Monday, May 2, 2011

Wiza Words on the A to Z April Challenge Reflections Megapost 2011

The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is over, and it went by so quickly, it truly seems like only yesterday that I wrote my first challenge blog.

The coordinators of the A to Z April Challenge have asked us to contribute our reflections on the challenge and one of the questions they asked was what attracted us to the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge in the first place.

Well isn't it obvious? STRESS, with a Capital S. I wanted to see if, by adding just one more thing to my daily schedule, I could work my way into a nice padded cell on the psych ward of my local hospital. The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge was – shall I say – challenging at best, and stressful at worst.

Every day, all day, Monday through Friday, and sometimes during the weekend, I take care of some very noisy children (whom I love dearly, because they're my grandchildren). From early morning until sometimes as late as midnight, I set aside my writing to attend to my grandchildren. (Don't feel too badly for me though – they provide me with most of my blog material.)

To be honest, the A to Z Challenge was so stressful, I was afraid I might miss a day due to the incessant interruptions. Soooo on the weekend before the challenge, before I committed to joining something that would require even more of my time, I wrote ALL of the blogs but one. As the days approached, I tweaked them a little, but I had written 25 of them in one day in an attempt to relieve myself from some of the stress.

Can anybody say obsessive compulsive?

Anyway, I hadn't posted any of them yet and I was afraid I would forget to post them on the correct day, because I suffer from CRS (I can never remember what that stands for, but I know it has something to do with my short attention span). As a result of my lifelong problem with CRS, I had to wait until the day before each blog was due so that I could schedule it. Knowing I had to remember every day (except one day a week) to schedule the post added even more stress to my already growing anxiety.

I never felt like quitting, though, because once I had committed to the challenge, I was dedicated to finishing the challenge. Because I wrote all but one in one day, I felt somewhat prepared but still stressed. I gave it my best, all things considered, and I can say I'm proud of the work I contributed to the challenge.

The biggest contribution I made to the challenge? Comments I left on other A to Z Challenge blogs. I spent hours commenting, but, like everybody else who tried to comment on all of the blogs, I didn't have enough time in the day to comment on most of them.

Now that this challenge is over, I am going to take an 11-month break, where I will continue to care for my grandchildren, work on my screenplays, my articles, and my blogs (links to which I'm posting at the bottom of this blog just in case you'd like to read any of them), and I will look for moments of peace amidst the turmoil (oh, wait, a new grandchild is due in September, and his or her parents live with me).

Bottom line: My page views TRIPLED during the month of April and I THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the challenge. It gave me an opportunity to prove to myself that I could do it and I met some really great bloggers who write some very interesting blogs.

OK, I'm going to let you go now – I have to start on my April 2012 A to Z Challenge blogs NOW ;)

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14 comments:

  1. You did great, Theresa! I was happy you were along for the ride.

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  2. Wrote all in one day, wow....I try to do several at a time on my Bridge blog, the charity one and get them scheduled ahead. At one point I was 2 wks out and felt really good about that. That though is driven by the donations I receive. I've done maybe 5 or 6 on my personal blog as I think of something I want to blog about, or recently as I got involved in a meme or something. Rarely do I have much ahead on my travel blog because it takes the most time to write. To research, edit pictures etc.

    Congrats to you for finishing the challenge, and congrats for the upcoming baby in your family.

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  3. I only just go there and you're taking 11 months off? I guess I'll have to wander around one of your other blogs.
    mood
    Moody Writing

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  4. Congrats on completing the Challenge. I managed it too but didn't get around to visiting as many other blogs as I'd intended. I'm trying to catch up now!

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  5. Congratulations on finishing! Thanks for coming by my blog, I enjoyed reading yours. Great job!

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  6. I didn't write mine all in one day, but I did do the posts ahead of time so I'd more time for commenting. Glad you enjoyed it once it began.

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  7. Congrats on making it through the month... It wasn't easy... for any of us. But it was a great experience.

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  8. You did well--I wanted to write all of my posts in a day or two but that just didn't work. You've really got your hands full from the sound of things so all things considered I'd say you did an excellent job. Congratulations on making it through the alphabet with us.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  9. +1 follower from blog hop, cool blog

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  10. You did an AMAZING job, Theresa and KUDOS to you for completing it and with the foresight to plan ahead. Have fun with your grandbabies and keep writing...I do love your style :)

    Cheers :)

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  11. What a gorgeous reflection post. I hadn't come across you during the challenge, and suspect I missed some fun writing. Enjoy planning for next year! Sue

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  12. Wow, can't believe you did 25 in a day. Seems like an overwhelming task to me! I loved this challenge, too. In fact, Shannon @ The Warrior Muse and I are joining forces in another challenge. We're going to visit and comment at each of the participants, starting with the reflections post. We hope you'll join us!
    Tina @ Life is Good

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