April has ended, and
with it, the A to Z 2013 Challenge! What
a rush! What an outpouring of writing
and talent!
Reflection time? You betcha.
Introspection:
I approached this
year differently. I wrote two letters in
a combined theme---A with B on April 1 & 2, etc. I really enjoyed this as it was a challenge
and mentally entertaining.
Also challenging was
keeping the posts short, two-hundred words or so. The K-L posts were the longest, since those
were stories. Using less and more
precise words strengthened the writing.
Playing with words
and ideas—those are the joys of writing.
Overall Reflections:
What others’ blog postings did I consider
successful?
Topics which were
universally interesting engaged me immediately. I enjoyed reading and learning about people's lives, countries, cultures, etc. Good writing is
good writing, period.
What made some blog postings hard to read, thus
shortening my interest?
Lengthy dense writing lost me.
Long,
over-written paragraphs with no space-breaks were difficult to follow
and to maintain interest.
I have migraines and
my eyes suffer as a result. On my own blog, the background is almost black, the
print is white, and the font is “Bookman Old”.
This helps my eyes.
As a teacher, I found that using a pale blue
or green was easier for students to read; the glare was reduced and the words
were ‘anchored’ on the paper. Fonts and colors should be considered for readability, not for artistic value.
What made some blogs better than others?
Most people enjoy
visuals, photos, cartoons, YouTube, etc.
A picture truly is worth a thousand words.
The A to Z Team was awesome.
An over-used word, “Awesome”,
but it applies here. I loved the daily suggestions
and helpful hints found at different Team Members’ sites. I appreciated how the two-thousand
participants attached their genres next to their URL.
Will I participate in
the next A to Z? You betcha.
