A to Z Blogging Challenge: Reflections

This was my second run at the A to Z Blogging Challenge. In some ways, I did great! I had all my posts ready well in advance and because I'd gotten my blog, Google+, Twitter and Facebook accounts all interlinked in a feed-loop, they all automatically went out into the wilds of the internet without my having to do anything on a day to day basis. That organization was really important and kept the output angle from becoming overwhelming.

I also think I wrote some very good posts. A few I'm very proud of.

So, at least in terms of output, I feel good.

http://www.freshbooks.com/assets/img/...
Now, on the networking/interaction angle, my mileage varied. April was an incredibly busy month for me (given how busy a normal month is, it's saying something that I'll call this one especially busy). It was my book launch month and I was still teaching school full time. My younger daughter had a birthday. So did I! Because I'm greedy that way, I wasn't willing to drop any of the other balls I was already juggling to take on this new one.

So, if I was going to get in my writing time--which I DEFINITELY was, I could spare maybe 30 minutes a day for blogging stuff. That wasn't enough time. There were days that I didn't even make it to my 5 assigned blogs (I was a minion this year for Tremp's Troops). I tried to reciprocate for everyone who visited me as well, but I just couldn't find time for the random exploration of the Twitter hashtag or cruising through the Linky like I did last year.

I think there are plenty of good reasons for this, given the busy busy business of my life in April, but it doesn't mean that I don't feel bad. I know that all these other bloggers worked hard, too, and I would have liked to have found more time to explore and support what they did. Plus, meeting new people and finding new connections was part of what I loved last year.

I did still find a few new blogs to follow though. Would I do it again? You bet! I really enjoy writing and reading my way through the alphabet. Maybe next year, I'll do poetry, since April is also National Poetry Month. We can start with Eliot: April is the cruelest month . . .