Monday, May 7, 2012

A to Z Reflections



What possessed me?


This was what April looked like when I signed up for A to Z:

Grad class on Mondays
Poetry class on Thursdays
Full time job
Critiquing 2 manuscripts for the NE-SCBWI conference
Facilitate a SIG on blogging for the NE-SCBWI
Packing for move
Looking for jobs


       I was already blogging once a week because I knew that if I wanted to write, I had to make time for it.  This has meant writing during lunch and sometimes in the morning.  I knew A to Z meant I’d be setting up my posts and commenting on as many blogs as possible daily.

It was all because of a shiny idea: 80s music.

Well, when I like an idea, I can’t NOT do it.

       So I signed up.  I wrote the posts in March.  My plan was to write them leisurely.  After all, I had plenty of time and it wasn’t like I was writing War and Peace.  Yet, somehow I found myself rushing to write those last posts at the end of March.



Bright spots:

Lots of new blogging friends.  I have about 40 new followers.  YaY!

It was good camaraderie.  And sometimes, commiserating. 


       I’ve thought of fun ideas for 2013.  But I already have a few people who will remind me NOT to do it next year.

       I miss my blogging buddies from March.  Some of them didn’t visit much or at all.  I didn’t have much time for bloggers outside of the A to Z Challenge if they didn’t find me.  I felt bad, but it was the only way I could keep up. 

       I’m happy to report that I did write all but five days in April.  Though a couple of days I had to skip fiction in favor of writing responsibilities that were conference related  and job search related (like taking 3 ½ hours to set up my application on schoolspring.com).


And now that it’s been a week, I’m no longer burned out and I’m ready to write posts and visit blogs again.



Have a happy week!

Love, Theresa


P.S. Thank you to the host   Arlee Bird 


 and  Alex Cavanaugh

for co-hosting and visiting my blog.  


80 comments:

  1. Theresa - I don't know how you do so much and do it all so incredibly well! I loved last month's A to Z posts and look forward to whatever you share next!

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  2. You got me searching for my leg warmers, LIVE LIFE t-shirts, head boppers and day glo inner 80's childhood! Thank you!! Take care
    x

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    1. Old Kitty, glad to know you had fun reliving that time with me. You take care too!

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  3. I'm amazed you did this Theresa with all you're doing. As one of the people who didn't do the challenge (it doesn't fit with our blog even if I could do it working full-time), I missed some of my followers too last month because they were doing A-Z. I tried to follow when I could but it's a lot to follow for so many days. Wish it was shorter for everyone involved.

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    1. Natalie, I feel exactly as you do. It was a fun experiment, but I think I'll do my tried and true next year. Now I have to go back to a March post and find all my old commenters!

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  4. It was a wild ride. The best part is meeting cool new bloggers. The worst part is missing out on anyone who isn't taking part in it.

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    1. Matthew, I completely agree. I'm happy for the new followers, but I have a lot of people to catch up with.

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  5. I loved your choices!! Those choices not only spread some great music around, but gave me greater insight into you as a person. Love that, Theresa!!

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    1. SA Larsen, thank you. It was interesting to see if people had themes. I learned a lot about bloggers like you too.

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  6. We know why you did it... you did it for love and love hurts.
    Ok, I'll fess up to only having put that version of the song up because it was 80s and Elaine Paige's hair...

    Lyrics-wise, I reckon this Incubus song would be more fitting:
    love hurts.

    Bravo for for facing down that challenge! : j

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    1. Alesa, I'm at work, so I'll have to check these links later!

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  7. it was great fun! congrats on making it through

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    1. Baygirl32, thank you. It was fun and exhausting at the same time!

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  8. Sounds like so much work, but a lot of fun! Congrats on completing the challenge!

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    1. Meredith, thanks! I look forward to a normal blogging schedule and catching up with everyone.

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  9. I agree that trying to visit all the participating blogs was difficult. And I also tried to visit my regular blogs as so many of them suffer a fall in views during April (I know mine did last year). But I think it was well worth all the hustle and bustle! How you managed with everything you had on I don't know. Well done for that!

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    1. JC, I had planned to visit regular blogs, but I didn't get to as many as I wanted to. I also realized early on that if I wanted to be able to visit and comment on other blogs, I wasn't going to be able to comment back to every person who commented here. I felt bad about that.

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  10. Congrats on finishing the A to Z challenge, Theresa! What a fun accomplishment!

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  11. omg, and I thought MY April was insane! :D I'm impressed--you did it! And you survived. Great work, T! I <3 the 80s~ :o) <3

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    1. LTM, I've learned my lesson to not give in to temptation next year. Even though I have so many ideas...

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  12. Congrats on making it through the challenge!

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    1. Bossy Betty, thanks! I am so happy to have the A to Z Badge of Honor!

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  13. It is a Challenge, but the rewards are great. I didn't visit as many new blogs because I was trying to keep up with blogger buddies. Hope you do it again next year!

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    1. Alex, I meant to add you to my thanks because you did visit my blog quite a bit. Where was my head? I'll fix that now!

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  14. Theresa, You are the juggling queen! I will be sure to remind you not to participate again next year. I'm sure you won't listen b/c you already have some great theme ideas :-)

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    1. Susan, thanks for looking out for me. Must ignore A to Z ideas!

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  15. Your posts were great fun, Theresa. Congratulations on making it all the way to ZZ Top.

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    1. Suze, thanks. I enjoyed your comments and blogs posts!

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  16. You all did wonderful Theresa. I do confess to surfing YouTube more lately after all of your 80s posts made me think retro.

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    1. Slamdunk, glad I got you surfing. It was fun finding these old videos!

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  17. It was a great little sojourn into the grand land of the 80's. I enjoyed it!

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    1. Shelly, I enjoyed seeing so many of your posts this month. Wish I'd gotten there for all of them.

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  18. I loved re-living the 80's through the music. SO MUCH FUN!! :)

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    1. Shannon, glad you had fun! I had fun deciding on the bands, lyrics, and videos.

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  19. I loved your theme, and you introduced me to some new bands. I thought I knew the 80s, but there were obviously some bands that didn't cross the Atlantic!

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    1. Annalisa, that's cool you discovered a few new bands during the challenge. I enjoyed your posts!

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  20. I was born in the 80's so I was too young to appreciate the music back then. Your theme certainly helped me imagine what it must have been like for teens those days:)Congrats on surviving the A-Z!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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    1. Nutschell, you're making me feel old! Then again, just the act of posting about bands from 30 years ago will do it.

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  21. Wow, I'm impressed you were able to find time for writing in addition to everything else you were doing in April - good for you! I'm now trying to figure how I'll make more time for blogging AND do my regular writing as well (it's been months, alas!).

    Some Dark Romantic

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    1. Mina, it's always a difficult balance to figure how to blog and write. Good luck!

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  22. You did so many things in April, Theresa. I know what you mean by missing the other blogger connections that mean so much. Have to go back and say hello to all my old friends now.

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    1. Cleemckenzie, you're one of the ones I kept up with before AND during the A to Z Challenge!

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  23. I enjoyed your posts. I did find A-Z hard to keep up with, but fun.

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    1. Glynis,thank you. Congrats on your big day and good luck with your book!

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  24. Theresa - I always enjoy your wonderful writing laced with awesome humor - thanks!

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  25. May seems to be a good time for people to reflect and then just not blog about anything else. But it was fun while it lasted :P *here's to A to Z.

    Anyway...I hope your May is less crazy.

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    1. Michael, you're here tomorrow, right? I've gotta come back with a vengeance!

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  26. I'm glad you found it a good overall experience. It was not for me, and I found myself not visiting blogs at all during April. But that's okay. I got some writing done, and I feel refreshed for May!

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    1. Dianne, another blogger said it was the perfect time to take a blogging break. I think I'll slow down a little during April next year.

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  27. Like you said, the good thing about the A to Z challenge is that it motivated you to write and it made you make time for it. I think that's the biggest challenge that aspiring writers have - making time to write, especially when you have all these other things you have to get done. I thought about participating in the A to Z challenge, because there are times when I can't think of anything to blog about; I figured that this kind of thing might give me new ideas. And it was interesting to read the stuff that everyone else, including you, came up with.

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    1. Neurotic Workaholic, A to Z didn't motivate me to write at all. I wrote in spite of it! I had already set that goal in January, so I wasn't about to stop. I had more days that I didn't write in April than the 2 1/2 months before.

      A lot of people do themes because it's easier to come up with posts. Worked for me!

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  28. I think you're amazing to be able to do all these things, Theresa. I'm sorry I wasn't able to visit much or at all in March. I'm back blogging now and I hope to catch up on blog friends' posts. I've missed a lot of yours but now trying to read most of them. I'm glad we're in touch on the email and FB.

    All the best on your move. x

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    1. Len, don't worry about it. Both of us were so busy, we barely emailed. Thank you! : )

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  29. I loved reading your 80s music posts! I'm an 80s girl too so your posts were some of my favorites :)

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  30. Congrats Theresa! You are amazing! :)

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  31. Yay you! You are one SUPER COOL BODACIOUS WRITER PAL. I heart you!

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  32. I don't know how you guys all did it with A-Z. That's a lot of posts!

    But they were fun to read.

    Good luck with your move!

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    1. Good for you, Theresa. I don't know how you managed it, I have been a very infrequent blogger lately. Life gets busy and it seems to get sidelined by me.
      Good luck with your move:)

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  33. You are WONDER WOMAN! And (probably) a serious Type A.

    I adore A-Z lists! I did my own post, "Love by the Letter," one day. It's at http://luxuriouschoices.blogspot.com/2012/02/love-by-letter.html if anyone cares to see it.

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  34. Wow, that's a busy month. Congratulations on getting it all done. That's amazing.

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    1. Liz, thank you. Now I need to stop blog slacking and get back to commenting!

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  35. Theresa, you're amazing. I can't believe you had all of that going on and you still managed to do the challenge. And pull a 4.0. You're brilliant! :)

    And, I totally relate to this: "when I like an idea, I can’t NOT do it."

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    1. Shannon, aww, thank you. I made a push in March like you wouldn't believe, including doing 2 big assignments early. Between doing that for school + writing the posts early, I was able to sort of keep up.

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  36. Wow, I'm impressed at your organisational skills. I have figured out that writing all the posts beforehand is what I need to do next year and it looks as though it worked for you.

    Like you, I do miss my regular bloggers when in the month of April and I look forward to catching up with them this month.

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    1. Rebecca, it's been nice to find "old" bloggers and do regular posts again!

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  37. I think you did a great job! I got derailed by going on vacation and falling behind on commenting, but otherwise had a great time. I'll post my reflections on Friday or Sunday - depending on how much catching up I do tonight...

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    1. Deniz, being on vacation is definitely a better alternative! Welcome back. : )

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  38. I was on medical leave the month of April. I can't image doing the A to Z while I was teaching and correcting papers. The mind reels.

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  39. Leslie, I hope you're okay. It was a lot to deal with in 1 month on top of everything else, so I think I'll just enjoy reading them rather than writing them next year!

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  40. I'm so sorry that I missed out on your 80's music posts... it's the BEST decade music-wise!!
    So if you notice an "A to Z stalker", it might be me playing a little catch-up! I had 26 musically-themed fiction posts.

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  41. Thank you, Theresa. You did an exceptional job considering all the stuff you had going on. But I know what you mean about the frantic nature of the whole thing. I was a great time, but too much of a good thing in many ways.

    Thanks for joining in on the fun of 2012.


    Lee
    An A to Z Co-Host
    Tossing It Out

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  42. Holy cow, talk about productive! You are amazing as well as a survivor!

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  43. TerryLynnJohnson, thanks! It took me over 2 weeks to get over the month of April.

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