Daily A-to-Z Blogging is indeed a challenge!
For 26 days in a row (“with Sundays off for good behavior!”), you..
- Come up with ideas for each letter prompt
- Write the words
- Find the images you want (heavens, that can take a long time!)
- Format it how you want
- Edit it some more
- Deal with all the technical pieces including inserting links, sticking in the “read more” thingie, and most importantly don’t hit “Publish” when you just want to “Preview” your so-not-ready draft… 😯
- Make sure you reply to every comment (easier for those of us with fewer comment-makers!)
- Visit, read, and comment on others’ A-Z blogs…
I really ran out of wherewithal in the 2nd half for that important-and-fun visiting of others’ blogs…I regret that April Real Life Beyond Blogging really hindered my ability to do that…I had 2 storytelling conferences the last couple weeks… Ah, well!
Then there was my theme itself: “Story Slams &Traditional Storytelling – Bridging the Distance.”
It was personally challenging, in mostly very, very good ways – for me to devote time and energy to learning more about story slams, and thinking about what I experience and observe, and share short reflections on it all – and invite comments and conversation from others.
Because I know the readership of my blog includes a range – from people who have little-to-no experience with the performance art of storytelling to professional storytellers who devote their careers to it as I do, and everyone in between! – my writings were sometimes basic information/education about storytelling (like Descriptions/Definitions), and sometimes touching upon profound issues at the heart of the profession. I appreciated each and every comment, from anywhere along the spectrum!
I always put links to my blog on Facebook – both on my own page and in the “Storytellers” closed group page on FB. When doing that, it’s common for there to be comments that don’t appear on the blog itself (much to the chagrin to that part of us that wants the on-blog activity to influence those Google algorithms that direct searches to our websites…but oh well! Good visibility, and sometimes good conversation, to be had on Facebook!).
Perhaps not surprisingly, the post that generated the most conversation was “X-Rated Language at Story Slams” – plus it was the post that got the most hits the whole month. A lesson in what catches the attention in a title, perhaps…!
The post that generated the second-most conversation was “US vs. UK Storytelling.” (Again, a lot of the conversation was on the FB Storytellers page, so sadly you won’t see so much if you go directly to the blog comments…but feel free to post a comment there still!)
I learned a lot, and am entirely uncertain if I will do it again next year.
I’ve done this A-Z Challenge 2 years now, and it is lots, lots, lots of work. At least I did a lot more pre-writing and scheduling this year, although I got behind by the end. I totally ran out of time for visiting and reading, not to mention commenting on, most of the other A-Z blogs I was enjoying… Would love to do better at that if I do the Challenge again.
On balance, it’s been a very positive experience.
I got loads of affirmation from fellow storytellers about the interest and value of my explorations (brief though they were) of story slams “vs” traditional storytelling, and that means a lot to me.
Thanks to the A-Z Blogging folks for support and enthusiasm – and especially to Csenge Zalka, whose fault it is (!) that I even gave it a try last year, when I was a brand new blogger. I love the way she represents storytellers/storytelling online, with her skills and vitality.
I am so ready to stop daily blogging! Going forward, I’m aiming for twice a month…who knows, it may be more…or not…
Happy May!
And thanks so very much for reading – Pam
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