Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Reflecting on the A to Z

Image courtesy of Kevin Tuck, rgbstock.com
I signed up, I wrote, and I stayed up too late.

I read, I commented, and I followed.

Most importantly, I had a great time!

I signed up for this challenge on a whim. Having never participated in any kind of blogging event before, I really had no idea what to expect. I thought I would have fun, and I looked forward to writing to a theme each day. I hoped I would make new friends and gain a few followers. One thing I didn't anticipate, however, was just how much participating in the challenge would change how I feel about writing.

Although I've been blogging every day for well over a year now, I was beginning to lose my passion. Something wasn't right, and for several months, I fell into a writing slump. I wasn't having fun with it anymore, and I found that I was giving my other projects--a young adult novel, a short story collection, my family history memoir, and my poetry--little to no attention. Writing didn't have the spark it once had.

This challenge changed that, and it's because of the wonderful, creative people I met, people from all fields and with all interests, all sharing one thing--a passion for what they do. And seeing how passionate people are about their interests renewed my interest in and passion for writing. I'm back to working on those projects I had abandoned for so long, and I owe it to the great people I met during the A to Z journey--people like Taylor, Graciewilde, Wendy, Stephanie, Betty, Nikki, Patti, and Fran, just to name only a few.

Sure there were some bumps along the way, like tricky letters, last-minute posts, and too few hours in the day. Also, I do wish I could have spent more time reading each blog. By ignoring my need for sleep, I managed to visit all of them, and although I commented on many of them (and followed others), time and offline obligations didn't afford me the opportunity to really give them all the attention I would have liked.

However, I'm grateful for the bloggers I did meet, and I want to thank all of you who have been reading and commenting. I look forward to hearing from you each day!

And there's no doubt about it: I will be back next year!

Now if you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to reintroduce myself to my family. ;)

32 comments:

  1. Fun post. Yes, it does soak up a lot of time. But it is fun and it does get the writing juices flowing. I was slumping in March and this challenge kicked me right out of that.

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    1. I'm glad the challenge pushed you out of your slump, too!

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  2. Aww I'm so glad that you were inspired to get back to your projects! I'm also glad that I found you through the challenge! I liked your posts very much :)

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    1. Thanks, Nikki! I look forward to your posts every day.

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  3. Oh my gosh for visiting them all! You rock! That is an accomplishment in itself! Glad the challenge helped get your creativity back for your writing! And glad you did visit me so we could become friends!!!

    now about next year, that I'm not sure about......but we'll see :)

    have a great Tuesday!

    betty

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    1. Thanks. I still haven't caught up on my sleep. :)

      Have a great day!

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  4. It was a fun experience! It does take up a lot of time, but I am glad I did it!
    Taylor
    www.thelumberjackswife.com

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    1. Yes, it certainly was a lot of fun. I'm also glad you participated--yours were some of the most entertaining posts I read! :)

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  5. so glad you did it & it put a spark in you! great job!

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  6. Nice reflection post! I especially loved the part about having your interest and passion for writing renewed by the challenge. It did that for me too. Nice to meet you!

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  7. I agree, the challenge could take over your life if you weren't very careful and a couple of well placed nudges from my darling hubby put things back in to perspective for me. It was my first time and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it and loved meeting lots of interesting people.

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    1. Yes, my husband had to remind me a few times that there is indeed life away from the computer! :)

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  8. Awww -- thanks for the mention! Isn't it funny how for some participants, A to Z inspired and energized them/US while some people found it totally exhausting?! I'm glad you rediscovered your desire to write (although your posts never sounded like you felt you weren't on top of your game).

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    1. You're sweet to say that. Thanks!

      Yes, it is funny how some were energized and others were exhausted. I guess it's all about perspective...

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  9. So glad you had such a wonderful experience, Dana...hope to see you next year!
    MakingTheWriteConnections

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  10. haha i know--your last line---my husband was becoming annoyed and jealous--so glad we did it though!

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  11. I agree about the last line too, lol. It was great doing the challenge, but time-consuming.

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    1. I'm surprised my husband didn't forget what I looked like! ;)

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  12. You found me before I found you!
    Thanks for leaving a comment on my 'Reflections' post :-) I'm returning the favour and following you, now and adding you to my blog-list - we writers must stick together! ;-p


    SueH I refuse to go quietly!

    Twitter - @Librarymaid

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    1. Yes, we definitely should! Thanks for the follow. :)

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  13. Thanks for stopping by my blog. The challenge was fun, but I appreciate having a little bit of a break now...time to plan for next year! :)

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    1. I'm already trying to come up with a theme. :)

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  14. Congratulations on finishing the challenge! I'll have to come back later when I have more time and check out your posts. --Thanks for stopping by my blog and for the follow. I'm following you right back. :)

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    1. Thanks! I look forward to getting to know you. :)

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  15. I can relate to all that you wrote. It was my first time too...didn't know what to expect, and I was a bit nuts about it too. I'm impressed that you hit every blog!? I think I got to about 1200 of the 1600. I'm STILL up late, now reading the reflection blogs! Then, I see there's a new challenge starting on the 14th! If I could write 24/7, I think I might. However, life does intervene. So glad to have found you!

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    1. 1,200 is excellent! I only managed to visit all of them because I got by on about four hours of sleep a night--and believe me, I'm paying for it now! When I hit the blogs, I would read whatever post was up and wouldn't always comment or follow, depending on whether or not I was interested in the topic. So as I'm going through the reflections posts, I'm finding blogs I never really "found" before (if that makes any sense. I haven't had enough coffee yet. LOL)

      I'm with you--would love to write 24/7. Glad to have found you as well. :)

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  16. Thanks for stopping by--and congrats to you as well!

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