Let me preface my reflections with a heartfelt THANK YOU to the A-Z crew. I really liked that we again this year were requested to blog, to write, to visit others in order to read and enjoy.
Under Y for Yeomanly the A-Z crew put up a few thoughts for us to ponder for our reflection post: LINK
For the Reflections sign up they added these questions: LINK
I am going to answer only a few of these questions sometimes more subsumed under one question, else this will be a far too long post, which I'd suspect no-one would ever read.
Q - Did you finish the challenge?
A - Yes, I finished the challenge this year as well. I began doing it on an unknown date prior to 2017, but an update to Blogger long ago accidentally wiped some posts, among these my first A-Z ones. Finishes: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2021, 2019 ... surprisingly I never realized this, I thought this was only my third finish. Now I proudly display the two missing Survivor badges :)
Q - What was your favourite post to write?
A - This was a hard one. But H for Hazel wins. I came up with my theme - A Wordle a Day with growing things for a starter by looking at Lissa's badge just after solving a Wordle. It was a clear cut concept and easy to do each day. I did not keep strictly to the blogging schedule, as Easter normally messes up my blogging in April.
Q - Will you consider doing the challenge again next year?
A - Yes I will. I like doing this, and I always learn a lot. I meet new and interesting bloggers from all over the world, and I feel lifted up by being part of something bigger.
Q - What would entice you to visit and comment on the A to Z site every month?
A - Something like the Zip through Autumn thing from back in 2022.
Q - Did you like the graphics for this year?
A - No ... sorry, but I did not. No slight to our graphics artist, but pink is not my thing, neither is the low-contrast and "fuzzy" visuals. My eyesight is less than stellar, and I have a hard time discerning the elements in the graphics -- scroll all the way down for an illustrated more on this.
Q - Is the A to Z Challenge neighbourhood blogging community good for your mental health?
A - A to Z Challenge neighbourhood ... what do you mean by this. If you mean the collected number of bloggers and their blogs, the net result of reading them on my mental health is positive, but only slightly so.
There's too many non-participants, pro-somethings wanting to convert us all to their thinking, or people just wanting to promote their stuff.
This is why I only visit a few, select blogs when I have made the rounds once.
I will return and read a few blogs - some of those I have added to a temporary A-Z finds blog roll will be added to my normal blogroll. And some of the bloggers, I already follow did the A-Z Challenge as well.
And later in May I'll visit and read the continuing stories of J Lenni Dorner and Harvey Heilbrunn.
Q - How could the team make this blog hop better for next year?
A - I have a few ideas - but first and foremost: Keep it simple! Keep it to blogging!
- Make only one masterlist cum theme-reveal in March.
- Don't let the sign-up overlap the Challenge.
- Make fewer columns to the list. I at least get lost in the many columns. Name of blog and author, link, theme, and adult contents would suffice for me. If the name of the blog could BE the link, so much the better.
Actually the Reflection post list has the perfect format for me -- if we remove the Understood and Timestamp columns ;) - Keep an eye on, and maybe remove from the list, non existing blogs, double entries and non-participants. We had around 20 this year. Or maybe in some way mark those "defective" ones on the master list so as not to waste loads of time for all the rest of us?
I always wonder why some bloggers sign up, and then not mention the challenge with one single word. - The schedule for 2026 is already online. In my opinion it should look like this:
Important dates for 2026:March 23 - 31 Theme Reveal & Sign-up (rolled into one)May 4 - 9 . . . ReflectionsMay 4 - 9 . . . Road Trip Sign-up
- - - - - - -
Concerning the graphics: As a part of my education in creative arts, long ago now, I was taught a trick. When creating patterns and choosing colours for knit, crochet, sew, paint ... whatever, make a swatch, snap a photo and pour it into Photoshop or some similar. Make the photo grey-toned. If elements disappear here, the contrasts are not good, and details will disappear in the finished work as well. I have throughout my life found this to be a sound advice.
I did this to the graphics for 2025 and 2026.
I'll let you be the judge of the results, but I think I found the reason why they cause me trouble:
I do hope that attention is given to your recommendations which sound totally sensible to me.
SvarSletThank you. I hope so too.
SletI like also to keep it simple - I think the a-z team overcomplicated things with the master list but at least they tell people to visit and comment. For the master list, I saved the file, delete all info & adult content ones except blog link and name - that was how it was in the beginning, none of those endless info about a blogger.
SvarSletI agreed with on the schedule - theme reveal is good but probably put together withs sign-up would be better.
As to the graphics, yes, when seen in grey-toned (black and white or gray scale as I'm taught to use these terms), they do tend to look a bit lost. Also, I prefer the circular format. As for the colors, there was too much usage of pink. If the background was less vivid, the text wouldn't have gotten lost.
I haven't decided if I want to do this challenge again next year but I've been saying that for two years now so who knows.
Have a lovely day.
Thank you for this, yes, greys scale is the right term, I just translated word-for-word, which often works, but not always. I hope that you at least do some graphics for next year ... and decide to participate of course ;)
SletCharlotte: I will probably make some badges next year even if I'm not particpating. I enjoy making them.
SletHave a lovely day.
Oh yes! Thanks!
SletA very considered and thoughtful response, Charlotte. I have looked at a couple of challenges over the years and was not interested, partly for the reason you identified, that they were too complicated when they didn't need to be. I think I also don't have the self-discipline, but that's a whole other problem :)
SvarSletThank you for understanding what I try to say.
SletThe self-disciplie is my problem as well. This is why I set myself an essy, so to say limited challenge this year. Else I post a LOT! some days and not at all for days on end, only popping in, sometimes belatedly, when I remember some challenge. I hope that the routine of blogging each day is now going to help me blog/read and comment on other's blogs more regularly.
Also, I just had a look at the graphic, and although I like pink, that is way too much of it for me, too.
SvarSletWay too much and everywhere, yes that's the problem. Pink can be fine ;)
SletExcellent observations, I hope they pay attention.
SvarSletThank you. I hope so too.
SletThis is not meant as anything personal on your comment, yours was just the one that triggered this response, being the latest in a long row of incidents:
I don't know how to say this ... I somehow feel that inside many of the participants feel not quite satisfied with some parts of the challenge ... at least I always get a lot of positive response when I post something like this, also when commenting on others' blogs ... but when asked to evaluate, like this reflection post, then everything is suddenly rainbows and roses.
Now I might be a bit blunt: I do not know if this is a cultural barrier (and my fairly good English makes for me being seen as impolite because people do not realise that I'm a foreigner. I am now more on my guard, telling this in my commenting)?
Are Americans more afraid to state their critical/negative opinions?
Or do they just agree with me to be polite?
Or is it something else?
There are many useful tips for blogging in this text Charlotte!
SvarSletThank you very much.
Yes, I also found it too complicated and binding to do it myself.
Nevertheless, I visited some of my friends' blogs and enjoyed them.
Thank you for your kind words. Yes it's binding, but you can just tell that "no, you can't make it after all" no-one will get angry or anything. The thing I agonize over is people not telling that they give up :D
SletI have enjoyed a great many blogs too during this challenge.
Congratulations on another finish to add to your list! I thought your theme was quite clever and I enjoyed the couple of posts I made it to during the challenge. I hope to poke around some more now that the time pressure is off.
SvarSletThank you, I always hope to do the same, but then May is upon me with gardening and so -- and then it's summer .. and visiting A-Z posts in autumn seems a bit post festum.
SletCongratulations on another A to Z victory! It was a fun theme to find related wordle words to use. I use the same first word every single time. =)
SvarSletThank you. I had two words for starters, but ow after April is over, I start out with a new word almost every day, depending on happenings around me and my mood.
SletI take up the challenge - each day in May a new starter word - solve!
Slet