Sunday, April 1, 2012

A: Atta Girl, Atta Boy

A:  Most of you are here because you joined the A to Z Blog Challenge.  And it is a challenge to come up with all those blog posts and then visit and comment on as many other blogs as you can.  On top of that, many of us are still working on another part of our jobs as writers, parents and dozens of other professions.  It's a lot.  And what do you get out of it when you're done?

We do things for different reasons.  Some we get paid for.  Some we do out of duty or a sense of obligation.  There are even things we do because they're just fun.  So why would we subject ourselves to this massive commitment of blogging for a month straight and spending hours visiting other bloggers?

If you do this challenge right, you're going to gain followers.  You're going to find a lot of interesting blogs you want to continue to visit long after April is over.  On your travels around the blogosphere over the next month, you're going to learn lots of stuff.  Some is just plain interesting and some will help you in your career.  You may gain some interest in your book if you're a writer.  All those are great things.

But when May rolls around and the challenge is over, you may find the most valuable thing you have is a great sense of accomplishment and the glow of personal pride.  You will have fulfilled a promise you made by signing up for the A to Z and you will be proud of it. As well you should.  There won't be a trophy or a zillion dollar contract.  All you can be sure you'll get is an 'atta girl' or 'atta boy.'  But there will be hundreds of us saying it to you.

Today is the first step in earning the reward of completion of the A to Z Challenge.  Good for you.   Now get out of here and go visit someone else. 

47 comments:

Haddock said...

I like that third option.
Just for the fun of it :-)
By the way I just wanted to know, do we have to do anything else other than write a blog based on the alphabet?
I mean after writing enter the blog post link some where ?

Anonymous said...

lovely :)

Spanj said...

Yep, you're right on every point. And that's what makes this challenge so awesome! Good luck with the rest of the month.

Huntress said...

if nothing else, this month teaches us discipline.

Unknown said...

It's going to be a crazy month, but a hell of a lot of fun!

Jamie Gibbs
Mithril Wisdom

PR said...

I love a challenge, and one that lasts an entire month is sure to be fun! :)

Universal Gibberish

shelly said...

This was very inspiring and go-getter like! Just what I needed.

Shelly
http://secondhandshoesnovel.blogspot.com/

Gregg Metcalf said...

Great start!

Gregg Metcalf

Tracy said...

love it! and it's already been fun! :) good start....

M.J. Fifield said...

Wonderful post.

I think most of the blogs I follow now I came across last April during the challenge. I can't wait to find out who I'll discover this year!

Tasha Seegmiller said...

Can't wait to see what happens in the month of crazy fun!

Unknown said...

Yes ma'am! And, you are so right what fun and how rewarding this is going to be!

Anonymous said...

Great message! I'm looking forward to it.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

It's a great post to start the challenge, this is my third and I got tremendous satisfaction after finishing the other two. Meeting Arlee in LA whilst there in Feb. this year was a wonderful day I will always remember.

Good luck with the challenge.
Yvonne.,

Anonymous said...

Just for the fun of it. That's my philosophy. Have fun and good things will happen along the way.

Unknown said...

Great topic. My goal is just to have fun. I'm anxious to read what other come up with for each letter.

Michelle :)

Susan Oloier said...

I'm already having fun with the first day of the Challenge. That's enough for me.
Great post.

Leigh Covington said...

Totally true. I'm looking forward to the challenge. It's my first year doing it, but it's going to be fun and that's what really matters, right? :)

Tonja said...

It's really a good excuse to get someone else to do the dishes. :)

Donna K. Weaver said...

I loved doing this last year. I made friends that have continued to be friends.

Unknown said...

I can't imagine that sense of satisfaction I'll get when May 1st rolls around! Its pretty damn amazing, knowing that I along with a thousand other people completed this challenge! :D

Victoria from Always a Booklover

nutschell said...

This is certainly going to a crazy month. Good thing I learned from last year's challenge. I have my posts all lined up so I hope it'll be a bit easier. :)
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Gossip_Grl said...

Great topic. Already today I have visited a lot of very good postings. :) Can't wait for each day now

Victoria Jicha said...

Thank you for reminding us what it is all about. I don't think I ever really understood what blogging was all about until today.

Dina Thanki said...

I'm doing this just for fun too, (and to rekindle my pathetic attempt of doing it before)! I'm prepared and loving visiting all these new blogs too! Good luck with the rest of your posts!

Lost Star said...

lovely post!

jan said...

This is such fun...I'll have to catch up on everything else NEXT month! What a great perspective on why we accept ANY challenge.

Sandra Tyler said...

Come read my A for today! :o)

Paula Martin said...

Great post - and agree that in the end there's a personal feeling of satisfaction at rising to meet a challenge. Last year I 'met' so many new friends too, and am hoping to do the same this year.

Jemi Fraser said...

Great post Susan! I think I've visited about 30 blogs so far today! I won't get that many done every day, but it sure is fun! :)

RaShelle Workman said...

Did the challenge last year. It was so much fun. =D

The Writing Goddess said...

Thanks for the encouragement - and back atta girl to you, too.

Sharon said...

This is my first time attempting this challenge and I'm a little excited and a little bit afraid, but I'm finding that I won't gain anything if I don't step out of my box. I look forward to reading your daily postings. My blog is Thought"full"ness. Thanks for the atta girl! :)

Grammy said...

Yes, I agree it is time consuming, but also quite rewarding, meeting new people and making friends who continue to visit long after the challenge has been completed. Thanks for the encouragement, too.
Ruby

Sarah Tokeley said...

I like this. I'm in it for the fun but I hope I do feel a sense of achievement after I've finished, too :-)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I did the A to Z last year and while I didn't visit as many blogs as I wanted, I felt a sense of victory that I managed a post every day for a month. I used to do it all the time, too.

Jeremy Bates said...

I am going to make an attempt not only to write a blog every day, but also visit every participants blog at least once.

Excuse me.

Ok, I'm back. I put a pot of coffee on and found my No Doze. lol

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Third year and it's still just as awesome! Making new friends already.

Golden Eagle said...

When I finished the Challenge last year, the feeling of having completed it was one of the best parts. :) Along with meeting other people and writing posts, of course!


The Golden Eagle
The Eagle's Aerial Perspective

Beverly Diehl said...

I feel accomplished just deciding on a theme and what my posts would be. Now... the writing. And the visiting, and the commenting. All fun, all a challenge.

Kathleen said...

I'm looking forward to my "atta girl" and finding other bloggers to enjoy! Happy A to Z!

Kathleen
Living 2012
http://365d-8760h-518400m.blogspot.com/

Christine Rains said...

Great first post! I completely agree with you. This Challenge has been so much fun so far and it's only the first day. :)

Mary Aalgaard said...

Love the A to Z Challenge. I can't get enough of it today. I'm so glad it started on a Sunday. I can't keep up with this pace all month, but for today, I feel like I'm part of a big party.
Play off the Page

CoachWalsh3rd said...

Susan, Thank you for the reasurance that, yes, we will feel accomplihed. I am getting a little gruff from my non-writing friends that want to know why on earth we would attempt such a task. Havent we finished school and mandatory assignments? These are not peope who love to write, but their opinion still matters. Thank you for being one of the many who want to do somthing for personal gratification. Best of luck to you in your alphabet.
*\o/*
CW3

Unknown said...

Nice post. Interesting and supportive. Well done.

Laura Barnes said...

Thanks for the encouragement. See you at the end.

Hallie said...

Enjoying your blog (I read A through G today). The challenge has been fun for me so far. I have been kind of a once-a-week blogger so this every day thing has been, well, a challenge. It has also made me think about why I blog and that has been eye-opening.
I may blog about that some day.
Hallie