This is one of four blogs that I had entered in the 2015 Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. I have entered four blogs for the past four years. Of all my blogs other than my Tossing It Out blog, A Faraway View showed a performance that was more consistently in line with my normal weekly posts and about the same as the A to Z posts in previous years. In other words, there was neither drastic decline in visits nor any appreciable increase--traffic and comments was essentially business as usual.
My posts were kept very short as I have done in the past Challenges. The quality of the content of my Elements of Dreams theme was rather decent I thought--I was pleased with the overall series as a whole. The general theme of "Elements of" was one that I used in all of my blogs and where I could I used the same element which made it helpful for me to focus on keeping all four blogs active in a parallel sense.
As some others have mentioned on their blogs and in my comments sections, I would agree that this challenge of 2015 is probably the best yet from the standpoint of quality of blog posts presented by a number of bloggers and the smooth operation of the Challenge by the A to Z Team of co-hosts.
For me each Challenge seems to get easier as I learn new tricks and prepare posts in advance. As in the past not all of my posts were completed before the Challenge opened and I was composing some right up to the end, but considering the task of content preparation for four blogs I was not in too bad of shape. Next year if I can manage completing all posts prior to April, I will be sitting pretty where it comes to networking.
So bottom line: Great year, successful Challenge from my standpoint, and congenial visits from a cozy few. My thanks to all of my regular readers as well as to the few new ones who dropped in now and then. I hope you'll come back more often.
To participate please add the link to your Reflections post to the following list:
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The hosts and cohosts all did amazing work on the challenge. I was really impressed by the showing. Hats off to all of you.
ReplyDeleteHow do you add the Linky Tools to your post? I can't seem to find a code...
Thanks, Alex. Your Reflections post is outstanding--hope a lot of folks go to read it.
DeleteI sent you an email.
Lee
Thank you! Unfortunately I found out Wordpress doesn't like Javascript... but wow.... over 300 on there now! I better get reading. :)
DeleteI'm so impressed that you had four blogs participating in the Challenge and you managed all of them successfully, while at the same time doing all the hosting duties. Wow! I didn't get to A Faraway View as often as I would've like to but now that things have slowed down, I'll be coming back to check out your posts. I love all things dreams so am looking forward to your Elements of Dreams theme.
ReplyDeleteMichele at Angels Bark
Keeping posts short was the only way I could have managed four blogs
DeleteLee
Congratulations on meeting the challenge four different ways. WOW!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisa. Keeping four blogs going is probably blogging overkill that I need to seriously reevaluate. Appreciate your support.
DeleteLee
4 blogs plus hosting? And here I thought I was busy...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you are very busy, Mary. My being busy is probably mostly illusion.
DeleteLee
I don't know how you keep up with four blogs normally, but to enter all of them in this challenge is crazy! All I can say is, Lee, you're an exceptional person to manage and organize your time to juggle 4 blogs like you do. Perhaps, if I were more fluent in thoughts, then creating posts would be a snap. Unfortunately, I struggle with this more than I should. The upside is I felt I did over-all better this go around than the previous and that's a good thing. Anywho, I'm looking forward to the 2016 challenge and this time I am going to set a reminder for January 2016 to plan my April posts. Thanks for hosting the fun madness!
ReplyDeleteI thought you did an excellent job, Cathy. For me one essential key was maintaining the themes for all of the blogs. That kept my mind on track with a continuity of thought where posts essentially flow one to another.
DeleteThe advance preparation helps so much. When your reminder goes off in January be sure to remind me as well.
Lee
I'm totally impressed that you got your A-Z completed on four blogs. I can't even find a theme or subject matter for one blog.
ReplyDeleteYes you can, JoJo. I know you could do it if you really set your mind to it.
DeleteLee
I reckon you are mad doing the A to Z with four blogs, but credit to you for making it and doing it well. . . . And for what was a grand idea in the first place, OK I tend to be grumpy about it as I reach the end but I am grumpy about everything.
ReplyDeleteThat sunflower will be very proud of you :)
Hey Rob, let's start a grumpy club. A lot of people close to me think I'm grumpy to, but that's just me. I probably seem a lot different on line. The sunflower is now looking more like I tend to feel much of the time.
DeleteLee
I had a blast. My theme was unusual (Math), but worked surprisingly well. I loved being a minion and would do it again.
ReplyDeleteTamara, being a "minion" is such an important role in making the Challenge work as well as it does. Thanks for that!
DeleteLee
Knew you were doing more than 1, but no idea it was 4 and hosting, that's a pretty big wow!!
ReplyDelete2015 felt smoother this year, don't know if that was because it was my 2nd year but thought the team kept up brilliantly with removing non-participating blogs this year, and I got a few visits during the challenge too by the team checking in, t'was all good!
Mars
Curling Stones for Lego People
Mars, we tried our best and I think we did well keeping the list clean. I think every year you do the Challenge it tends to go more smoothly because you usually learn more tricks to make it go better.
DeleteLee
Technical note: I accidentally posted the blog link instead of the post link at entry number 100, so feel free to zap this one. I reentered things correctly at 133.
ReplyDeleteI've notified Alex.
DeleteLee
Glad the challenge was a success!
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteLee
I was really happy with the challenge this year and entered two blogs, one with a theme on movies and the other with the meaning of names. The movie themed blog did get more traffic, my other blog is relatively new and it was hard to really gauge if the momentum had anything to do with the challenge.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I saw your blog about movies. I need to check that out.
DeleteLee
I tried to do three blogs in one year. I got through with them all, but it was a lot of work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me on your team again this year! It was a blast.
More than one blog works best when kept simple. The older I get, the simpler I get.
DeleteThank you for your assistance.
Lee
We all have you to thank not only for starting it but working to constantly improve it. How you keep up with all your blogging is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteNow if only Alex would give me some of his secrets--or a few clones--I'd be all set.
DeleteLee
Wow, Lee... 4??? I am impressed!
ReplyDelete♥.•*¨Elizabeth¨*•.♥
Actually it's not all that impressive taking in the bigger picture.
DeleteLee
I'm with Elizabeth Mueller on this one! (Waves! Hi Elizabeth!)
ReplyDeleteHOW on earth did you manage to do four posts in one day- each day! O.O Good GOLLY!
Congratulations!
I too felt like I could have read more of the blogs if I had prepared some of my posts ahead of time. Alas, I'm already juggling enough as it is so I think I will be happy with the amount I did manage ;)
The secret is advance preparation and short posts. And even at that there was never enough time for me to read enough other blogs--not like I'd like to be able to do.
DeleteLee
I had a blast and made a LOT of new friends. Not every blog is to every taste, so I personally found that if I clicked on a blog and it was poetry or a long political diatribe, it was best to skip it. I learned last year during the challenge that you really don't want to follow a bunch of blogs that aren't interesting to you. There's so many of us out there, we can easily find blogs that fit within our niche. It's just tough to find them in the THOUSANDS of blogs participating!
ReplyDeleteMaking friends is a primary goal of A to Z. There's something for every reader--or almost.
DeleteLee
Four blogs... wow. It's the comments that would kill me, trying to answer all of them and then go and visit the blogs that weren't returns! Fabulous. I didn't get to see this one of your incarnations. Reading the blog above, i will say what i did in my reflections - I'd find it much easier if the blogs were categorised. For instance, if the page could be divided into sections, for Poetry, Animals, Fiction, Fact, Fantasy, Sci Fi, Mixed, Religious, Photography etc, and you could enter one blog IN THE SUBJECT THEY AE DOIG FO THEA-Z in a max of two categories. That way you could do all the blogs in the category you are most interested in and not miss one, no wasting time as the commenter before mentions. You would also know for sure what the blog was about, instead of opening up a very unclear title to find something you are really not interested in. I would look at all the poetry first, then animals, and then start on the other categories - probably fiction, or writing. This one thing would revolutionise the A-z for me, it's such a pain going through trying to find what you want and knowing you are probably missing things. Thank you for your visits to me, looking forward to next year! Liz (my address is http://www.lizbrownleepoet.com, not where Blogger will take you!)
ReplyDeleteSomeday we will get the categorizing and all of that right. Labeling is part of the solutions, but I want to avoid separate lists divided into categories. I know the best solution, but I'm not yet certain how to achieve it.
DeleteLee
Very good summary of the challenge. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that each time I do the challenge I feel like it's easier for me, even though this year I was writing about a relatively tricky topic. I also agree that scheduling posts is crucial. I've gotten into such a good routine with scheduling my posts in advance that I've continued with it since I finished writing my A to Z Challenge posts and I'm now scheduling posts as far away as June!
Cait @ Click's Clan
Sounds like you've learned something along the way. Another Challenge goal achieved!
DeleteLee
I thought this year was great. I had done it in 2013, but this year I learned SO much, visited SO many blogs, and participated as a minion as well. My vote is to keep them listed randomly. Yes, I clicked on several blogs I wasn't interested in, but I also found some that I loved that either weren't categorized, or that I wouldn't necessarily have chosen. Thanks so much for heading this up, Lee.
ReplyDeleteI too prefer the random list, but there is a way to have it both ways and someday I hope we can be able to offer that option.
DeleteLee
Another great year, I agree. I also noticed a significant increase in blogs with interesting and unique content. I also noticed far more themes this year than ever and I enjoyed that as it made it easier to know what to expect from a blog. I made the mistake this year of not preparing all of my post in advance and I will never make that mistake again. I also must learn how to pre schedule my post for publication . Thank you again for a terrific adventure
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you, Melissa for joining us once more.
DeleteLee
I agree! This was my favorite year yet. :) A lot of great posts with great themes, and also great comments from visitors. It was probably better too because I learned new tricks as well... And I enjoyed your dream posts when I could get around to them! Thanks to you, I am keeping a dream journal again :)
ReplyDeleteCheers!
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary
MopDog
So much quality in so many blogs was really encouraging.
DeleteLee
Lee, I didn't know you had more than one blog! Sheesh! Now I have a LOT more to read... No rest for the weary!!
ReplyDelete--Mee (The Chinese Quest)
Yeah, I used to post seven days a week on my main blog and decided "this is ridiculous, I need to cut back on blogging". So what'd I do, but start posting 3 days a week on the main blog and then started 3 more blogs as well as the A to Z Blog. I'm a blogging idiot!
DeleteLee
Hats off to wrangling four blogs! You did a great job. And you were right, there were some excellent themes out there this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nick!
DeleteLee
I really enjoyed the dream posts I made it to. Seems I often found myself all over the place in April! This Challenge, to me, is the best thing to blogging since our beloved J-Land I started out on.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for inventing this!
~ We made it!!! ~
Stopping in from Life & Faith in Caneyhead.
I am Ensign B of Tremps' Troops
Barbara, all over the place pretty well describes it for me as well. I forget a lot of where I was, but it was a good time.
DeleteLee
You have had a high level of commitment and four sites... I have had trouble with just the one... :) We made it...Hope you had a great time, thank you for your Reflection!
ReplyDeleteJeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2015]
HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
Come Visit: You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?
Jeremy, maybe I've overdoing it, but I'm not sure where to cut. As long as we have fun I guess that's the main thing.
DeleteLee
This was my first Challenge and I had such a great time I am already planning posts for next year. I may keep the same theme, too - America the Beautiful. Four sites. My cyberhat is off to you! Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDelete