Wednesday 4 February 2015

IWSG: The 2015 Blogging from A-Z Challenge


It's the first Wednesday of the month, and time for members of the Insecure Writer's Support Group to share their writerly insecurities. The group was started by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and those interested in joining in can visit www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com for more information.

The sign-up list for the 2015 Blogging from A-Z Challenge was opened up last week, and rather than wait until the last minute like I usually tend to, I decided to put my name down for the challenge on day one. So hurray to me for biting the bullet early, since I already knew I was going to participate one way or another, crazy work schedule notwithstanding.

What I don't know, on the other hand, is what theme to choose for the challenge this year. Historically, I have always chosen a theme that fell within my sphere of interests, namely books, movies, music and video games. I am presently leaning towards a music theme, since that is the only one of my interests I am yet to explore during the challenge. But my taste in music can be just as odd as it is varied, so I fear that I might alienate my readers (all two or three of them) in the process.

Another possibility would be for me to "go random" as the description on the sign-up page puts it. That is, for me to take part in the challenge without any kind of theme. The problem with that approach is that I have always been someone who favors a bit of structure and guidance in everything I do, so I doubt if I'd actually make it to the end of the challenge that way. Still, I shouldn't knock it till I've tried it, as the saying goes.

So, what is a brother to do? Go with a music-themed challenge, or go random?

8 comments:

  1. I'd say go with the music. I'll admit, though, that I don't tend to watch/listen to the videos when I come across them. Eclectic tastes are good, though. Maybe post the lines that you like, why you like them, then offer the YouTube video for those who want to watch? (I'm doing the A-Z with my Untethered Realms group. Split between 12 people sure makes it a lot easier!)

    Hope this helps!

    Gwen Gardner, IWSG Co-host

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    1. Thanks, Gwen. That was indeed very helpful. :D

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  2. Good job for signing up to do the A-Z Challenge on day one! With your name higher on the list, more people will go to it. :)

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    1. Thanks, Chrys. I hope you're right, because I didn't really get that many visits last year, even though one of my most read blog posts was written during that challenge. :)

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  3. Glad you got in near the top of the list.
    I've done both - theme and no theme. Go for a music theme. Random is difficult and it doesn't entice return visits as well as a theme.

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    1. Good point, Alex. I hadn't really considered return visits but I will definitely prefer to have those than the one-off visits. Thanks.

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  4. I've been thinking of doing music this year, too. But I've also been thinking of writing micro fiction. Maybe both!

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    1. That would be cool, if both of us went with a music theme. Doing music AND micro fiction sounds even cooler though. :D

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