The blogosphere has grown very quiet these past few weeks. But no need to fear – we haven’t all given up on writing. We’ve just retreated into our writing closets, working furiously on the material we’ll need to carry us through another exciting A to Z Challenge this April!
Take the A to Z Challenge!
If you haven’t heard of the A to Z Challenge, the concept is simple. Writers agree to post new material on their blog every day during the month of April (with the exception of Sundays), and each post corresponds to a letter of the alphabet (So April 1 is “A,” April 2 is “B”, and so on…).
Each writer also agrees to visit at least 10 other “A to Z” blogs per day, and comment on at least 5 of these. The result is a huge increase in traffic to your blog, and the opportunity to discover several wonderful writers out there who may just become long-time friends.
What the A to Z Challenge Did For Me
Last year about this time I had just started The Artistic Christian. As a brand new blogger, I really wasn’t sure how to go about connecting with other writers and felt as if I was on the outside of this beautiful writing community looking in. At the time I had about 37 followers, and decided to throw caution to the wind and take on the A to Z Challenge.
At the end of last April, I had over 100 followers, had learned a great deal about how to build a blog, and had met several writing companions who I still follow and stay in touch with regularly a year later!
Revealing My Theme for April 2015!
While it is not necessary, writers are invited to choose a theme which will inspire their posts for the entire month – just in case posting daily for an entire month isn’t enough of a challenge! March 23 was selected as the official day for the much anticipated “Theme Reveal,” and though I’m a day late, I’m very excited about my theme for April and wanted to share it.
My theme for April 2015 will be “The Classics.” If you’ve followed The Artistic Christian for any length of time, then you know that my goal is to examine art and culture from a Christian perspective. Each day I will examine a piece of art, musical composition, book, or film which was created with such excellence that it has earned the title of beloved classic. As a Fine Arts professor, I’ll examine what the original artist or author did to make their work such a success and what tips modern artists can take to hone their own craft. Also, as a seminary student, I’ll also examine the eternal themes that each work includes that have resonated deeply with the hearts of a world-wide audience and that can serve as powerful illustrations for contemporary Christians.
It’s going to be a fun ride, and I couldn’t be more excited! If you’re a fellow writer, you really should consider jumping into this challenge. If you do, let me know… I’ll be sure and stop by to see what creative way you’ve decided to write your way through the alphabet!
It’s a very interesting theme! I’ll sure be on the look out for your posts. My theme is just simple — MYSELF.
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Thanks… I’ll have to hop over and watch your posts as well. Good luck on the challenge!
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Very interesting.. Intriguing. I am in.
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I am looking forward to reading your posts on this theme!
I have been in a terrible rut with my two blogs; have been suffering from writer’s block, so most of my recent posts have merely been re-blogged posts that I had written quite awhile back. I would like to participate in this A to Z challenge, too. I hope it isn’t too late to sign up.
Blessings,
Theresa
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It’s not too late at all! Just visit the main page at http:/www.a-to-zchallenge.com and add your blog’s name to the Linky Post there. I’ll look forward to keeping up with your A to Z posts!
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Glad to hear it! I’ll look forward to reading your posts next month!
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Great theme, glad to follow the challenge along with you again this year.
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Thanks, Anabel! You were one of the first bloggers I met through last year’s A to Z Challenge, and I think it’s fun that we’re both at it again!
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I look forward to reading and learning from your posts. An interesting theme and one that I can benefit from certainly. Thanks for dropping by my blog as well. Take care and best of luck next week, Cheryl
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Thanks, and same to you! I think next month is going to be quite an adventure!
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I really want to do this at some point. I keep chickening out, and this year I have something already scheduled for April. But at some point, I’m going to do this.
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Sounds like a great challenge! I’m thinking of doing it.
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Hi John, is there no more feature artists? I miss seeing new artists or maybe I missed out?
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We missed a few weeks because I ran out of people who were willing to be interviewed. I did post a new one this last Friday, however, on Sue Sanderson, and will have another new one this coming Friday. Thanks for checking!
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You should! If you join in, let me know so I can follow your A to Z posts!
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I’m joining! However, I am little confused with the set up. Since this is a challenge, I am isolating all of my other posts, so that this can be the focus. How do I do that?
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I’ve seen it done different ways…some people create a new page on their blog for the A to Z Challenge, and others just create a new category for their posts labeled “A to Z Challenge.” Even if you just post like normal, the alphabetical title will help visitors spot the A to Z posts right away…
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You should! It’s a lot of fun to be a part of a large community of writers who are all working toward a common goal….maybe next year!
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WOW and as an art lover this is a must follow blog for me 🙂
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Awesome – I’m glad to hear it! I think seeing how other bloggers handle the challenge is just as much fun as thinking through it myself!
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Sounds like a plan to me! Challenge for Jemverse will be to write a poem around each letter of the alphabet for every day but, hey – I like a challenge!
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You can do it! Looking forward to seeing what sort of alphabetical poems you come up with!
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Already started thinking ‘A’ !
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Your theme sounds really interesting. I like the melding of the two. As a semi-lover of art and a Christian, I’m intrigued to see/read your challenge posts. I added you to my A-Z Reader list, so I’ll be sure to see your posts. Good luck!
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I’m so glad to hear that… you made my day! I’ll look forward to following your posts as well…
By the way, how do you add specific blogs to a reader list? I usually just browse through all those with an “A to Z Challenge” tag, but sometimes it’s difficult to find certain blogs that I’m looking for….
Thanks, and good luck to you as well!
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Hi John, it’s super simple. When your site comes up click on Reader, then under LISTS you’ll see a white box that ‘New List’. In that box type the title of your new list and click the plus sign. You’ll get a new window that says ‘Edit List’. You can enter a description if you want or just start adding blog addresses in the ‘Enter a Blog URL. . .’ Once you enter the URL click ‘Add’. Sadly you can only enter one at a time. Hope that helps. Let me know. 🙂
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Wow! Thanks so much – you’ve just simplified my life!
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Yay! 🙂
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Hello. I signed up to do the A-Z challenge, but received an email that says we are supposed to add a badge to our sidebar. I have looked at the instructions, and went to my dashboard, but I can’t seem to do any of the steps right.
When I came here I didn’t see a badge either. Do you have any suggestions? Here is the page where they list all of the steps:
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/frequently-asked-question-faq.html
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Sorry this was confusing… this badge actually is on my sidebar, but you have to scroll to the top right of my blog and click on the Menu button (it looks like three lines) to access my sidebar. All you have to do is go to your WordPress admin screen and click on “Appearance” and then on “Widgets,” add a new Image Widget to your sidebar, and paste the following as your Image URL: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7626/16880767106_9cd346f4fc_o.jpg That should work… good luck to you!
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