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Thinking Back on the Blogging A to Z April 2018 Challenge


This was my fourth year of participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. The last time was in 2015. It's always good to take a break from something intense for whatever reason.

Back in October, 2017, I challenged myself to do a daily post for at least a year, so taking on the April challenge wasn't going to be a big deal. From my experience with the other three challenges, I knew the following:
  • I wanted to spend time visiting blogs rather than writing posts.
  • My blog was not going to suddenly explode with traffic because of the challenge.
  • It's best to have a theme for focus, ease, and efficiency for me.
  • My posts need to be short and sweet.
So, here's what I did for this year's challenge:
  • I recycled the Jane Austen, Action Doll theme that I did for a weekly ABC meme a few years ago.
  • I visited every participant on the Master List, starting backwards from #697. I didn't visit the list daily, but when I did, I checked anywhere from 20 to 50 blogs on a given day. I managed to visit everyone on the Master List by the last day of the Challenge.
  • If a blog showed no entry for the Challenge or the last entry was several days old, I moved on without checking what the blogger was about. Six hundred ninety-seven participants, remember.
  • I commented on many of the blogs that I visited. About halfway through the Challenge, I thought to add my blog's link with my comment.
  • I kept a list of blogs to which I wanted to return and visit further.
What I thought about this year's challenge:
  • Because I pre-scheduled my posts before the Challenge started, April was almost like a vacation from blogging for me. 
  • Curiously, traffic to my blog was less than in previous years which had me wondering now and then if I was using the wrong list. Oh, well. If I were in a different frame of mind, I could have been discouraged about completing the Challenge.   
  • It really doesn't matter if I left my blog's link on my comment. People who are inclined to visit others will do so with or without the link. 
  • In past Challenges, I visited categories that interested me. I'm glad I tossed that strategy aside to visit all blogs, otherwise, I wouldn't have come across a great number of wonderful storytellers who weaved their tales through words and/or images.
All in all, the best part about this Challenge is visiting blogs and learning stuff I would not have ever known to learn about.

From Jane Austen the Action Doll and me, Thank you, Blogging A to Z April 2018 Challenge hosts!




Comments

  1. Replies
    1. She shall return, Adam. She's hoping Spiderman, Woody, and Jessie will join her when she does.

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    2. It'd be a hoot to see Jane on her second day at work in some of those jobs. :)

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  2. My eyes dropped out of my head when you said you visited all the blogs! I bow to you because I didn’t do half or a quarter what you did. Congrats on finishing and love Jane Austin’s action ways

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    Replies
    1. Birgit, thanks. Remember, I'm retired. Also, a bit anal retentive. :-)

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  3. Wow, all the blogs? That's huge. I too didn't bother with blogs that were several days off from the current letter, but I was only looking for 5 blogs a day. Wow, you did a lot!

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    Replies
    1. As I wrote above to Birgit, I'm retired now. Reading the blogs and doing online jigsaw puzzles were my thing last month. lol

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  4. You already know how much I loved reading your challenge entries and how I admire your talent. I don't do challenges and I can't blog more than once a week because it takes me all week to visit all my bloggy friends -- I always respond (eventually) to all who comment on mine and then besides I have people (you know who you are for one) whom I try not to miss a single post. Because you make me smile!

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    Replies
    1. Aw, gee, Sallie, thank you. I appreciate your kind and generous words. The feeling is mutual you know, you know. :-)

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  5. That's an incredible commitment, I don't know if I could do it. You've got some solid insight, I think if you can preplan as you did for April it's smooth sailing.

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    Replies
    1. Sure you could, Jeanna, once you commit. I don't have much on my plate right now so that helps a lot for me to plod forward through blogland.

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  6. YOU are completely awesome . . . thanks for sharing the "how i went about this" . . . thank you for sharing yourSelf . . . ya know, from your colorful heart . . . thank you for being my friend.
    love & love.
    -g-

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    Replies
    1. Takes one awesome to know another awesome, G.

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Thanks for the good cheer. :-)

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