I must confess, I didn't even know what the A-Z challenge was until about mid March. Everywhere I looked, people were talking about it. I grew curious enough to go check it out and thought about it for a full minute before I signed up. So many people had themes for their posts. It seemed like a smart idea. I chose a theme that I could share with my family. I wrote a children's story for every, single letter of the alphabet.
Coming up with a story everyday stretched my imagination and I'd like to think it strengthened my writing as well. It was during one of my pirate stories that I got the idea for my next novel. I also received so much encouragement that I think I'm finally brave enough to start submitting some of my work in to magazines. Even more amazing is the growth of my blog. I started with eight followers and now I have fifty-three!
I would like to thank Arlee Bird and everyone else that worked so hard to make this challenge happen. It was an incredible experience. I also want to thank all of my followers for joining me on my writing journey. Some of you faithfully commented on every post I wrote. Thank you so much!
I discovered so many wonderful blogs this month. A few of my favorites are:
Hugs & Kisses of Poetry by Fida
A Dose of Jules
Into the Ravenous Maw
S.P. Bowers
Moody Writing
55 now Sarah... Congrats.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you felt welcomed and enjoyed the challenge. This community is awesome and supportive.
Thanks for the follow and I will look forward to learning more about your writing.
Thank you for the follow! It does seem to be a wonderful community.
DeleteThanks for the shout out! I'll be doing a reflections post tomorrow. Congrats on the new readers and good luck with the magazine thing!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I can't wait to see your post :)
DeleteYou did a great job with it, especially putting a wedding in the middle!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I thought I was going crazy for a week there but I pulled through :)
DeleteSarah! Thank you so much for including me. I've haven't had time to sit and write my reflections on the A to Z Challenge. I really loved your short stories....and I can't wait to get glimpses of your novel idea..... :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. Now that my reflections post is up I think I'm going to take the weekend off from blogging. It is fun but it does take up a lot of time. Can't wait to see your post when you get it up :)
DeleteGood for you! I am sorry to say I missed out on your A to Z, but I am a new follower, and will try to get back to some of the older posts at a later time. Life in my world is a little chaotic at the moment, but summer is coming...
ReplyDeletetm
Thank you so much for following. I didn't get to read nearly as many blogs as I would have liked. There are so many interesting ones..
DeleteCongrats on the completion of the challenge and hope you will return next year.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
A TO Z AMBASSADOR.
Thank you. I plan on it :)
DeleteI think A to Z-ing really does help us writers. It stretches our creative muscles to write something new each day. Congrats on finishing the Challenge!
ReplyDeleteHappy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines
It really does. It gave me a nice confidence boost too :) Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteA-Z was just amazing. You probably did improve your writing as the challenge is quite good for productivity. Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteIt was excellent for productivity. Its hard not to write a story everyday after doing it for so long!
DeleteThat's the kind of success story we like to hear! I went into the very first Challenge with thirty followers and came out with over eighty. (And there were only a hundred of us participating in that first one.) Take the time to connect with your new followers and keep expanding.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it!
It was a wonderful experience. I can't wait for next year! Thank you for the advice on connecting with followers. Its so exciting to see my blog final begin to grow.
DeleteCongrats for finishing. I didn't get to your blog, but am here now.
ReplyDeleteWelcome! There are so many blogs that I didn't get to, as well. I'm hoping to catch up with at least a few of them.
DeleteI've never done the challenge without a theme, but I definitely find that having a theme makes it easier for me to think of topics associated with a given letter. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, a theme seems to make a huge difference.
DeleteCongrats on completing the Challenge.
ReplyDeleteNurture those new followers. They'll grow like a garden. You'll also learn a lot of great new things from them.
Thank you:)
DeleteThis is nice Sarah! I was in the same situation and I had no clue on what do! And my followers grew as well! It's an amazing way to know other people!
ReplyDeleteAnd you know what they say... imagination is like a muscle! Well done!
Thank you! It is encouraging to know other people with similar dreams and interests and I do feel like my imagination is very, very alive right now. Its wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWell done Sarah, the stories you wrote were great and I can see so much of my son and his friends in Sam, Ellie and Jack. Good luck with the magazine submissions and with the next novel.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteCongrats on finishing the challenge, and I'm so glad you found encouragement! Best wishes for your submissions to magazines!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat an AWESOME THEME!!! Baby Alice and I will be checking out your posts together starting tomorrow. She adores story time!! (I'm sorry I didn't get to your blog during the challenge. But, better late than never!)
ReplyDeleteConnie
Peanut Butter and Whine
I hope that she likes them! I'm glad that you found me :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your A to Z achievement! It sounds like you had a very successful month and that those successes are going to spill into your future as a writer!
ReplyDeleteWe home educate as well, Sarah! How exciting that you will be submitting to a magazine as a result of the challenge. Hope to see you next year!
ReplyDeleteMakingtheWriteConnections
Thanks for stopping by and I am hoping to join next year :)
DeleteCongratulations on the new followers! I'm glad you had a good experience, and wish you good luck on submissions and publication!
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse