#AtoZChallenge2024 Reflections

 Before I start May in earnest, let me wrap up April with the A to Z Blog Challenge Reflections.

Normally, I write these posts just as I am getting done, but this year, I am writing them after the A to Z Blogging team put up their questions. So, I'll answer a few.

Did I "win?"

Winning here is much like "winning" in Dungeons & Dragons. It is about the fun you have along the way. That being said, I did post every day for every letter and then some extras on Sunday. Blogging every day has never been a challenge for me. My challenge was making sure I posted, had a great theme, and interacted with my fellow bloggers.

Did I see increased traffic?

Normally no, I don't on these A to Z challenges. I know I get different traffic though. This year though I did see more traffic and more interaction so that is great.

Do you feel the A to Z Team (Arlee Bird, J Lenni Dorner, Zalka Csenge Virág, John Holton, Jayden R Vincente, and Ronel) supported you, your blog, and this challenge enough in 2024?

I felt they do a fine job. At this point I personally don't need the extra support they provide, having done it for so long myself. But I am happy they are there. 

Did you use the http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/2024-graphics.html Graphics page? Is the HTML useful to you?

I didn't use it except for today. An yes, the HTML is nice to have. Maybe I will use it next year.

Have you followed the social media of the A to Z Challenge?

I used to follow it and many of the participants on Twitter, but my Twitter usage is way down this year. I followed pretty regularly on Facebook, though.  A suggestion would be to have similar hubs on Bluesky and Mastodon. 

Do you have a favorite blog that you found during the challenge this year?

I rather loved going to Codex Anathema this year. While my theme was Dungeons & Dragons in general, their's was a specific D&D setting, one I know very little about. Also their blog is in Spanish, so that let me practice my Spanish everyday!

Do you feel you had a positive impact on the Blogging Community during the hop?

I like to think so given some of the comments I had!

Have you learned anything because of the #AtoZChallenge?

I knew what I was going to do this year for a couple of years and I had posts written ahead of time, but as it turns out the world around me changed (as it always does) and many posts had to be edits, some even rewritten and at least three scrapped and new posts made. Flexibility is the key I think.

Did you use a theme in 2024? Any thoughts on themes?

Yes. I did the history of Dungeons & Dragons from my own perspective. I love themes, it is why I do d this. 

Consider the significance of the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge, our values (community and inclusion), and your feelings about the experience. How may this influence your future blogging, learning, or actions?

I always have plans to go back to many of the blogs I visited, and I have even tagged them as such in my Google Sheets. But I don't always do it and by June/July I have tapered off. I want to try harder to keep it up this year.

Will you consider doing the challenge again next year?

Yes, but I will need to find a good theme.  I need something that will engage my regular audience and something that will bring folks from the challenge. Next year is 2025, but nothing comes to mind as easily as 50 years of D&D (2024) or 60 years of Doctor who (2023). Star Trek hits 60 in 2026. So I have that to consider. Whatever I do for 2025 I still want to write many of the posts ahead of time.

Any other thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the #AtoZChallenge 2024?

We are nowhere near the halcyon days when thousands participated, which is good in some ways since that was a nightmare to manage. 

Other thoughts.

I wanted to comment on every blog, but a few signed up and never posted. Others signed up, but I could not find their blog link in the chaos of their pages. Others still had themes that, honestly, I couldn't relate to. I mean, I know some likely feel the same about my blog.

I get people signing up and not being able to commit, it is a "Challenge" after all, but there were a few that signed up and I don't think they had any intention of posting.

Maybe it is the Lawful Neutral in me, but if you are going to do an A to Z challenge, please at least follow the rules and post the letter on the day of. I know I am nitpicking. 

Road Trip 2024

I am also signing up for the 2024 Road Trip. I am going to try and hit some more blogs outside of the A to Z challenge to see what they normally post.

My Favorite Post of the Challenge

I think it would have to be my post on the Satanic Panic. One of my regular readers mentioned I had never posted about my own personal experiences about it before, and he was right. I thought for sure I had, I had mentioned the story many times. Just not here I guess.  

So that is my April 2024 A to Z round-up! Like I said, I think 2026 is great for Star Trek. No idea what a good theme for 2025 will be. It will be the 50th Anniversary of events from 1975. So maybe there is something there.