Blog Challenge

Blogging With Style Tips for Bloggers

January 30, 2016 By Annis Cassells

“If you’re going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance.”

Blogging with Style

Blogging is about you. Are you new to the Writers of Kern A-Z Blog Challenge? Breathe. You will be fine. You have the support of friends and fellow writers. You have plenty to be blogging about. Breathe. As a past participant in the Blog Challenge and with many years blogging under my belt, let me offer some tips and suggestions that will help you through your next 26 posts.

Find a Theme

One way to approach blogging is to have a theme. Having a theme narrows topics and lends to finding something for the letters K, Q, X, and Z. And, the whole A-Z thing is just a suggestion anyway. Don’t worry if you don’t have a topic for every letter. But, I did find the alphabet structure was comforting to me. Having one letter to start with was one less thing to think about.

The first year I participated, my theme was places I’ve been. I looked back at photos and travel journals for inspiration, topics, and words for the page. “Write what you know” is something every writer hears. You know where you’ve been and that’s why it is such a good place to start blogging.

The second year motorcycling stories was my theme. I had just decided to sell my beloved motorcycle, and writing the A-Z blog challenge was therapeutic. Having a motorcycle had been a big part of my life. And, as you can imagine, there were lots of memories – both good and bad – that went along with that experience. Blogging helped me deal with the impending loss of my bike and my identity as a biker. When I handed over the keys to Big Red, I’d resolved all issues.

Plan Ahead

So, think about the interests and hobbies and passions you have. Choose your theme and start brainstorming, then you can start blogging. I found an organizational grid helpful in listing possible topics and fleeting ideas. Here’s an example of my grid.

Still thinking about joining in? It’s never too late. There’s still time to get on board the A-Z Blog Challenge train.

We’re all here to cheer you on, extend a hand if you need one. Have fun and enjoy the writing, the reading, the camaraderie. Breathe. Go! Just Write.

Did I miss anything? Share it in the comments.

Annis’s work has been published in local magazines as well as in professional journals and hobbyist publications. She is a contributing author in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for the Young at Heart. Her short story, “The Blessing” appears in the Scarlet Leaf Review, and she has a poem in the Yellow Chair Review anthology. Annis writes and publishes The DayMaker, an inspirational blog..

Blog Challenge Everything from A to Z

January 19, 2016 By Natalia Corres

The Writers of Kern 2016 “A-Z” Blog Challenge

It’s time for the A-to-Z Blog Challenge. Get your fingers warmed up. The starting line is Monday, January 25 and you reach the checkered flag Saturday, April 23.

Here is your mission should you choose to accept it (hey, it’s not an IMPOSSIBLE Mission). For thirteen weeks you will write 2 posts per week for a total of 26 posts. Choose any theme or topic you like. You can even flip-flop around. Blog writing is your writing. Follow this one simple rule: each post must feature one letter of the alphabet (in no specific order).

If you decide to participate in the Blog Challenge, there are two parts:

Part 1 – Publish two blog posts a week, for thirteen weeks. Posting Wednesday and Saturday are suggested, but not required. You can choose any two days you like. Remember, when you post consistently you draw more readers. But the goal is for you to write, the readers will come. If you are a member of Facebook, post a link to a post in the Writers Of Kern Group.

Part 2 – Your fellow members of Writers of Kern are here for support. It may sound tough to write 26 posts. It’s easier if you know you have readers who depend on seeing your posts. Visit at least five other participants’ blogs each week, leaving thoughtful comments and encouraging words. Join the Facebook group Writers of Kern to find your fellow bloggers. We also have a list of bloggers on the Writers of Kern website.

If you don’t have a blog, now is the time to start one. Check WordPress and Blogger for free blogging options. If you have a blog and you’re not a seat-of-the-pants writer, you have some time to jump start your challenge plan.

Winners will be recognized at the WOK Honors Dinner in May.

NOTE: If you choose to participate in the WOK Blog Challenge, please email your blog site to [email protected] by Friday, January 22, 2016. Blog Challenge participants will receive an email listing blog sites of all who have accepted the Blog Challenge.

Benefits of Blogging

September 9, 2014 By Annis Cassells

What are the benefits I reap from blogging? I get to try out and solidify ideas for myself. I learn and practice the craft of writing. My work is read, and I believe I’m contributing in some small way to others’ well-being.

The purpose of my blog, The DayMaker, is to inspire, uplift, enlighten, and encourage. I want to share ideas that I’ve found useful along my path. I attempt to report on my life events with a transparency that provokes thought and discussion. I am certain that people’s stories can help others.

In a gift shop on Maui several years ago, David Wagner’s book, Life as a Daymaker: How to Change the World by Making Someone’s Day, called to me. I felt his energy as I turned to the title page and read his autograph, “My best, David Wagner.”

Leafing through the first few pages, I could see that Wagner and I were on the same wavelength. We agreed on how we should treat the people who enter our lives, whether for the long haul—like family, friends, students, and co-workers—or for the short term—like cashiers, wait-staff, and fellow travelers. And, we agreed that fulfilling our quests to make our own day is what allows us to be available and able to help make other people’s days.

When I began The DayMaker in 2010, I did not think about all the benefits to me. I didn’t consider old and new friends contacting me, sharing memories and experiences. But, the comments on the blog site, on Facebook, and in email responses, connect me with friends. I am grateful to have the chance to tighten the threads and pull the time-and-distance-worn fabric of our lives around us. This is one extraordinary gift of my blog.

Annis Cassells is a life coach, speaker, writer. and poet who blogs at The DayMaker.

4 Can’t-Miss Reasons to join the WOK Blog Challenge

September 8, 2014 By Guest

wokheader

Where do you get your ideas?

Writers hear this too often. Yet faced with blog challenges, ideas dry up faster than Justin Bieber’s fan base.

Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

First, here are a few reasons to join the Writers of Kern “A to Z” Blog Challenge.

Inspiration

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to read your challengers’ blogs. This isn’t competition. It’s inspiration. What your fellow WOKians write will inspire your posts.

So when Dan McGuire reminds you that 1950s America was no place for women, you can blog about that time you rigged your husband’s computer to autocorrect all instances of “feminism” to “men are superior” so that he cried when he printed his essay for feminism class because it looked like a misogynistic hate crime. (Sorry, honey. I’m not sorry.)

Or you can write about that time you were excited to make Jasmine Lowe’s kiwi avocado smoothie, and it exploded over the ceiling like a green frost firebomb because you forgot to secure the blender. (The smoothie turned out awesome, if she asks.)

Authority

Once upon a time, publishers were the gate keepers. They had the printers, the distributors, and the marketing connections. But that was when writing had to be on paper. And that era is dead.

Now, the only barrier between you and readers is a mouse click. On sites like WordPress, it’s even free.

This is the age of not needing permission, writer. No longer can gate keepers imprison your prose. Authority is yours.

Credibility

Writers write, right?

Your blog is your platform. It builds your credibility as a writer who writes. It’s a sneak peek into your perspective, your style, your skilled turn of phrase.

But most of all, it proves you’re a writer.

Networking

Get to know your fellow WOKians.

Who can help you improve characterization? You’ll know after the challenge. Who can edit grammar? You’ll know after the challenge. You’ll know each WOKian’s talents better because you joined the challenge.

Now, a Hundred Things to Write About

51 Types of Blog Posts by Regina Anaejionu
50 Can’t-Fail Techniques for Finding Great Blog Topics by Carol Tice

Are you part of the WOK Blog Challenge?

Mandy Wallace is a writing coach by day and blogger by night. See what she’s made of during the WOK Blog Challenge, where she’ll blog through literary terms. It’ll be cooler than it sounds. Probably.

Writers of Kern 2014 “A to Z” Blog Challenge

August 18, 2014 By Joan Raymond

The Writers of Kern 2014 “A-Z” Blog Challenge is coming!

The 2014 A to Z challenge will begin Wednesday, September 10th and end Saturday, December 6th. Thirteen weeks, 2 posts per week equals 26 posts. Writers may choose any theme; but, each post must feature one letter of the alphabet in alphabetical order.

There are two parts to the challenge:

Part 1 – Publish two blog posts a week, for thirteen weeks. Posting Wednesday and Saturday are suggested, but not required.
Part 2 – Visit at least five other participants’ blogs each week, leaving thoughtful comments and encouraging words.

If you don’t have a blog, now is the time to start one. Check WordPress and Blogger for free blogging options. If you have a blog and you’re not a seat-of-the-pants writer, you have a few weeks to jump start your challenge plan.

Winners will be recognized at the WOK Winter Dinner, Saturday, December 13, 2014.

NOTE: If you choose to participate in the WOK Blog Challenge, please email your blog site to [email protected] by Friday, September 5, 2014. Blog Challenge participants will receive an email listing blog sites of all who have accepted the challenge.