The A to Z Challenge Is Upon Us!

I have decided to return to the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge this year. I joined the challenge in 2014 and had a great time of it, but then life intruded and I wasn't able to get back to it.

But this year, one of my goals for 2018 was to participate in at least two blog hops. On my personal blog, I already do the We Are the World Blogfest (#WATWB) each month—a blog hop that shares only positive news from around the world to encourage and inform. With this blog, I haven't done any hopping yet. And since this is the one I'd like to grow, well . . . the A to Z is a nice way to meet other bloggers, whether they end up being followers of mine or not. Many of my current blog-friends are those I met through previous years of this very challenge.

The A to Z truly is a challenge because participants are required to post for twenty-six scheduled days in April, on any theme, with the only pattern being that the posts must go from . . . A to Z. It's also a challenge because there are anywhere from 500–1500 bloggers involved, so choosing what to read and where to spend my time each day can be exhausting.

There are also typically more commenters, as people visit as many blogs as possible throughout the month. Some people find this tedious to deal with, but my view is this: comments are one of the main reasons I blog. I love the dialogue with readers, and hearing from people I might never have met if not through blogging. I don't struggle with the idea of having an abundance of comments to answer. (And I do answer them, because I feel it's important for people to know I'm appreciative of the visit, as some of you may recall from my previous post, Why Do You Blog?). Even so, it is a challenge to both answer comments on my own blog and visit/comment on other blogs during this action-packed month.

Since I didn't gather my wits until the last minute, I missed announcing my theme on the big reveal day. However, I'm sure it's no surprise that my theme would involve editing. In 2014, I gave writing advice from an editor's point of view. This time, my theme is

Twenty-Six Short and Sweet Reasons Why You Need an Editor

As the title suggests, I'll keep them short, and of course I'm always sweet, even when I'm snarky. And I can't promise to tone down the snark just because this is a challenge. It's no challenge for me to be my silly self for twenty-six days. And I'll even do my best to give actual advice in the middle of it.

So even though April 1 is a Sunday (typically not a challenge post day) and Easter, AND April Fool's Day, I'll have my "A" post up & at 'em to get this month kicked off right. No foolin'.

See you here! And there . . .