Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Reflections

 

This was my first time participating in the A to Z Challenge, so I didn’t know what to expect or how things would go down. The good thing is I was prepared. I had a theme (poetry) that was general enough that I was free within its confines, but I had direction and that was good. Before the start of April, I had a list of words for each letter. I also had a good portion of the poems written before the month began. That was smart as it gave me time to browse other blogs, read, interact, and share on social media. What surprised me was how much time can go into that. It was fun; I loved reading others’ work. There were so many great themes out there.

This experience has taught me a lot. I learned how to interact with others, what comments are meaningful and constructive. I had many problems with commenting before A to Z, as I just didn’t know what to say other than “Great post!” To make up for my commenting awkwardness, I shared posts I enjoyed on social media generously. This actually helped ease interactions, and as a side effect, it brought more visitors to my blog.

Another thing I learned from other bloggers was how to ask the right questions at the end of the post to get responses. I noted which questions got me talking. Guess what? They were always ones that asked about me; how do you do this type of questions. Simple.

What surprised me was the generosity and support of others. People came to my blog, often stayed here for a while, and commented generously. It was an amazing experience. While I’ve had people interact and comment on here before the challenge, it was nowhere near the numbers I saw in April. I got more visitors and views in one month than ever before; views tripled. Yay!

All the positive feedback and support I received have encouraged me to do what I have always wanted to do with this blog, which is focus on my poetry and prose. What held me back up until now was fear that no one wants to read that. Now I know they do. I have a unique voice and I can share my life, experiences, and imagination through the fiction and poetry I write. So, you can expect more of those kind of posts on here in the future.

The most visited posts were:

F is for Forgiveness

B is for Breathe

E is for Empathy

I is for Ibis

D is for Dreams

N is for Nothingness and Nutmeg

J is for Journey

G is for Gympsum

C is for Comfort

Q is for Queen Anne’s Lace

My personal favorite poem was P is for Paramnesia. If you’d like to read all my poems, check out the A-Z page in the right hand corner above.

 

Here are some bloggers I enjoyed visiting (in no particular order):

Anne Higa http://annehiga.com/ who wrote flash fiction for each day

Part Time Monster https://parttimemonster.wordpress.com/ who wrote about lady monsters

Luccia Gray http://lucciagray.com/ who featured some great books and author interviews

Elizabeth Hein https://scribblinginthestorageroom.wordpress.com/ who took us on a trip to the Galapagos Islands

Geoff LePard http://geofflepard.com/ who took us several places and shared his words of wisdom

Liz Brownlee http://lizbrownleepoet.com/ who wrote about animals with a beautiful poem for each

Shawn Griffith http://downhomethoughts.com/ who shared his grandmother’s wisdom

Keith Channing http://keithkreates.com/ who write a limerick for each letter

J.H. Moncriedd http://www.jhmoncrieff.com/blog/ who wrote about monsters, the supernatural, and strange phenomena

Karen Anderson https://expressingmyvision.wordpress.com/ who has one of the loveliest photography sites I’ve seen

Christina Rose http://thewordyrose.com/ who wrote about writing

Shailaja Vishwanath https://shailajav.wordpress.com/ who wrote flash fiction with a twist

Nadine Feldman http://www.nadinefeldman.com/ who wrote about gardening and writing in surprising ways.

Alex Hurst http://alex-hurst.com/ who wrote about Japan, where she is currently residing

 

Thank you everyone for stopping by and commenting throughout the month.

What did you learn in the last month? What surprised you about the A to Z Challenge? Are there any blogs/posts you recommend that I haven’t read? Feel free to share your favorite A-Z posts (even your own) in the comments.

 

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