Saturday, May 12, 2012

Blogging from A to Z Challenge Reflections




I know I'm a little late with the wrap-up post (it was supposed to go up on the 7th), but I think it fairly represents what happened last month.

I was late. I was scrambling. But I made it in the end.

I learned a lot from needing to have a blog post up every day, with only minimal days off. Instead of incorporating the letters into my normal posts, I made something special for each day. I usually wrote the posts the day or night before, but I did manage to schedule posts a few times. I'm terrible about getting things done ahead of time, and I thrive under the pressure of a deadline. I had each day's theme mapped out, but I "pantsed" it for the most part. It was random, off the top of my head, and a lot of fun.

I used a lot of lolcats during the challenge. That started with the Erotica post because I had absolutely no idea how to get around talking about the genre and keep it PG13 at most. Erotica does make me giggle (I even say that in my review policy), so I wanted my thoughts on it to get you to perhaps crack a smile. The lolcats continued because I would be scrambling to get a post ready, and they are just one Google search away from an awesome post. Here's one for you that I never managed to use (Geeky Daddy will appreciate this one):


See, that's one of the other great things about this challenge. I found quite a few fantastic new people to follow. I began interacting more with bloggers that I was already following and somewhat acquainted with. I made a special point from the moment I began blogging to not get too terribly involved in the blogosphere (I have a very busy life offline), but I am so glad to have met some of those wonderful people. I may not ever do more than say "hi" or make a quick comment on their blogs, but lately I've given up sleep to at least do that. I can't do much, but what I do is with the greatest respect and admiration for them. *hugs you all*

Now that I have lost most of you who care nothing for my rambles, I'll talk a little about the speed bumps that I hit during the challenge. I was rushed to the ER once, dealt with a HUGE issue at my daughter's school, and had two deaths in my family during April. I have migraine issues, and I had one get completely out of control. It took a few days to get that in check, and right as it was getting under control - my grandfather died. That was hard and more than reason enough to abandon the challenge, but I wasn't giving up. I scheduled mini-posts in addition to my regular ones and traveled out of state to go pay my respects. I won't say much about the problem at my daughter's school, but I hope that none of you ever have to deal with anything like it. The administration was TERRIBLE, and I'm so proud of myself for not getting arrested. Hooray, Kayla! Finally, right as the month was ending, one of my younger cousins passed away. It was completely shocking and unexpected. He was a young man who should have had a full life ahead of him. It was devastating, and I had to travel out of state again to be with my family. I still finished the challenge.

So, despite everything, I posted every day. Some were posted barely before midnight and others were ridiculously short - but they were DONE! The people at Blogging from A to Z made a survivor's badge, and I will post it with pride.


If you're interested in reading my A to Z posts, here is the list:


Did you finish the challenge? Leave me a link to your reflections if so. :-)

5 comments:

  1. THAT CAT IS TERRIFYING-LOOKING. AHHHH! And look at it's claws. They are fully out. Eeks!

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  2. Hi! My mission...which I chose to accept...was to continue to visit as many A to Z Challenge participants as I could even after the challenge is over because I didn't want to miss out on any great bloggers out there! Lovely blog...good luck with the rest of the year and I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

    Donna L Martin
    www.donasdays.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks, Donna! I'm so glad that you were able to stop by. :-)

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  3. Sounds like you had one heck of an April! I'm impressed that you were able to even finish. I admire your persistence.


    Lee
    An A to Z Co-Host
    Tossing It Out

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You are going to put words in my box?! *squeezes you* Now I shall stalk YOUR blog!