And so the 2017 A-Z Challenge has come to an end! This was my second year participating and to be honest I wasn’t even entirely sure that I was going to attempted it this year. I didn’t make that decision until the last minute. I mean, I had a list of what I would write about for each letter but I hadn’t committed in my heart until the last second. As a result, I struggled more this year. My time management for writing and scheduling posts was a bit of a mess (totally uncharacteristic of me) and I felt the pressure this time, unlike 2016.
So what did I make of the challenge this year? Those who joined in will know they changed things up a bit this year. Firstly there was no linky list (or whatever it’s called) – where you go to see who else is writing for the challenge and click the links to read your 5 posts per day. This year instead it was all about adding a link to your post on either the A-Z Facebook page or the website itself. I actually preferred this as I found I was always guaranteed to be finding websites that were actively writing for the challenge rather than clicking on links of those that had since dropped off and stopped writing. I tended to use the Facebook page for the most part as I initially struggled to post my links on the A-Z Challenge website (in the end I had to go through the hassle of setting up Google+ and Blogger logins just so I could access the bulk of the participants). I know there was also a synced version on WordPress but it didn’t really attract a lot of people and as such I found that it was the same group of people linking every day (and I was following and reading most of those lovely people already).
What I do love about the challenge is the opportunity to connect with even more bloggers. I had been absent from my blog for about 12 months and was nervous about whether my existing readers (can I just say “friends” instead? Because I feel that’s what they are) would return to reading my snippets. Luckily they did and I felt welcomed back as though I’d never left. But I also had the good fortune to meet a whole host of other wonderful writers! And that’s something I love about this forum, this world of blogging and sharing stories, you form all these fantastic connections with a world of people who are positive, supportive, encouraging and just plain engaging. I want to thank you all for reading and commenting and stopping by! So, all in all …? The A-Z Challenge was, once again, a well worthwhile endeavour. For those that would like a recap or who might’ve missed a few posts, here’s a link to this year’s challenge posts from Ramblings of K 🙂
BERLIN TO BUDAPEST – Germany & Hungary
CESKY KRUMLOV – Czech Republic
GUESTS at a bush BBQ – South Africa
HO CHI MINH CITY, HUE & HOI AN – Vietnam
ISTANBUL – TurkeyISTANBUL – Turkey
NITMILUK NATIONAL PARK – Australia
OSSUARY AT SEDLEC – Czech Republic
Well done Kim. It’s great to have you back and, quite honestly, it feels like you never left. Happy blogging and happy weekend. 🙂
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Thank you, Miriam. That’s very kind of you. Hope you have a lovely weekend too 🙂
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I enjoyed the virtual tour of so many beautiful places through your blogs Kim. Kudos on completing the challenge well 👏
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Thank you, Radhika. It’s been wonderful finding your blog during the challenge 🙂
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Nice….I decided to stick with just posting on Facebook too…after a week of doing Facebook and the website..congratulations on completing the challenge..it’s my first year, decided to join last minute but I completed it too
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Hope you enjoyed completing the challenge! I found the Facebook option really convenient, so hopefully they continue that next year.
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my exact thoughts…..yes it was a lovely experience
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I’m glad you succeeded this year and are happy about it! Maybe I’ll join again next year. The link a day system sounds better to me as well, especially, if you could derive from the link what the post is about. For me, I think one photo with one paragraph might be the right balance between spending time on the creation and posting of the blog and having enough time left to visit other blogs. It is a massive energy and time investment, though, and I congratulate all the A-Zers who succeeded!
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I agree, Liesbet. The link a day saved a lot of time & frustration, and for the most part it was clear what the subject matter for the post would be. I really like your idea of limiting it to a photo and just a paragraph. Not only does that makes it easier to commit to the challenge but I think it would encourage more people to stop by and read it. I believe I saw somewhere that the recommended word limit for posts is 300 words. That seems more manageable to me.
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Next year! 🙂
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Gorgeous work
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Thank you!
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Well done for completing it, and completing it with such great posts. It took a lot of dedication to get through and you did.
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Thanks, Ger. I’m glad you decided to do the challenge as well, congratulations on completing it in style.
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This isn’t about me lol
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Fair point lol. Thanks for reading and commenting, it’s great encouragement to keep persisting with my posts. Glad you enjoyed them.
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Very much so. Long may you continue to write
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Well you didn’t seem disorganized even if you felt it, so you did really well 🙂
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Haha! Thank you, Raven. It was madness under the surface 🙂
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We’re just glad you came back and shared even more travel story and photos with us. And yes, you can say “blogging friends!”
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Thank you, Ann! It’s been so good to reconnect with all my blogging friends. I missed you all! Hope Lucy is fully recovered?
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Aside from a slight head tilt (and I still don’t trust her on steep stairs), she is just fine! Honestly, it almost seems like a miracle.
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That’s wonderful news! I’m so glad it’s turned around & she’s almost back to normal.
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congratulations! You did it! I doubt I would get beyond C. Haha…
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Haha! Thanks, Cheryl! At this early stage, I’m thinking I’ll skip it next year 🙂
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I doubt it! I’m sure you’re going to make all the way to Z. lol!
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Oh, I feel for you, writing day to day plus visiting other blogs is super time consuming. You did well, though! Didn’t read all of your posts, but the ones I did, I liked 🙂
https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/2017/05/a-z-blogging-challenge-reflection-post.html
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Thanks, Tamara. It was certainly a challenge. Likewise, I didn’t get through all of your posts but you raised some very interesting subject matters. Now we get a year off to consider whether to do it again next year! 🙂
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A very belated congrats on finishing the challenge! I was so happy to find both you and your blog through the challenge and look forward to reading what comes next. You both renewed my travel bug and put me on to some new writers! Win win!
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Hey Louise! Thank you for the kind words. Your blog was one of my favourite new discoveries. Glad your travel bug has been renewed 😀
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