A to Z Reflections Post | #AtoZChallenge

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Eva Blaskovic

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (April 2017). Whether you survived or not, you are a winner because you came in ahead of anyone who didn’t write.

May 8th is the official day for the Reflections post, so here’s mine.

From April 1-30, I participated in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge which is now in its 7th year and has nearly 2000 bloggers worldwide (source: Less Beaten Paths Travel Blog).

This is the first time I had taken part in the April A to Z Challenge, since I only found out about it this year–on April 1st! My first post, Letter A, went out on time, but my Theme Reveal posted on April 2, once I had my theme and a direction.

Theme: COMPONENTS OF LITERATURE

All my links are posted here

From the A to Z Challenge site’s Just One More Thing! post, a few questions:

What did you like best?

The best part of the challenge was the sense of connection and community. I discovered many bloggers with interesting blogs. I even found 2015 and 2016 challenge posts.

I also loved the idea of themed posts–writing them and following other people’s themes throughout the month.

What did you like least?

It was tax month, so it was a bit of a pressure cooker. I made it work. I even wrote two Taxing Tax Time acrostic poems (included with my post links).

What worked for you and what didn’t?

The new setup for the challenge worked beautifully (though I’m not familiar with how it worked last year). What I found particularly helpful:

  • The introductory post announcing the challenge and rules.
  • The calendar for which letters to post on which days (no need to count).
  • The ready-made badges for Theme Reveal, Blogging From A to Z 2017, individual Letter badges, and Survivor badge. These streamlined the process and made it so easy to post each day!
  • A post each day for each letter on the A to Z Challenge site where bloggers could comment and include a link to their letter post for that day.

Wrapping up and thank you to the A to Z Team

Interesting A to Z Challenge themes

Two A to Z Challengers whose posts I followed have released ebooks of their month of A to Z posts:

A to Z bloggers posted on themes of life, poetry, history, science, photography, travel, writing, and much more. Look through the comments on the A to Z Challenge blog.

Don’t forget to take the survey at the bottom of this page.

A to Z Challenge on Facebook

About Eva Blaskovic

I am a multi-genre author of literary fiction, fantasy, and paranormal, and writer of non-fiction articles on parenting, writing, education, health, and travel. My background encompasses both the sciences and the arts. I teach at a specialized clinic for learning disorders and mentor young authors. In addition to writing and teaching, my passions are weather, Indian food, gardening, and music. I have played eight musical instruments and spent many years immersed in taekwondo and karate. In my youth, I was an avid canoeist. I was born in Prague, Czech Republic, grew up in the Great Lakes region of Ontario, Canada, and moved to Alberta in 1988, where I raised four children.
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25 Responses to A to Z Reflections Post | #AtoZChallenge

  1. Pingback: Theme Reveal: Blogging from A to Z Challenge (April 2017) | Beyond the Precipice

  2. Shailaja V says:
    May 7, 2017 at 8:17 pm

    Congratulations on your first attempt at the A to Z challenge 🙂 I’ll be sure to check your posts on the challenge too. Pretty great that you dove right in after discovering the challenge on the 1st of April! I’d have chickened out, probably 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Nilanjana Bose says:
    May 8, 2017 at 5:50 am

    Kudos for jumping in at a moment’s notice and acing the challenge! Congratulations on your first A-Z!

    Best wishes,
    Nilanjana.
    A-Z Reflections

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. lissa says:
    May 8, 2017 at 6:53 am

    I do like that a lot of people have themes which makes it easy to decide whether to visit them. but to be honest, there weren’t that many themes I like.

    I’m glad to hear you did your taxes and the A-Z challenge at the same time, I’m impressed too. Actually I’m impressed and pleasantly surprised that so many people completed the challenge with so much going on in their lives. congrats on finishing the challenge.

    have a lovely day.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Eva Blaskovic says:
      May 8, 2017 at 8:47 am

      I agree, the themes are a wonderful idea. It makes each blogger’s month of A to Z really hold together as a unit.

      I’m impressed that some people have made ebooks. I don’t know how to make my own yet or I would, since, apart from writer blog followers, I also have high school and university students at work who use literary devices in their poetry, novel, and play analyses.

      Like

      Reply
  5. randommusings29 says:
    May 8, 2017 at 7:40 am

    Congratulations on completing your first challenge 🙂
    Debbie

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. Nick Wilford says:
    May 8, 2017 at 4:11 pm

    Pretty impressive to have taken the plunge at the last minute! Sounds like you enjoyed the Challenge, I’ll be back to check out your posts.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. Prakash Hegade says:
    May 10, 2017 at 9:38 am

    This is a perfect reflection post. I have enjoyed all of your A to Z and learnt a lot many things.
    Congratulations Survivor.. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Prakash Hegade says:
    May 10, 2017 at 9:38 am

    Many Thank you for the ebook linkup.. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Arlee Bird says:
    May 10, 2017 at 4:32 pm

    Very nice Reflections post. Thank you for that! Glad your experience was a good one and thank you for blogging along with us for the 2017 A to Z Challenge.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. clicksclan says:
    May 12, 2017 at 10:59 am

    Well done for making it to the end of the challenge. It’s interesting seeing your perspective on the challenge as a first timer. 🙂

    Cait @ Click’s Clan

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Eva Blaskovic says:
      May 12, 2017 at 11:14 am

      Thanks. Yes, I have nothing to compare to. People have been writing about missing the Linky Links and the issue with posting links (spamming).

      I enjoyed the Challenge and found it easy to find my way around. The premade badges were especially helpful.

      Like

      Reply

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