Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Reflections on A to Z 2015 Blogging Challenge


Last month April's A to Z Challenge was well, challenging to say the least! ;)

A theme certainly helped to focus my writing though I struggled with that initially as I changed it from 'gratitude' to 'heart things, heart strings' as I had wanted a heart theme 'cause truly at the time I couldn't think (of anything else)!

I had intended or rather had hoped to write my posts in advance; however, with a week-long head cold and then a sudden unexpected move (of residence), I was unable to. You can imagine then how I might have felt jumping in with both feet into this year's - my first - A to Z challenge! Yikes, what did I get myself into?!

And yet it took time, more than I thought and expected, the norm for me about four hours per day, rather evening on top of my already busy day with full-time work, travelling, and other commitments such as three long workshop days out of town. And that time spent primarily in response to those who commented on my posts and others whose posts I read who are part of a blogging community I belong to.

I enjoyed writing the guest post early on for B-A-R though now looking back at it, I wonder if it was a bit measly. Am I my own worst critic? ;)

But first before I go there, let me first thank Shailaja Vishwanath 'Godmother' of Blog-A-Rhythm (BAR) and administrators Sid Balachandran, Shilpa Garg, and Tulika Singh: thank you all for bearing with all my questions as a newbie! ;)

I was able to write a post for the Blog-A-Rhythm (BAR) blogging community at https://blogarhythmblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/atozchallenge-heart-strings-by-ellytreehugger/.

On my own blog post, here are my blog titles from A to Z (and since I seem to still have difficulty linking, my apologies but you may have to keep scrolling down till you hit the letter or on my sidebar...sorry!

A is for ABUNDANCE!
B is for Beauty
C is for Courage
D is for Dancing
E is for Emotions!
F is for Feelings
G is for …Growth!
H is for Home
I is for Inspiration!
J is for (Jumping for) JOY!
K is for Kindness
L is for Laughter
M is for Music
N is for Normality? NO! Non-conformity!
O is for … Openness
P is for Poetry!
Q is for Questioning
R is for R&R
S is for Singing (Your Heart Out!)
T is for Trust!
U is for Unique U!
V is for Values!
W is for …Wisdom
X is for Xpress!
Y is for Yes! Yearning for You!
Z is for Zest!

The two most popular posts (on my blog page sidebar) were the letters E and J which shocked and surprised me. Other than E and J, the most viewings of my blog posts were on the letters A, D, I, I, K, N, P, and S.

The posts I had hoped would be favoured (in terms of comments) and the ones I enjoyed most were the letters D, N, P, Q, R, U, and V. I had hoped that B, W, and X would be read just as well though!

During the A to Z challenge
, I made some great connections and some newfound friends, as well as some new followers: a win-win situation - lucky me! A special thanks to my regular visitors - you know who you are (some mentioned below) as well as some newbies like Ranveer...sorry I couldn't find your posts except for one or two!

I thoroughly enjoyed the following posts in no particular order: learning some new words from my new hippie blogging friend Debbie D Doglady, a number of the most unusual phobias by Sanch Vee - thanks for educating me (and I'm not saying that 'cause I love to rhyme!, some of the most amazing yoga asanas with benefits and photos by flexible and elegant Rajlakshmi H Bourah, a much-needed advocate on women's issues by Parul Kashyap Thakur - thank you on behalf of me and all women, Vinodini Iyer with her interesting story-themed idioms, Lata Sunil with her true-to-life technie and non-technie couple known as Dia and Sameer respectively, Shilpa Garg with her amusing emotion-themed poems, Swathi Shenoy with her breathtaking in a thrilling suspenseful dramatic, pageturning novella kind-of-way - publish that will you?, Shalini sharing Shakespearean idioms about her exciting pre-wedding tale, Shantala Nayak who imparted wisdom in her short blog posts catered for her kids (I believe) as well as me (and others too I hope!), Nibha Gupta with her delightful book-themed posts of which I read a few, Vinitha Dileep sharing her brilliance through her exquisitely crafted poetry using the themed alphabet letter of the day, Cat Graham with her amusing poetry along with Laurel Regan - both always a joy and fun to read, Eli Ertresvaag with her joyous posts, Shailaja Vishwanath with her twisted stories - you are not only a Godmother but a Queen of angled writing!, Usha Menon with her doting motherly and teacherly writings was determined to have her blog post posted even when faced with a sudden major health crisis: such inspiration!

I am sure there are other bloggers I have missed and my apologies. Most of you are from BAR (Blog-A-Rhythm) as I felt I wanted to be faithful to our group of bloggers whom I love and admire, along with a couple or few newbies along the way.

Would I do the A to Z challenge again? Yes I would consider, though hopefully with advance draft postings rather than daily pantser posts this time! No kidding! Silly me! ;)

37 comments:

  1. Congratulations Elly! You did it! I'm so proud of you for going for the A-Z despite all personal challenges. You did amazingly well. I did try to visit as often as I could, although I did miss quite a few. I see that I missed your guest post on BAR too. My apologies for the same. But again, let's just rejoice the fact that we made it through ;) <3

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    1. Thanks Vinnie. :) And no worries, I totally understand and don't hold it against you at all. I am amazed you completed the challenge as well considering your busy schedule as well! ;) <3

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  3. Congrats Elly! I enjoyed your posts and I am so glad we met :)
    Thank you so much for the mention :)

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    1. Thanks Parul. :) I'm glad you did though they were quite a mishmash of ideas. ;) <3

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  4. Yay! We did it! Congrats Elly on completing the AtoZ! I have enjoyed your posts during this challenge- and hope to get to the ones I didnt read yet. Thanks for mentioning me - looking forward to keeping in touch through more blogging:-) Hugs

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    1. Yes, we did and congrats to you too Eli! ;) Thanks for reading and commenting on my posts. I enjoyed yours likewise: they brightened and lightened my day. <3

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  5. Very well summing up your experience of completing the challenge successfully.
    .Your will power is amazing.Congrats dear Elly.I am proud of you.

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    1. Thanks dear Usha. :) I would say YOUR willpower is amazing with what you have been through. So, though I appreciate your heartfelt congratulations, I wish you likewise. You are such an inspiration and a powerhouse! ;) <3 (Ah, and my inspired poem comes to mind...in essence, what you see in me is a reflection of YOU!)

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  6. Congratulations Elly for completing the challenge. It makes me look so lazy as I couldnt complete it. And thanks for liking my posts :). Next year will be better prepared.

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    1. Thanks Ls. :) Please be gentle with yourself as you can only do what you can do. No need to reprimand yourself as lazy or otherwise! ;) <3

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  7. This surely was an amazing experience! Looking forward to next year already! Oh, but, I'll definitely try to be better prepared next time. Could read very few posts daily because my own posts weren't pre-scheduled. Still, I'm glad to have connected with so many amazing new bloggers. Will see you around now! Happy blogging! :)
    Kaddu!
    http://www.mysteriouskaddu.com/2015/05/a-to-z-reflections-2015.html

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it Chicky or do you prefer Kaddu? ;) Glad to have met you too! :) <3

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  8. Congratulations on the successful completion ! And thank you for visiting my blog and leaving those heartfelt comments :)

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    1. Thanks! :) And my pleasure: you are most welcome my dear! <3

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  9. Congrats on finishing :) Having a theme you care about really does help, doesn't it?

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    1. Thanks AJ. :) It certainly does help to have a theme and I wondered as I hemmed and hawed about it for awhile: after all, my posts were a bit topsy turvy it seemed, didn't it? ;) <3

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  10. Congrats on completing the challenge, Elly. I enjoyed reading your breezy, heartfelt and uplifting posts. You're great how you mention all those blogs here. All great ones, too! Hope to see you at the challenge next year. In the meantime, see you at the BAR!

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    1. Thanks Cat and you too! :) I am glad you enjoyed my posts and I enjoyed yours likewise as they were fun, delightful, and a joy to read, so thanks for sharing and participating. :) <3

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  11. Congratulations Elly! You did great this April. Enjoyed reading your posts and they were not only inspiring but touched a chord too. Thanks for the mention ♥

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    1. Thanks Shilpa and same likewise! :) I appreciate your comments: thanks for dropping by and commenting! <3

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  12. Thanks a lot my dear Elly.In fact I get inspiration from my younger friends like you.Your words of appreciation compel me to take a plunge and come out with whatever I can think of.

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    1. Aw, you are so sweet dear Usha: thanks for your kind words of encouragement! :) I guess we inspire each other then? ;) <3

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  13. Congratulations Elly! You did a fantastic job with your first challenge, especially under such difficult circumstances. Your posts were so enjoyable and inspirational! Thanks for the mention and your frequent visits. I do feel we have many things in common. Cheers! ☺

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    1. Thanks Debbie. :) I am glad you enjoyed my 'zany' posts! ;) And yes, I think we do have a number of things in common dear 'soul' sister.' ;) <3

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  14. Congratulations! I completed my first A to Z this year, also, with a fraction of the commitments you have. You showed such devotion with the amount of time you spent each day. You overcame some challenges - feel proud!

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    1. Thanks Alana! :) I guess I do. ;) And congrats to you too since it was your first. <3

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  15. Hello there.
    Congratulations on completing the challenge! Thanks for visiting me during the crazy month of April. I'm popping over again today from the Road Trip/Reflections linky.

    Entrepreneurial Goddess

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