Monday 4 May 2015

A to Z Blogging Challenge 2015: Reflections

Good morning all! May the 4th be with you! (Sorry, couldn't resist...)



So it's now May and the A to Z blogging challenge 2015 is officially over for this year. This was my first year participating in the challenge and I have to say, I loved every minute of it.

I didn't really have a specific theme for the challenge -  I decided just to post any writing tips or advice that I thought fellow indie/first time authors like myself might be interested in. After all, I originally set up this blog to document my journey through to becoming a published author and I thought that if there was anyone else out there in the same position as me, they might appreciate the encouragement, no matter how big or small.

I really loved having a topic to blog about for a whole month - normally I'm pretty stuck for blog ideas, or I find myself too busy to post, but this challenge has made me fall in love with blogging all over again. I'm definitely going to be trying harder to post new and exciting content for you guys from now on! I actually have a couple of ideas based around a few of my posts, so hopefully I'll have some interesting blog posts for you all this month as well :). This challenge surprised me: the posts I thought people would like to read and comment on where the ones that weren't as popular, and my completely random, weird posts about jackknifingexceeding your expectations, villains and flash fiction are the ones that people seemed to like to read!

I really really enjoyed visiting other blogs and making new friends. There are a couple of blogs that I followed that I know I'm going to continue to visit. I felt bad that I didn't really get a chance to look at more bloggers who signed up, but as this was my first year participating, I found it hard enough to juggle blogging and returning comments. But that's going to be my goal for next year and for my monthly IWSG posts: to visit the linky list and discover more wonderful bloggers.

I'd love to participate in the A to Z challenge next year as well - the lessons I've learnt from this year are: to schedule more of my posts so I'm not rushing to write them (I scheduled the first two weeks of posts and it was definitely less stressful at the start of the challenge!), posting in the mornings instead of late at night and I'm thinking about having a definite theme for next year - I really enjoyed reading blogs that featured flash fiction pieces every day, so I might try my hand at that next year :).

I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone who visited, followed and commented on my blog during the challenge. Your support and encouragement helped me to make it to the end - I know I never would've finished without you :).

Hope you're all having a wonderful May Day, and enjoying the sunshine while it lasts :)!

23 comments:

  1. Scheduling posts in advance is definitely a good strategy! There have been a couple of posts, in prior years, which I didn't have ready by the first of April, but they were deep enough into the alphabet it was okay to not have them prepared already. Having posts already written also allows plenty of time for editing them and making sure they're as polished and perfect as you can get them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Carrie-Anne! I had to edit a couple of my posts this year, so I'm glad I scheduled them beforehand!

      Delete
  2. Glad you enjoyed the Challenge and that it made you fall in love with blogging again! I didn't have a theme my first year but I used one this year and it was sooooooo much easier. I'd definitely recommend it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sarah :)! I think I'll definitely use a theme next year!

      Delete
  3. Yay for falling back in love with blogging. I hope that passion sticks around. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Every year the challenge fires me up for blogging. There are so many wonderful bloggers out there. Hope you'll be back next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's great, Susan! I really hope I can take part again next year too :)

      Delete
  5. Rachel, Congrats! on finishing A to Z! Meeting new people and getting that fire re-lit is what the Challenge is all about!

    Stephen Tremp
    IWSG Co-host

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Stephen :)! I loved every minute of it :)

      Delete
  6. Hey there! Just stumbling upon your blog right now and I love it! My theme was random writing advice and tips as well. Looking forward to going back and looking through what you came up with. Congratulations on completing the challenge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anne, thanks for stopping by :)! Glad you like my blog, going to check out yours now too :)

      Delete
  7. Hello there.
    Congratulations on completing the challenge!
    This was my second year taking part and one thing I got from last year was to pre-schedule my posts and have Blogger post them automatically. Due to my hectic schedule, I knew I wouldn't be online everyday. I also made sure to visit everyone who commented at my blog and then some. The challenge is very time consuming so definitely give yourself a pat or two on the back for finishing...many did not!

    Entrepreneurial Goddess

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you :)! Pre-scheduling the first two weeks of posts was definitely a life-saver for me - I wouldn't have completed the challenge otherwise, for sure!

      Delete
  8. Congrats! Too bad I didn't find your blog during the Challenge as I could always do with publishing tips. I'll have to check out some of your posts. Hope you do take part next year. Flash fiction is always fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nick, thanks for stopping by! Oh well, you know where to come for next year now ;). Bring on next year's challenge!

      Delete
  9. This was my 3rd year to participate and I enjoyed it once again. Part of the fun is finding new sites like yours to enjoy. I found you through your reflection, which just goes to show even writing that brings new friends along.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, well done on participating for three years! I really enjoyed finding new blogs - I can't wait for the road trip so I can find some more :)

      Delete
  10. Happy to hear you had fun with the challenge! Definitely come back next year! :) The first year I did A to Z I didn't have a theme either, and the second year I did and it was so much more fun! (also, time efficient). And the visiting is definitely the best part! Also, you are right on the posting time: I schedule my posts to go online at midnight for the next day, so when people ahead of me in time zones visit, they are not disappointed... :)
    Cheers!

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary
    MopDog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you :)! I definitely try and think of a theme for next year then :). Ooh, I didn't think about posting at midnight...will definitely have to try that out too! Thanks for stopping by :)

      Delete
  11. Congrats on completing the A to Z Challenge! Looking forward to next year!

    Mary @ Jingle Jangle Jungle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mary :)! Can't wait for next year, either!

      Delete
  12. Happy you made it through your first challenge. I am visiting today on the A to Z Road Trip! Hope to see you around

    ReplyDelete

I love chatting and meeting new people :). Thanks for stopping by!

 
BLOG TEMPLATE BY DESIGNER BLOGS