Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Who Said Blog Challenges Were Dumb? by Nancy Stewart


In an effort to cross promote and to expand our platforms Nancy Stewart and I are guest blogging at each other's blogs once a month. I am delighted to have Nancy with me today as she discusses how she ate her own words about blogging challenges. 

Who Said Blog Challenges Were Dumb? 

by Nancy Stewart 

Okay, so maybe I did.  Hey, everybody can be wrong once in a while. And this time, I certainly was!  I signed up for the A to Z April Blogging Challenge, as about one thousand other bloggers did.

Never really committed to it, I began writing posts, just in case I would follow through.  A is for Author.  My first post.  Then a funny thing happened.  I was committed.  Why, one might ask?  Here’s my answer.
Glancing through the list of blogs (for the first time really), I discovered there were some fabulous ones there.  Some, in fact, I’d enjoy following.  Huh.

And then, I really got into writing and posting a new one each day.  It was fun to read the responses and to reply back.  By the first week’s end, my blog followers were increasing.  Not by a little, but by a lot! That was a happy outcome.

As the month progressed, I was well and truly into the rhythm of posting each day (Sundays excluded).  I found myself looking forward to the routine of it.  I found myself anticipating the next comment.  I found myself enjoying the challenge.

Now that it’s over, I’m of two minds, as the ancient Greeks loved to say.  I miss it, and I don’t.  I miss the constancy of the exercise, in which one must be constantly stretching the mind.  I miss meeting many new and interesting blogging friends.  I miss overtly thinking of things that matter so much to me that I choose to write about them.

What don’t I miss?  I don’t miss the time blogging takes away from my actual writing.   And I don’t miss having to think about it all the time. 

I have, though, become a dedicated challenge blogger.  I see the merit and worthiness of it.  And, yes, I’ll be back next year.

I can be reached at:


www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com

www.nancystewartbooks.com
facebook:  Nancy Rosenthal Stewart
Twitter: 
https://twitter.com/#!/stewartnancy


Nancy, thank you for visiting today and sharing your insights of the A to Z Challenge. Looking forward to hosting you again in June!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval Recipient and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

12 comments:

  1. Donna, Thank you so much for hosting me on your terrific blog today. I look forward to exchanging posts once a month and can think of no one with whom I'd rather share posts!

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    1. Good morning Nancy, I'm thrilled to have you join me today. I'm too looking forward to our monthly exchange and same here!

      Warm regards,
      Donna

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  2. Thanks for sharing this, Nancy.

    I have mixed views about blogging.

    I think that kind of challenge is a great exercise once in a while, to help shut down your inner critic and make a daily writing habit, but I'm extremely wary about blogging. Why blog when I could be working on a novel or nonfiction book instead?

    When you see what famous authors are doing, they're not blogging but producing more books.

    So I blog on a strictly need-to basis and only to promote my own work and help other authors promote their own.

    Mayra

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    2. I think everyone has to do what is best for him or her. For me, blogging has become a part of my early day, and it's made me a better all around writer.

      As for famous authors, when I speak at national SCBWI conferences, it's amazing how many editors and well-known authors blog on a daily basis. Also, those same editors look for a blogging author. It establishes credentials and platform, to mention only two benefits.

      Thanks, Mayra,for your comments.

      PS I caught a misspelling in my first post to you!

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  3. Hi Nancy and Donna,

    Thanks for this post. The A-Z challenge sounds such fun. I have been reading about it recently in a few places. I like the idea of cross-blogging too. Thanks for sharing. Please do pay me a visit at http://shirleycorder.com

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    1. Thanks for the response, Shirley. Yes, it is fun and rewarding, too. I met so many great people as well. I will visit you!

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  4. Donna and Nancy, I've done a couple of those challenges, and came away with the same conclusions. I did like the accountability of posting, but the forethought involved took away from actually writing in the downtime. I need to learn to compartmentalize more! Thanks for the fun posts, you two!

    Donna
    Topsy Turvy Land

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  5. Hi, Donna,

    As it went on, I actually got almost as much writing in as a usual day. I found that doing a post that often really honed my skills, and it didn't take long at all. But the challenges are tricky and bear watching.

    Thanks.

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  6. Nancy, I very much enjoyed your A ot Z blogs. And the cross-blogging sounds like a good idea--not so intense as the everyday thingy.
    Donna, I will be visiting both you and Nancy for your visits with each other. Thanks

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  7. Applause. Applause. Applause.

    I enjoyed the A-Z challenge. And I love this blog post. You took the words right out of my head.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Linda Della Donna
    www.bookorbust.blogspot.com

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  8. Congratulations on finishing the challenge. Right now I'm trying to make sure that any challenges I do support my goals. Sometimes they are fun but take me away from things I need to work on.

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Thank for you taking the time out to visit with me and to learn about my writing career.

Please be sure to leave your blog address so I can reciprocate.

I look forward to visiting you too.