind in order to fulfill his duty, forcing him to realize his feelings for her aren’t as brotherly as he thought they were. By the time he is able to go back for her, she has been taken to a secret stronghold in the mountains by the leader of the rebel movement: the prince’s younger brother who is also Faldur’s long-lost friend.

Marenya believes her captor is under magical thrall to the king’s uncle, who is using him as a puppet to take over the throne. Faldur must decide whether to kill his former friend or help her try to free him, in order to save his country and the woman he loves.

THE GOLDEN GRYPHON is complete in 100,000 words. [insert standard language]

That's it.

Please save your feedback for tomorrow, and thank Christine for her courage in the comments. Happy May Day, everyone!

A to Z Challenge: Z - Zen

Zen

I can't believe Z is finally here. Did you make it? I did. I beat the challenge. I posted every single day, except Sundays, and only once or twice did I post late, on a Saturday.

I won't say a whole lot about my challenge experience today, because that's best saved for the reflections post, coming up on May 7th. For now, I'll just say: it was really nice to meet all you new bloggers!

zen [zɛn] n. a school of Mahayana Buddhism that asserts that enlightenment can be attained through meditation, self-contemplation, and intuition rather than through faith and devotion and that is practiced mainly in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

Synonyms: there are no synonyms, but apparently the word zen is used as a street name for lysergic acid diethylamide

Etymology: school of Mahayana Buddhism, 1727, from Japanese, from Chinese ch'an, ultimately from Skt. dhyana "thought, meditation," from PIE root *dhya "to see, contemplate."

A to Z Challenge: Y - Yakuza

Yakuza

I can't believe it's almost over. One more day, and we've made it! Anyway, happy Saturday, everyone.

ya·ku·za [yah-koo-zuh] n. (pl.) 1. a Japanese criminal organization involved in illegal gambling, extortion, gun-running, etc. 2. a member of this organization

Synonyms: there are no direct synonyms, but this organization is similar to the Mafia, Triads, Vory, Cartels, and many other organized crime groups

Etymology: traditional Japanese organized crime cartel, lit. "eight-nine-three" (ya, ku, sa) the losing hand in the traditional baccarat-like Japanese card game Oicho-Kabu. The notion may be "good for nothing," or "bad luck" (in someone who runs afoul of them), or it may be a reference to the fact that a player who draws this hand requires great skill to win.

A to Z Challenge: X - Xenophobia

Xenophobia

There are some really disturbing photos for this word if you do a Google image search. I'm not sharing them here, not because I don't care about what's wrong with the world, I do, but activism is not really the point of this blog.

Anyway, although it might seem similar, xenophobia is not quite like racism or bigotry. It's not about prejudice or hate, it's about fear. Japan was a very xenophobic society in the Meiji era. You might say the United States has a lot of xenophobes in it today.

xen·o·pho·bi·a [zen-uh-foh-bee-uh] n. intense and often irrational fear of foreigners or strangers, or of that which is foreign or strange

Synonyms: there are no direct synonyms, but some related words are: nationalism, isolationism, ethnocentrism, jingoism, racialism

Etymology: 1903, from xeno- "foreign, strange" + -phobia "fear" (see phobia). Earlier (c.1884) it meant "agoraphobia."

A to Z Challenge: W - Wasabi

Wasabi

Wasabi - yum! I've only had real wasabi once or twice. The stuff you get in most Sushi restaurants is not real wasabi; it's a paste made from horseradish and mustard, died green. It's not bad, but it's still not the real deal.

So - wasabi my ninja? Get it?

wa·sa·bi [wah-suh-bee] n. a very pungent green Japanese condiment made from the root of the herb Eutrema wasabi

Synonyms: none, but wasabi tastes and causes your nasal passage to react similar to horseradish and mustard

Etymology: herb root used in cooking, 1903, from Japanese.

Wow. What a boring etymology. However, now I'm hungry.