Soon enough I will back to my old self, but after 25 days of work in a row as of today, with no day off, I hope you'll forgive me if I don't go out of my way to kill myself here on Barking Alien.
That said...
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The exact reason I do this somewhat eludes me.
I think the idea is fun; bloggers post every day for the month of April, except Sundays, with each post title, or topic following the next alphabetically. Basically, a post with an 'A' theme on April 1st, to a 'Z' on April 31st.
Unfortunately, I've done four of these already, and I believe I've only completed the challenge once. April has notoriously been a month very rough on my free time the past few years. I am already seeing this year will be no exception.
As a female friend of mine is fond of reminding me every year, "April is the cruelest month".*
So, while it can be an enjoyable exercise, why put myself through the anguish? What anguish you ask?
It's completely self-inflicted I assure you. When I start projects like this, it's very difficult to near impossible for me to give up on it. At the same time, if I reach the point of no return, the point where I know in advance I'm not going to make it, or succeed at it, I beat myself up a bit. I get down, feel like a fool, and it throws me off my game for a couple of days at least. It's just a blog challenge, I know, it's no big deal, but I can't help it.
Knowing this as I do, what can I do to make achieving the challenge goal easier for myself?
My first outing was my only truly successful one, and it had no particular theme. Instead of making all the posts parts of a single subject, or even a group of related subjects (although I had started that way), I went with whatever popped into my head. That's going to be my approach this time as well.
Also, I sometimes wrote up the posts out of alphabetical order, even though I posted them following my proper ABCs. That is another tactic I will follow this go around.
One thing I am going to try to do, is keep with my Thorough Thursdays series during the A-to-Z Challenge. Whichever letter falls on a Thursday will receive as its post subject an under discussed Barking Alien tag.
Wish me luck, enjoy the posts, and good luck to you if you are participating in the challenge as well (and even if you're not!).
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Barking Alien
*From The Waste Land, a poem by T.S. Eliot.
Just have fun with it and do it your way, not the way others make the rules out to be. Have fun, have fun, have fun.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the challenge. I think writing the posts as they come to you is definitely sensible as it helps you keep momentum. I do follow a theme but sometimes it can be a hindrance (I've still not worked out what I'll write for the letter Z!) so I say just try what works for you, and don't beat yourself up if you don't get to the end.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing is to try and remember that each A to Z post you manage is one you wouldn't have had otherwise. ;-)
Cait @ Click's Clan
Cruel indeed. I am starting to wonder, too, if this was a good idea, but it will be an adventure nonetheless! I take it as a good sign that you're coming back for more. I love your fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants approach. Happy blogging!
ReplyDeleteWell good luck - I am out this year but I will still be checking in to see what you pull off.
ReplyDelete