Reflection (n): 3.a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration.
Before I go into the post, I need to answer a question that's been asked by some people lately. Yes, there will be a sequel to TWO HALVES. The novel is currently in its first stage of edits.
Title: TWO EQUALS
Release date: TBA (most likely Fall, earlier if I'm lucky)
I'm very excited about this one. Some pretty powerful stuff happens and when I wrote the ending, I cried. It was perfect and everything from the novel fit the way it should have. Following, a novella titled BENT. Those are all the details I can share for now :)
Now, the reflections post: it's pretty long, but I didn't mean it to be. Just got a little emotional:)
It's been a week since the A-Z Challenge ended, and at the same time it's been a week of quiet time for me on both my blog, as well as me visiting others. Why? Well, I needed a break and needed to finish my writing. I have many thoughts on the challenge, first one of course: "I can't believe I made it!"
With 14 scheduled posts, I'd have to say it helped a lot. Afterwards, I tried to stay 2-3 days ahead which worked well until I got to letter J and K. Man, I had no clue what to write for those posts. O was also difficult, until I came up with Oooo Yes! You can click if you're interested;)
My original plan to comment a lot on new blogs and meet a lot of new people didn't work out as planned. My April turned out busier with writing than I expected and I had to give that a priority.
I still commented and tried to meet new people, but heck, I have no clue how the hosts and co-hosts of the challenge did it. A BIG Thank You to the hosts and co-hosts! You guys were awesome! I'm still in awe of all of you. Your support, time and effort was clear online. You were everywhere. I mean it.
How could you make it better? I don't know. I do know blogging is reciprocal. The effort you put into others is the effort you'll receive, though sometimes even more. Making a genuine comment on someones blog feels good. You get to know them, and I like that. You guys did that!
I don't want to comment, just to comment. Sometimes, I'll read a post and simply don't know what to say or don't have time to comment. It doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, but I do appreciate reading the posts (yes, even the long ones)
Many other bloggers I know have also done a great job of commenting back and interacting with new people. Wow! I'm amazed. But, having gone through the challenge made me realize something very important.
1. Why I blog? I blog because I like it. It's a personal venue of opinion and things that matter, not necessarily always on writing. I will begin to use that in my future posts.
2. I am a writer first, a blogger second.
3. The blogging community is extremely supportive (though I already knew that).
The best part of the challenge was meeting new people, finding their interests and again, realizing how the internet connects us on all continents. I still cannot believe some of you live in Australia, Africa, India, Europe, UK (I could go on naming countries and continents, but I won't).
To me, it feels you guys live right next door. If I needed a cup of sugar, I could scoot over and borrow some sugar, except you provide something much sweeter than sugar. Support, care, encouragement, laughter, hope, inspiration, friendship and adventure.
And for that, I Thank You!
9 comments:
Oh my gosh, this is just the sweetest thing! I totally agree with you about everything. Blogging community is uber awesome and what I gained from the challenge was the amazing friendships too. Lots of laughs and support and all that stuff you mentioned.
And of course, writer first, blogger second. Word.
Making friends is the best part of the Challenge!
Great post - making connections is one of the best things about blogging. I made a few non-writing ones too, which was what I was hoping for, just to expand my own horizons.
I made great effort to make new friends, and I did meet a lot of cool people along the way, many of whom followed me back, but it was hardly equally reciprocal. That is one of my biggest complaints, new bloggers who just don't get the etiquette. But I did have fun. Very tired now.
congrats on finishing!
I thought X was much harder than O
baygirl32.blogspot.com
oh I loved your post, it was so sweet :) Indeed, the challenge was hard, but it's all worth it at the end of the day, because of all the people involved. I agree with you that you get as much as you give... Thank you for a wonderful Reflection post.
English Speaking Zone
Wonderful reflection post! I agree making some new friends is one of the best things about the challenge. :)
I don't know if it is because I haven't slept in four days, or how sweet your post is, but it brought tears to my eyes. You are right, the blogging community is so supportive, caring, and encouraging. I'm blessed to have met you and many others through the internet. Good luck with edits on your sequel!!
This year did seem pretty overwhelming. So many great blogs with great posts. It was a Challenge for sure and I know I certainly fell short.
Thanks for your great video contribution. That was one aspect this year that I liked that I'd like to see us continue but to have it a bigger deal. I'd really like to see some decent prizes or something and increase exposure for the videos. Although I had those darn things playing everywhere I could think. But a special thanks for being a part of the video experiment.
Lee
A Faraway View
An A to Z Co-host blog
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