Ze State of Ze Blog

I could have gone with Zenith. Either way, we be done.
End-of-the-month blogging commentary. [Previous]

So, how was the A To Z Challenge?

Writing The Letters
Pluses:
I was planning to write 30 posts anyway, 4 more than required by the challenge. No extra stress there.

The letters gave me a framework instead of having to bash around in my head for inspiration.

I did posts that I never would have done otherwise: A-list, Ivy League, Hashtag. For others, I jimmied the titles to fit posts I had already planned: Georgia, Hashtag, today.

Minuses:
Now that I had the framework, could I come up with a idea for each letter? I’m looking at you, Q and X.

Then I had to wonder if the idea in question was bloggable or did it just match the letter?

I would probably have written more about my activities of daily living this month if I had not been constrained by the letters. Whether that is good or bad, I’m not the one to judge.

Verdict:
Would I do it next year? Probably not for Rodney’s Saga. Maybe for Off Topic, if I’m still blogging [Planning*]. That would mean 30 regular Rodney’s Saga posts with the addition of alphabetical, near-daily Off Topic posts. 56 posts. That would be a challenge.

What I would have done differently:
Used thumbnail versions of the letter badges instead of full-size ones. They really are quite bold. By the time the switch occurred to me, we were at G. I went for consistency over convenience. I badged each post because the sidebar changes over time. Now these posts are forever marked as AtoZ posts.

Visiting Other Blogs
The second goal of the A To Z Challenge is to visit X number of other blogs also doing the challenge. Despite a late rally once I had the last few letters scheduled, I failed at this for any reasonable value of X. I’m a bad blogging community supporter, this month and every month. One side effect of being a freelance writer as well as a daily blogger is that after a little paying work and a lot of blogging work, my psyche needs to look at something other than a computer screen.

I do read some other blogs. Here are two I found this month, neither of which are AtoZ:

Mutton Withers: In which I make a public commitment to help my charming pony achieve and maintain a healthy weight, despite her wishes otherwise. Well-written, educational, and how can you not adore this face:

Does It End Ok: A Blog For My Mother. Short to hyper-short reviews of movies that tells whether the movie is an upper or a downer. Us sensitive types appreciate not being surprised. Despite being an Browncoat sympathizer, I refused to see Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods until someone told me what happened.

On the other hand, recommendations are worth the electrons they are printed on. For example, I read both a blogger and a web comic religiously. I like the writing. I have stolen borrowed liberated ideas/administrative tips for my blog. You would think that our tastes would coincide. Not so much. The authors/bloggers or web comics they recommend bore me to the point that now avoid what they extoll. In other words, I like these two blogs. Your mileage may vary.

Blogging from A to Z Challenge April 2014
List of my A to Z posts

*Truly, I have no wish to stop blogging. I just see myself running low on ideas. Unless the universe provides further content. Happy content. The kind that is less interesting to read but more fun to live through. Shiny.

Update May 5: