The A-Z Blog Challenge is over!
I am so glad I did this. Besides finding a ton of fun blogs to read, here's what I learned:
- I admire daily bloggers even more than before. I really enjoyed this intense burst of blogging, but I cannot keep up this daily schedule and keep the rest of my life in balance. I'm going to continue to blog every Tuesday with occasional posts on other days.
- Writing and blogging are not the same thing. Oddly, this experience made me want to write more and blog less.
- Planning is essential. The only way I was able to get through the challenge was to write blog posts a few days ahead. Plus, I did write out a list of "A-Z" topics ahead of time, so that I had a fallback in case I got stuck.
- It's fun to write off topic sometimes—and surprisingly, readers enjoy it, too. I never would have guessed that my post on coffee shops would have been one of my more popular ones.
- The difficulty for most of the posts was not finding one topic that fit the day's letter. Even sticking to a "beads and books" theme, most days I had a number of great topics to match. Limits don't have to be limiting.
A-Z Blog Posts
In case you missed anything, here's a list of my A-Z blog entries for April 2011. You might also check out the other 900+ blogs who took part in this annual challenge.
A is for Artist's Way, The
Review: The Artist's Way
B is for Basic, Beautiful, and Boring
Basic, Beautiful, and Boring
C is for Coffee Shops
Coffee Shop = Creativity?
D is for Details
The Devil is in the Details
E is for Editor
How Do I Get a Contributing Editor Job?
F is for Floor
Bad Flooring Choices for Beaders
G is for Giveaways
Giveaways for Free Books, Beads, & More
H is for Home Decor
Jane Austen at Home
I is for I Am . . .
So, What Do You Do?
J is for Jewelry
Review: 500 Silver Jewelry Designs
K is for Kudos
Kudos to You!
L is for Librarians
5 Librarians Everyone Should Know
M is for Metal
5 Favorite Metal Jewelry Tutorials
Leap, and the Net will Appear
O is for Organization
Organize Your Beads by Color
P is for Pen
My Pen Collection
Q is for Query
How to Write a Query (for a Magazine Article)
R is for Reveal
Button Swap Reveal: What can you make with the lowly button?
S is for Show
4 Spring Bead Trends (from the Denver Bead Society Show)
T is for Track Changes
How to Use Track Changes in Microsoft Word
U is for Ugly
That's Ugly (Why designing "ugly" can be a good thing)
V is for Viking Knit
A Beginner's Viking Knit Bracelet
W is for Wisdom
12 Quotes to Inspire . . . Or Make You Laugh
X is for "X"
3 To-Do List Tips
Y is for Yummy
Appetizer Recipes for Book Club
Z is for Zero
Affiliate Programs for Jewelry Designers & Beaders