It's ongoing, and it's endless: the debate over whether To Theme or Not To Theme.Every year, as soon as the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge linky list goes live--sometimes even before--the debate picks up where it left off. Should I, shouldn't I. Pros & cons. So-and-so did (or didn't) last year, and look how that turned out. I don't want to feel hedged in. I don't want to ramble all over the place.
To Theme or Not To Theme. But this year that's not the question, is it? No! Because you--lucky you, insanely genius you--came up with the perfect theme. Beyond awesome. Not just original but unique. Jaw-dropping in its wondrousness.
And you cannot wait to shout it out from the rooftops, can you?
Which is why Vidya Sury, Anna Tan, Csenge Zalka, Samantha Redstreake Geary, and myself decided to turn Awesomeness-Personified Mina Lobo's fantastic idea from last year into tradition.
Ladies and gents, blogging humanity as a whole, I give you--
 |
| Hip Hip HURRAH to Samantha Redstreake Geary for creating this Mighty Badge! |
Upside(s): Delayed gratification (you know you like it). Super-charged expectations. Build up your A2Z network way before April. This is, in essence, a mini-A2Z--a hop within a hop for hop-addicted homo sapiens like you and me. And--yes, last, but most-def not least: No Theme? No Problem! You have 40 days--yep, forty--to come up with one.
Of course you're in.
Specificae: (Yeah, feminine. That's how we at #TeamDamyanti roll.)
- Sign up in the Linky Thingy below (that sounds vaguely obscene...) and grab the badge above. (Is it me? Do I have a dirty mind?)
- On March 21st, as the sun reacheth the spot known as Spring Equinox, thou shalt reveal your theme! Holler--nay, yawp it from the mountaintop of your blog. And bask in the audience's (ahem, the linky list's) roar of approval.
- Thou shalt, indeed, visit as many other A2Zers on ze linky list as humanely possible. Take March 21st off from work. Cancel any plans that don't involve sitting in front of your screen. Turn off your phone. Stock up your fridge (wine and chocolate chip cookies are of the essence).
Let the fun begin!
Haha, I love it :D Can't wait to find out what your theme is!
ReplyDeleteHey there, fellow host! Glad you enjoyed it... Seeing as I wrote this late last night, I'm way beyond flattered :D Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteGreat post, Guilie!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it, Jemima! Thanks for the support :)
DeleteI'm all in! Arlee beat me here...but that's not unusual! He's everywhere! So glad Team Damyanti took this awesome idea of Mina Lobo's and is continuing the tradition!
ReplyDeleteI Tweeted you. I'm actually learning Twitter! You can teach a 48 year old new tricks...
Go Team Damyanti and GO #atozchallenge participants!!!!
Tina @ Life is Good
A to Z Team @ Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2014
@TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge
http://www.facebook.com/TinaLifeIsGood
Wooo-hoooo! Thanks for all the support, Tina--the A-to-Z team is the best, and I'm proud beyond peacock-proud to be a part of it this year.
Delete*hop hop hop*
ReplyDeleteFeels like plot bunnies will overrun the theme reveal. heheh.
Love your post!
Nyaaaaahhh... What's up, Doc? :D
DeleteGuilie, I can feel the excitement, and the list is filling up! Love you for all that you're doing, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank YOU for making me a part of this, D. It's the most fun I've had in years :)
DeleteGuilie - HUGS! I feel that our group is magical! Very much looking forward to a wonderful experience. All I need to do is look at your photo, you know. And now, my fingers are itching to click the "analyze your writing" below. I LOVE Stephen King.
ReplyDeleteThat's two upper case words too many eh?
Magical--yes! There's a synergy going on here that's hard to find. Oh, please do analyze your writing--and post the results! :)
DeleteChuck Palahniuk.
DeleteI am jealous of your Stephen King. Just Sayin'!
Just for fun, I tried diff samples of my writing and enjoyed the results. :D
Hi Great you're an A to Z fan, I'm Yvonne Lewis one of Arlee Bird's Ambassadors, I wish you well with the challenge I will certainly visit you during the month of April.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Thanks for the visit, Yvonne! Ah, Lee is awesome--you're lucky to be working with him (but I'm sure you knew that already ;) ). I'll be looking forward to your visits, and now I'm off to follow your blog!
DeleteP.S. -- Your user name, Writiing for Pleasure, reminds me of that bit of Henry Miller advice: "Don't be a draught horse. Work with pleasure only." True, eh? ;)
I have hopped over from the A To Z Blog. I love the idea of a Hop within a Hop....this will be my second year with A To Z
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Paula! Glad you're in! Thanks for hopping over--off to hop your way now :)
DeleteHi there.
ReplyDeleteNew to this so forgive me for asking, do I need to place the 'Linky Blog Hop List' on my blog? If so, how do I add it to a domain-named WordPress Site?
As a BIG side-note, I'm really looking forward to participating in my first A to Z Challenge. It'll give me the get-up-and-go to complete an A to Z project that has been sitting on the back burner for over a year.
Sarah.
Hi Sarah! Thanks for the visit. New bloggers, new a-to-z-ers especially, are ALWAYS welcome :) You don't need to link to the linky list on your own blog unless you want to (and if so let me know, either via a comment here or email: guilie172 at gmail dot com). You can, for example, take the Mighty Badge above and place it on your sidebar, and you can link to this post, or maybe mention the Reveal Hop on a post in your blog with a link to us... But all of that is optional :) If you want to do any of this and can't figure it out, drop me a line and I'll help you out, ok?
DeleteThank you Guilie for responding so quickly. I've added the badge and linked it to this page. I've checked it out and made sure it worked, so I'm good to go. :)
DeleteYou're all set indeed :)
DeleteAll in for another good time - gotta love the A - Z!
ReplyDeleteHaha--the A - Z rocks! ;)
DeleteOh, that was entertaining! Well done, my fellow house elf! I shall share my bottle of "themed" wine with you!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Please, yes! Coffee beans, now wine... Looks like I need to make a trip to the US sometime soon ;) Thanks for the visit, fellow house elf!
DeleteSigh. something tells me i messed up on my link... was i supposed to add a secret two letter code to the end of it ?
ReplyDeletecan you tell i'm tired... sorry ... how do i add the secret two letter code into my link ?
DeleteHaha--no worries, you're good. The super-secret two-letter code is totally optional, so you didn't mess anything up. You can find out more about the code at the A-to-Z site (http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/a-to-z-challenge-sign-uplist-2014.html), in case you're curious. You are, after all, part of the For Your Eyes Only secret club ;)
DeleteAaaaand I must be tired, too :D If you already signed up and do want to add the two-letter code to your link, no problem: let me know the title of your blog, or what number you are on the list, and which code you'd like it to have, and I'll add it manually :)
DeleteHow fun! I am definitely going with a theme and I look forward to revealing it on the March 21st!
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Sabrina! Looking forward to it :)
DeleteThe list is growing nicely. So glad you're helping out this year.
ReplyDeleteLee
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog
I'm honored to be a part of this wonderful creation of yours, Arlee. It's great fun so far, I'm learning a lot, and I'm discovering all sorts of awesome people on the blogosphere. Thanks for the visit!
DeleteOh good, I did sign up (#68). I thought I had, but my memory is not what it used to be. :p Extra cool badge! Awesome representation for an equally awesome idea!
ReplyDeleteWoot-woot! Glad you're in, LuAnn! I'm very much looking forward to finding out what you've got in store for us during April.
Deletelol... I signed up but I honestly don't have the faintest idea about my theme! But I love the badge and I adore the humor (made my night).
ReplyDeleteI have no time to reveal a theme, and I'm seriously doubting I'll even get to the A-Z at all, but I'm still hoping... Meanwhile, thanks for stopping by my blog. I've followed yours! Have a great week! :)
ReplyDeleteI have no theme in mind... no experience in blogging, but I am amazed by the positive energy this challenge has...wow....I just cannot not be a part of this party !
ReplyDeleteI am all-in lets go AtoZ Laughing at Life 2
ReplyDeleteNew this year for AtoZ, and I certainly have given myself a tough challenge. Which I of course will release tomorrow. Looking forward to the chance to see what others are doing.
ReplyDeleteI joined, but I'm so new and lost that I'm not sure I won't look a fool by the time I'm done racking up the mistakes. This morning I couldn't even find my name on the list of those who joined the big reveal, but I know I'm there somewhere. I'm glad all of you are around for help. This sounds like a lot of fun, and for that I thank you, Arlee.
ReplyDeleteDeb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com