I’ve completed the A-Z Challenge every year since I’ve become a widow (and The Widow Badass), so this was #4.
This was the second time I used a theme to guide my posts. I had nothing in mind until the 11th hour, when I had a flash of A-Z inspiration and decided to have any readers of Ye Olde Blogge guess my theme from the subject matter of my posts. Each post followed the same general idea – an idea that could be summarized by the title of a popular song from when I was a kid. Every post was related to this particular song.
You know, like the game of adding “in bed” to any message found in a fortune cookie? Well, each of my posts could have “In the Summertime” added to it.
I thought that this could keep readers engaged and wanting to come back to read more, to solve the mystery! (I know I would have wanted to, if someone I was reading was doing this.) But what I couldn’t have guessed was how much fun it would be for me to do this.
I so enjoyed reading the comments from people suggesting song titles. People guessed some of “the contenders” – the songs that I was contemplating and almost chose for the challenge. People guessed songs that I loved and had forgotten about. People also guessed THE SONG, which thrilled me to no end. I really had no idea how this was going to go – I alternated between “it’ll be guessed the first post – I made it too easy” to “should I give hints if no gets it by the half-way mark?”
I think I’ll be doing this again – it was tremendous fun for me during a trying time. My summer-themed posts were the only thing that kept me going it seemed, some days.
Seriously, I think we had better weather overall in February than in April. See the proof, below:
Not only was April “the spring that never came to Ontario” (so depressing!), but I had a LOT going on at work.
Because of my work challenges, I did not get to visit other blogs from the A-Z participant list – I never even looked at the list once during the whole month. I did not link up my blog to any A-Z Challenge posts on Facebook or wherever for this reason. I could hardly promote my own posts in this way if I was not able to visit anybody else’s, I figured.
I do feel bad about that but there was nothing much I could have done about it – unless I wanted to forgo sleep. I’m looking forward to a time when I can give this challenge my full effort; however that may not be until I retire.
How do other bloggers do it? Did you participate? Did you manage to visit and comment on 10 blogs per day?
Rock on,
The WB
I think you did amazingly well – juggling the challenges of daily posting with working a full-time demanding job. When I think back to my working years, I can’t imagine also trying to be a blogger. In the last 6 weeks, I’ve been barely holding it together on my blog and I’m retired!
I know I’ve already said it, but I think your theme idea was a stroke of brilliance. Makes me wish I had thought of it first 😉
… and before long you will be living and breathing life in the summertime! 😎
Thanks, Joanne! 😁
The A To Z Challenge wanted you to comment on 10 other blog posts per day? That’s an imposing request for a challenge that started out as a lark. Kind of takes the whimsy out of it– which is how I did it when I did it. Your approach to the challenge is much more sensible– and dare I say, fun!
Considering you were focusing on a season that I’m longing to see again, I truly enjoyed reading what you wrote– and look forward to keeping in touch in the future.
Thank you Ally Bean! I think visiting 2 new blogs a day plus writing your own posts is more achievable. I wonder how many bloggers achieve 10 per day consistently throughout the challenge. I’m betting not many.🤔
I have complained about their expectations for visiting blogs before as well. (When I did it, they said five, which I still think is too much.) Most challenges say three, which I think is doable and makes sense. I know some people can do more, but for a lot of us, even three is a lot.
I also agree with you about Deb’s posts. SO FUN. I really enjoyed them all.
Thank you, Akilah!
I agree with Ally (above) about commenting on 10 blogs a day plus writing your own and replying to your own commenters would be a major challenge in itself, even for someone retired. I really enjoyed reading yours and trying to guess a theme which I was way off in another world on. I still don’t know how to find other the bloggers doing the challenge so I didn’t, of course, read any of them.
Thank you Jean! You find the other bloggers through the A-Z website, which I never went back to, once I signed on. 😜
Congratulation on completing the challange… and what an exciting, different one this was. Pity I didnt’ find you durign the challenge, but maybe next year… 😉
Thank you very much!
I managed to follow yours and one other, I can’t imagine trying to keep up with 10 others while also writing one yourself. I really enjoyed yours – the theme had me ready for summer. You did a great job!
Thank you very much Karen!
Hi, Deb – Congratulations on completing a very difficult challenge, especially when you were working full time and had so many other things going on. This is your first post that I have read. I am very inspired to read more.
One of my first thoughts on this post was the same as Ally’s….”What? We were supposed to read and reply to 10 Challenge posts each day??” I am so glad that I did not know this. (BTW – no Challenge co-hosts ever replied to any of my posts…just sayin’). That added pressure may have totally done me in. I wrote each day (which in itself was a miracle). I also replied to all comments, and commented on all posts of bloggers that i regularly follow (5 of them who were also doing the Challenge). I also tried to comment on the most recent post of any other blogger (who was in the Challenge or not) who commented on one of my posts. So, that was likely 10 Challenge posts on many days…but I would hate for it to be an expectation.
I am off to take a dip into “Summertime” right now. I am greatly looking forward to it. See you there!
Thanks Donna! I just visited the A-Z website to see if they were still telling people to visit and comment on 10 new blogs a day for the challenge and I couldn’t find any reference to that. I suspect others were having problems meeting this goal as well so they changed this. Whew! One less thing to feel guilty about 😜
Thanks for double-checking, Deb. I would have ignored that rule either way!
HI… I found you from your comments on other’s A to Z’s… but did not follow you though- out yours daily (popped in a couple of times). 10 others? As well as post and respond to your own comments? I could barely keep up with reading 5 folks (blogging buddies who participated)… and I didn’t post daily. I congratulate you for completing the postings… that in itself is a major accomplishment (and the 4th year too! – wow).
Thank you Pat!
Congrats on participating and completing. Life gets in the way many times over. I did not visit 10 blogs a day most days, but stuck with a handful of bloggers. Same as you on promotion, almost nonexistent, but somehow people found me. Grateful. We do the best we can.
Cheers.
Well said, Silvia! We do the best we can. It’s all we can do.
Hey Deb,
I thought you did an outstanding job on the challenge. Like Joanne,I never would have considered taking it on if I were working full time.
As you know, I followed 14 bloggers every day, but before anyone gets all enthusiastic about that, let me say that it was because it was my first time doing the challenge and I really wanted to see what would work and what wouldn’t. I enjoyed myself thoroughly, but am not sure I would do it again. It was an enormous time commitment.
I’m especially glad that it was in April, during that terrible weather. If the challenge were now, with the gorgeous summer conditions we’ve got, there’s no way I’d be sitting at my computer!
Thanks, Karen! I guess there’s the silver lining to that awful April. 😆
Yay, Deb! Congratulations on another year of A-Z! You have the determination and the stamina which inspires! Naw, sleep is good. I think we must make the challenges work for us, and if it means keeping your eyes on getting the challenge done and not getting bogged down by other things, then so be it!
Thanks Ju Lyn! Agreed!
I loved the guessing of the theme – you should definitely do that again!
And April was a beast here, too. Not that February was any better. At least I only needed my winter coat for part of April.
Thanks, Sarah. I definitely would like to do this again! I enjoyed it so much!
Found you at the end of the challenge but your theme sounds like fun =)
This year the organisers said to set your own aim for the number of sites you wanted to visit – mine was 2 a day, and while it was a struggle I managed it (ok, so some days were none but I doubled up on other days).
Good to know AJ! I missed that direction this year and was still feeling guilty about the “10 new blogs a day” rule ☺️
Wow! Four years of doing A-Z challenge while working full-time. You are ambitious. I found you through Karen Hume’s blog so you did visit hers, but I missed the fact you were doing the challenge, too. Sounds like a fun theme. If I ever did it (which I’m contemplating) I would want a theme. I love that yours was a daily puzzle! I’m going to have to check some of them out to see if can guess the songs! – Molly
Hehehe! I got Karen interested in the A-Z. Thankfully she had a good experience so she is not cursing my name (so far as I know 😜).
Karen did a great job on it this year, even though she may be taking your name in vain. hahaha!
I’ve found the only way to do the challenge is to write a year in advance and schedule your posts! 😀 I LOVE that song and now I need to hear it. Congratulations on year #4! Maybe I’ll join you next year. Translated that means I’m so not doing it next year. Hahahaha 🙂
Thank you Mimi!
OMG – write a year in advance?!?! I don’t even know what I’m having for dinner tomorrow. 🙂
Hahahahahahaha! Right!
For me, there was only one way to do it. I pre-wrote 85% of my posts on my author blog (100% on my personal blog). Since I’m retired, I had the luxury of visiting other blogs as well as the blogs of various commenters. It was a fun A to Z. Don’t know if I will keep more than a handful of those who commented as regular readers, comments have already dropped. But I’ll keep on writing!
Wow, good for you, Donna! I did manage to do a lot of my writing on the Sundays of the challenge, which helped immensely. It would be lovely to get to the position of having all my posts written before the challenge, so I could have time for reading other blogs and commenting. That will be a retirement goal for me. Keep writing, and thanks for the comment!