Z … is for Zoom in.

On By TomIn Achievement, Competitions, General, Insight, Novel, Review, Short Stories, Uncategorized

Z[1] is for zoom in. This is my first attempt at the A to Z Challenge, and although at times it was hard work, I feel that I’ve been rewarded in several ways. The best way I can demonstrate my appreciation to the organisers, moderators and my fellow participants is to give them a big thank you.

It feels appropriate that I should do it by way of highlighting them here. Among my list are a couple of good sites I found during my blog patrols, so although not participants, they were worth finding.

The list below is in no particular order apart from the first person, who I believe played a huge part in the success of the overall project.

A handful of the blogs I followed through April, which includes participants and non-participants:

* http://amloki.blogspot.co.uk/ Damyanti was added to my Blogroll recently, and it was from her that I found out about the A to Z Challenge 2014.

Damyanti has been one of the hosts that kept this monster running smoothly, but it would be remiss of me not to mention the others: Lee, Alex, Tina, Jeremy, Nicole, Stephen, Heather, AJ, MJ and Pam. I am listing their blogs at the end of my post, and I will be visiting each one after the challenge.

* http://janiceheck.wordpress.com/ Janice for advice on punctuation, grammar and written English.

* http://gypsyshutterbug.com/ Tara is worth following if you haven’t got time to go around the world yourself.

* http://loebick.com/ April is a wife, writer, woman, reviewer and blogger worth checking out.

* http://charitywrites.blogspot.co.uk/ Charity and her children have taken followers on a journey back in time with Dr Who. I have loved this blog through April.

* http://lynnelives.wordpress.com/about/ Lynne is a writer and painter and has lived all over the UK.

* http://princessofdragons.wordpress.com/ Princess of Dragons will provide any and all information on these mythical beasts. This has been another favourite site of mine throughout April.

* http://sydneyaaliyah.com/ Sydney is a Contemporary Romance writer and her debut novel it due for release in June 2014.

* http://www.stephaniefaris.com/#!stephie5741blogspotcom/cgvp Stephanie is an author of fiction, and non-fiction (technical).

* http://www.murderousimaginings.blogspot.co.uk/ Yolanda has a site worth checking if you have murder in mind. Another personal favourite.

* http://b-due.com/ Becky has a site and history to look at if you need to take stock of life, or want to feel inspired.

* http://juliejordanscott.typepad.com/ Julie wears many hats in life, and her blog contains quotes, questions and prompts.

* http://julialundauthor.wordpress.com/ Julia is a writer with her debut novel only recently available. It’s a great read.

* http://echoesofthepen.com/ Paul is a novice writer, a book reviewer, and shortly to be an online interviewer. If you want to get the word out, impress him with your book and get him onside! He’s also a nice guy and writes a decent short story.

* http://stephenthom.wordpress.com/​ Stephen is a young musician and novice writer. He needs some support and encouragement.

* http://wktucker.com/ Kathy is a natural storyteller. Her site will be staying on my Blogroll.

The A to Z Challenge 2014 – team:

* http://tossingitout.blogspot.co.uk/ Lee

* http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.co.uk/ Alex

* http://kmdlifeisgood.blogspot.co.uk/ Tina

* http://www.beingretro.com/ Jeremy

* http://www.madlabpost.com/ Nicole

* http://authorstephentremp.blogspot.co.uk/ Stephen

* http://hmgardner.blogspot.co.uk/ Heather

* http://frodofrog.blogspot.co.uk/ AJ

* http://mjjoachim.blogspot.co.uk/ MJ

* http://unconventionallibrarian.com/ Pam

Given that there were over 2000 participants, I think these guys, and Damyanti, mentioned in my intro, are all owed a debt of gratitude. I will get in touch to thank each of our support team in the coming days.

After today, I’ll trim the blogs I follow, but however many are on there, I will do my utmost to make regular visits. I hope you’ve enjoyed this experience as much as I have. From today, I’ll be working on my latest novel again, having left it to simmer since the beginning of the challenge.

I’ll now add this post to my main menu ‘My A to Z Posts 2014’, so it will be there for open reference for one and all. Now, out of recent habit, I suppose I’ll have to write a post for tomorrow. Take care everybody out there and I’ve got a thought for you to take with you with your writing in mind.

‘If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got’

From a tired, but satisfied participant who started the challenge with 30 followers. Bye!

28 thoughts on “Z … is for Zoom in.”

    1. What a great comment to start off my final post on the challenge. Many thanks Paul. I’m now a day behind because I had intermittent broadband until lunchtime today.

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    1. It was indeed, and hard work at time. Thank you. I’ll be over to check out the realms when my pulse slows in the next couple of days.

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  3. Nicely done. Love the idea of zooming in, thanks for adding my link. You’ve provided lots of great tips, I’m glad we *met*, you’ve been great encouraging me through this years AtoZ and I’ll look forward to gleaning more tips and hints from you!

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    1. Thank you Lynne, and long may we all continue to learn from each other. ‘Nothing is as strong as mutual support.’ Tom Benson 1st May 2014. I’ll be watching you.

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  4. Good job! You are an A to Z Survivor 😉 Thanks so much for all your comments and for adding my link. Very much appreciated! It’s been a busy month for me so I look forward to having a bit of a breather in May to read through more of other bloggers’ posts. It looks like you have some great writing tips so I will be reviewing all of those for sure. Thanks Tom!

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    1. Thanks to you too Tara. I’ll be delighted to see you back for a visit. Everything is in one menu up at the top now – easy-peasy. Anybody linked above is officially on my patrol.

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  5. Julia Lund

    I hope you feel a real sense of achievement at having completed the challenge. Much appreciated,and I shall be checking out the blogs you’ve recommended.

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    1. I do, and thank you Julia. I haven’t forgotten my other messages and I’ll be going back over them in the next couple of days.

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    1. Thank you Julie, and thank you for all your efforts on your posts. It would only take a glance to see the amount of work put into each one. You’re on my list for a regular patrol check.

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  7. Yay, I made the list!!! So glad I met you during the challenge and I look forward to reading many more blogs from you. I’ve learned quite a bit from you…and you’ve inspired me more than a couple of times. I’ll check out a few of the other recommended blogs, as well.

    Stephanie
    http://stephie5741.blogspot.com

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    1. You are on the list because you deserve to be Stephanie. Thank you for the visit and the gracious comment. It feels good to think I’ve managed to help anybody even a little. You’ll get something from the other links I’m sure.

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  8. Thanks for the mention on Zoom, Tom. I appreciate it. I am working on a similar wrap-up post featuring Writers I Have Met in the 2014 AtoZ, so I came back to visit more of your posts. And YOU are on my writer’s list as well. See you in the blogosphere!

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    1. No problem Janice, and as I said to Stephanie, you deserve to be there. I could only list so many so it was hard even breaking it down to so few. I’ll see you out there.

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  9. Thanks for the shout-out and link! And congratulations on getting through and completing your first A to Z Challenge! It’s great to see that you’ve more than doubled your followers. I’ll definitely continue to stop by.

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    1. Thank you April. You’ll find that you’re on my regular blog patrol now. I just have to work in more than one regular slot in my week to get out there.

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  10. Pingback: A to Z 2014 Reflections | Tom Benson - Creative

  11. Tom, thank you for the mention– I mentioned you too, in my Reflections post. It is funny how you followed my Blogspot blog though we’re both on WordPress :). Thank you for each of your comments– I’ve admired your wisdom, dedication and perseverance throughout!

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    1. Sincere thanks for your gracious comments and your regular morale-boosting visits. I only give credit when and where it’s due. Enough said on that I think. I will consider that ‘book’ idea you mentioned, and if I get it done it will be a ‘freebie’. I’ll give you a shout with progress. You are the sort of person who could make or break the idea once the structure is in place. 😉

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      1. I’m sure the book would do very well. If I can be of any help during the process, please let me know. I’ll do my best to promote it once it is done :).

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      4. Thank you, and I will let you know as soon as it’s underway. I think you want to be taking it easy now for a few days don’t you.

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    1. My mention and links for all you guys was a subtle demonstration to any of my readers of the difference between, ‘feedback’ and ‘payback’. I worked hard to do the best I could throughout the challenge, but I can’t imagine the hours the support team put in. Thanks again.

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