07 May 2012

A-Z Reflection

A week after the A to Z Challenge, I now reflect on the experience.

Some thoughts on the month-long challenge of writing a post on about each letter of the alphabet:

Did I follow the rules?

  • Yes. I posted every day except for Sunday.
  • I also visited on average five blogs a day.  I did cheat with this since some days I visited up to 20 blogs and may have not visited any on another day.  At the start, I had planned on visiting each blog on the list, but with over 1800, it became kind of daunting and I just went through as many as I could.  I still want to go back through and touch each blog on the list at some point, though.

What were the benefits?

  • I added new followers to my blog.  
  • I had more readers and more comments than I normally do to posts and from some new readers almost every day.
  • I tried to make each post interesting.  Not that I don't do that regularly, but trying to write a post associated with a letter really stretched my thought process on some days.  
  • I learned some new words and have incorporated some of them into my regular lingo, or at least my thoughts.
  • I thought more about what I want to do with my blog.  Would I have the energy to make it bigger?  Do I have the style that would bring more readers and followers?
  • Using the links list, I found some new blogs and am following several that I came across.

Did the Challenge affect the way I blogged?

  • I still wrote the way I write.  I just used some different topics than I might have other wise since I had to focus on letters for the day.
  • I think that since I was writing based on a word/theme for each day that the quality of my writing was higher on some post, but, possibly lower for other days when I wasn't feeling the topic I chose.
  • I still responded to each comment readers posted.  This also led me to finding some new blogs since I like to go to the blogs linked to the commenters' names.  

Am I glad I did it?

  • Yes.  It was a fun challenge and one that I am glad I found.  As days went on, I started to try and think ahead to different words or ideas I could use for future letters.  It really made me focus ahead of time on what I wanted to write.

Would I do it again?

  • Maybe.
  • It would be another challenge.  Even more so since I wouldn't want to use any of the same concepts for the letters.

What's next?

  • I am continuing my daily blogging with NaBloPoMo.
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37 comments:

  1. MJ07 May, 2012 16:13

    It was a great experience! It was very hard to visit all the blogs, I didn't even come close, but I will try to visit more! Thanks for stopping by my blog!
    -MJ

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    1. a.eye07 May, 2012 22:53

      It was really hard to visit others, especially as I started getting busier with work as the month progressed! Good luck visiting the rest... I will continue to read a few each day until I have seen them all.

      Delete
  2. Gina Gao07 May, 2012 18:07

    I'm glad to hear that you had a great experience.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  3. Sleepy Joe07 May, 2012 18:16

    I enjoyed reading your posts and look forward to any furture challenges you decide to take on!

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    1. a.eye07 May, 2012 22:56

      Thanks!! I am still looking for more challenges to try after this NaBloPoMo is finished at the end of May.

      Thanks for continuing to read and comment!

      Delete
  4. Empty Nester07 May, 2012 19:39

    I completed the A-Z challenge and forgot to post my reaction. Oops! I'm also participating in the NaBloPoMo for May. What WAS I thinking? LOL

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    1. a.eye07 May, 2012 22:57

      It's not too late to post your reaction! Congrats on completing the challenge!

      Delete
  5. Hektor Karl07 May, 2012 19:46

    "I started to try and think ahead to different words or ideas I could use for future letters. It really made me focus ahead of time on what I wanted to write."

    I found that the further I went, the more I was just focused on getting the next one done. But I definitely planned less than many.

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    1. a.eye07 May, 2012 22:58

      I think having a theme would help me plan more ahead. Some days the advance planning was just a day. Though for some letters, like Z, I had at least the word planned when I was still early in the alphabet.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  6. Karen Jones Gowen07 May, 2012 20:04

    I'm glad it was a good experience for you. I am still going to visit blogs signed up, if it takes me all year!

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    1. a.eye07 May, 2012 22:58

      Thanks for stopping in.

      I, too, will continue to read the blogs on the list.

      I am starting with all the ones on the reflections list and then will go back to the original list.

      Delete
  7. betty07 May, 2012 23:12

    Thanks for visiting my blog and your comment; I have to say it was quite an adventure with the challenge! And then I read your post that you moved during it and now you are doing NaBloPoMo. Wow that is an accomplishment in itself!! Good luck with it!!

    betty

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    1. a.eye08 May, 2012 22:20

      Yeah, the move added a lot of stress, but it also helped me focus so I had some posts planned for the days I would be without internet.

      Thanks for the compliments!

      Delete
  8. Betty Alark08 May, 2012 07:30

    Hi, a,eye!

    Glad you found my blog. I am now one of your followers!

    Very informative reflectins post! It's always a plus to learn new things and to meet new people!

    Hope you will continue to stop by my blog as I will continue to stop by and visit you!

    Glad to have meet you!

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    Replies
    1. a.eye08 May, 2012 22:20

      Thanks! I will continue to check out your blog, too!

      Delete
  9. Bindhurani08 May, 2012 09:08

    Me too joined in NaBloPoMo. And, just like you me too started blogging everyday. Love the way you write. Thanks for visiting my blog.
    It is a great pleasure to find like minded people. You are doing an amazing job of visiting and supporting fellow bloggers. wishing you great success.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. a.eye08 May, 2012 22:22

      Thanks! I love reading other bloggers' work!

      Delete
  10. Mina Burrows08 May, 2012 09:56

    I liked how you described the pros & cons to the challenge. Excellent. And you're doing NaBloPoMo. Cool!

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    1. a.eye08 May, 2012 22:22

      Thanks! I think that I am so used to daily writing now that NaBloPoMo was just the logical next step after the Challenge.

      Delete
  11. Lisa08 May, 2012 11:02

    I enjoyed your description of your 'reflections!' Thanks for visiting my blog. I too, found more pros than cons in doing the a to z, much more actually. I don't know if there were any cons come to think of it. I also found people through their comments on other people's blogs. That was cool! Enjoy your day!

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    1. a.eye08 May, 2012 22:24

      Thanks! I have really enjoyed finding other bloggers' work. It was a such a large pro of the Challenge and I really hope I can see the rest of the links I have not seen yet.

      Delete
  12. Susan Oloier08 May, 2012 11:41

    Congrats on successfully completing the Challenge. I will have to explore your blog now that the Challenge is over and the pressure to write and click around is off.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jocelyn Rish08 May, 2012 18:16

    I was the same way about my blog visits - I might go a few days without visiting, and then I'd set aside a chunk of time and go to town. It almost became like an addition "just one more!" And I also learned a lot about my blogging style too, so it was really helpful and I'm so glad I did it, but I'm also not 100% sure I'd do it again - it was draining. :-)

    Congrats on meeting the challenge!

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    1. a.eye08 May, 2012 22:25

      Thanks for coming through and commenting!

      It really did become a "just one more" for me when I did my bulk reads of blogs! Glad you learned about your style as you did the Challenge and I hope you are refreshed a bit from the draining month of writing!

      Delete
  14. Journey of Life08 May, 2012 23:19

    Thanks for sharing. I love it! I need to do the same visiting at least 5 blogs per day. --My followers are way down there :-)

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    1. a.eye09 May, 2012 12:03

      It does help to visit other blogs! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  15. Anne Mackle12 May, 2012 14:49

    I didn't find your blog during the A to Z challenge but I'm going to look through your posts. I think we'll be finding blogs that we missed for ages but good to find new ones.

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    1. a.eye13 May, 2012 13:19

      Thanks! I'm trying to do the same through the Reflections and original list.

      Delete
  16. Miriam Drori12 May, 2012 17:39

    Well done for finishing the challenge!

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  17. a.eye13 May, 2012 13:19

    I'm in the same boat!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Arlee Bird14 May, 2012 01:39

    I'm glad you had a positive experience with the A to Z Challenge. It's daunting, but that's what a challenge should be.


    Lee
    An A to Z Co-Host
    Tossing It Out

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    1. a.eye14 May, 2012 22:02

      Thanks! And thanks for co-hosting this Challenge!

      Delete
  19. Patricia JL17 May, 2012 19:15

    Congrats on finishing the challenge. I agree, the list of blogs to visit was daunting, but we have all summer to stop by everyone and say hi.

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    1. a.eye17 May, 2012 22:14

      Very true! I'm still going through a few each day now. Thanks for stopping in.

      Delete

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