Reflections on my first ever A to Z Blogging Challenge (unofficially)
I was encouraged to participate in the A to Z Blog Challenge – unofficially, by Mindful Digressions, who has since left the blogging arena. I think this challenge has been a great experience. Every night I came home after work and typed away furiously, coming up with my next post. So here is a recap of April’s posts
A – Abercrombie & Fitch – From Camping to Campy. I thought this was a pretty catchy title, I sensed others didn’t share my enthusiasm.
B – Boys – Getting the “Gains”. I received a good amount of views on this post. My boys really appreciated the post, it made them feel good that I recognized their incredible accomplishments.
C – C is for Courtesy. Nobody seemed very interested in this.
D – Drought – Dry, Dusty, Depressing, Debilitating. This was quite a hot topic.
E – EEK – I think I have a Tufted-Ear Bird Dog. It turns out my kids are right, anytime you have a post with a picture of a cute a** puppy, even if he is the unusual tufted ear bird dog, it‘s guaranteed views and comments, because no one can resist a puppy.
F – Facetious. Oh this was met with a fantastic reception (uhh – being a bit facetious here).
G – Garden, B.P. Nobody seems to care about the state of disrepair in which my gardens stand as much as I do.
H – Haunted house in the mountains. Surprisingly, I thought this was one of my better posts, but it didn’t get many views, but the ratio of views to comments were 1:1, except I think half of those comments might have been my own.
I – Ingratitude. A slightly warmer than tepid response, people seem to be interested in posts referring to issues of the road.
J – Just another day – and that’s okay, in fact….it’s perfect! This was a post about me watching my husband watching the Masters on our 19th Anniversary. Nice responses and comments, it seems people like to know there is hope for the institution of marriage.
K – Karma. My one and only poem, about Shaken Baby Syndrome.
L – Latitude. A post about allowing your teens to grow and learn. Interesting comments.
M – Microbes – A Love/Hate Relationship. It turns out people have a lot to say about bacteria.
N – No – Not Today! My post about a really awful, horrible day and how just coming home can erase all of that angst away from the day. Seems like other people have awful days which really aren’t so big a deal once they get home.
O – Orange you glad you blog? I am!!! I wasn’t the only one who thought this was kind of catchy. I couldn’t think of another thing to do with ‘O’.
P – Paranormal – The Bodie Curse. People like stuff about ghost towns, curses, and the paranormal.
Q – ‘Quarium – I totally and undeniably cheated on this one. Q had me stumped. But I posted some pictures of cute a** fishes. Doesn’t seem to have quite the same appeal as cute a** puppies.
R – Rebuttal and Road Rage – I roped my oldest into doing the majority of the post and in the end he ratted me out for several minor episodes of road rage (okay maybe threatening to dismember a tailgater is overdoing it a bit).
S – Sleepy time is the best time. A post about sleeping. I have gathered that people enjoy reading anything that has to do with sleep. Sleep is a big issue.
T – Television. I did a quote here, it seemed kind of lame, I think everyone agreed (it was lame). I’m not a quoter, don’t have that quoting finesse others do.
U – Universe: A Boring One. My youngest feels very strongly about this. He wrote about how we are constrained by the physical laws of our Universe, which makes it a boring a** one because there are no dragons, we can’t be invisible and no one is capable of flying. This may have been a bit too deep and out there. I thought it was great.
V – Violence in Health Care – I have to say this is one of my better posts. I had no idea violence was such an issue in health care until I started doing the research for the post. People had some really strong feelings about this topic.
W – Winchester House – The House the Spirits Built – A post about the house Mrs. Winchester built to keep the spirits happy in hopes they would leave her alone. Fascinating story and a really interesting place to visit if you happen to be near San Jose, CA.
X – Xeraphina – How She Became a Xanthocomic Xanthippe. I had great fun with this one. Just found 3 words which began with X, and told a story. I love this one, I think it is my favorite. Everyone who commented seemed to enjoy it as well.
Y – Yawn. I became so tired and sleepy writing this one on interesting tidbits about yawns. I yawned and the cooling fan of my brain turned on.
Z – Zed. I thought this was a good little story. It was really about how unnoticed the letter ‘Z’ is especially in Scrabble. No one seemed to find it as fascinating or as clever as I did. Oh well, live and learn.
What have I learned from this month? Don’t skimp on your posts, because nobody likes that. Cute puppies are always a draw. Everybody loves to discuss bacteria and sleep. Ghost stories are good, if not too long. Quotes are not for me. People don’t always get a warped sense of humor, or perhaps they are being polite. Finally, I can’t believe I stuck it out and posted every single day. Now that I’m all warmed up, I guess it is time to start that second book. As my dear old Dad say, the world awaits!
Thanks to en.wikipedia.org for the photo.