A-Z Challenge

Reflections on the A-Z Challenge 2023 Edition

Another April has gone by and it’s been another successful A-Z Challenge here on ElenaSquareEyes.

This was the tenth year in a row I’d taken part in and completed the challenge and I think it was the most organised I’d ever been. I had written and scheduled all the posts before April began which had never happened before. I was also on top of replying to comments and visiting other blogs taking part in the challenge at the start of the month. Unfortunately, that didn’t really continue as real life got in the way; I had a friend’s wedding I had to travel to so that took a few days of my time and in the middle of the month I started a new job. The new job is full-time but it’s kind of shit work too which I’ve never done before so I’ve been getting used to working alternate Fridays and Saturdays and starting and finishing at different times, not the usual 9-5 which I’ve pretty much always done.

I am going to try and reply to all the comments I missed by the end of the week, and return the favour to the blogs that came and visited me. While the A-Z Challenge is a personal challenge, I think the community aspect is still really important.

This year’s theme was very different and was all about Doctor Who. My most popular posters were on “Dalek”, “Amy’s Choice”, Christopher Eccleston, and Sarah Jane Smith. My favourite posts to write were on “Rose”, “Dalek” and “Utopia” (they’re such good episodes!), and about x-tra/would-be companions. It was really fun to focus in on one show and the different aspects of it that I love so much and sharing that joy with other people, whether they were familiar with the show or not.

At the moment I have no idea what my theme for the A-Z Challenge would be next year or even if I’ll take part. I always said I wanted to make it to ten years which I have so if I don’t think of a theme or don’t have the time to for the challenge, I won’t feel too bad about it.

I hope all of you who took part in the challenge had fun and a successful A-Z in April. Thanks to all those who stopped by my blog and liked, commented or followed – it always means a lot. For more information on the A-Z in April Challenge visit the website.

Also wanted to give a shout out to fellow A-Z in April blogger Tim Brannan, The Other Side who also had Doctor Who as their theme but included the original/classic Doctor Who characters and stories too. I’ve learnt a lot from their posts and one day I will watch the original run of Doctor Who for the first time!

Reflections on the A-Z Challenge 2019 Edition

Slightly later than planned, but here’s my reflections on this years A-Z in April Challenge.

This was my sixth year taking part and it was my easiest A-Z in April in years. I think that was down to the topic. I love the MCU and its characters, so I found it really easy to write about them. In fact, I found it so easy that I got all my posts written and scheduled before the end of the second week of April! I haven’t been that organised during this challenge for years.

My favourite posts to write were all the ones in the Iron Man fam; Pepper Potts, Rhodey, Happy Hogan, Harley Keener and, of course, Tony Stark. I had so much fun pouring all my thoughts and feelings about Tony Stark into that post and it’s a piece of writing that I’m proud of. I wrote and scheduled all my posts before seeing Avengers: Endgame so I feel like writing about my favourite characters was almost therapeutic as I was so anxious about what would happen to them in that film.

My post popular A-Z posts were the ones for Carol Danvers, Okoye and Goose. I guess people like strong women and an awesome cat!

I replied to all comments pretty quickly (for me anyway) though unfortunately I didn’t visit that many blogs at all. While I got all my posts scheduled ahead of time, day to day life stopped me finding the time to look around other people’s blogs. I’m even more grateful for the people who stopped by my blog, liked or commented on posts, and even hit that follow button as I did little to return the favour last month.

I feel like the last few years when I’ve written these reflection posts I’ve said, “I’m not sure if I’ll take part again next year” and I feel the same way once again. It’s just that as I take part in the A-Z Challenge again and again, I feel like I’m running out of themes of things I could write about – and enjoy writing about too. I think I enjoyed this years A-Z Challenge more than the last couple because my topic was something I am so enthusiastic about and get so much joy from. If I hadn’t written about my favourite characters from the MCU, I don’t know what I would’ve chosen to write about and if I had thought of something I doubt I’d have had as much fun writing it as I did with this theme.

I hope all of you who took part in the challenge had fun and a successful A-Z in April. Thanks to those who stopped by my blog and liked or commented – it always means a lot. For more information on the A-Z in April Challenge visit the website.