I have had my blog for over three years and have posted iregularly whenever I was inspired by something I’ve read, seen, heard, or thought but taking on the A to Z April Challenge meant writing 26 posts in one month.
The concensous is that writers write everyday and don’t wait for inspiration
When I decide to try something I do it wholeheartedly and for me and the A to Z April Challenge that meant that I approached each post as stream of consciousness, with little or no preparation apart from a list of A-to-Z with potential topics. I know that some people have prepared their posts in the weeks before April and although I admit that I may have finished on time if I had taken this approach I am unsure if I agree with it.
I tried to write each post in one session, dropping my thoughts almost unedited from my heart/mind and on to the page/screen.
This doesn’t mean that I was flippant in my writing but it did teach me to edit once and then let it go. I did fix typos in the minutes and hours after each post.
The Stats for April:
- Followers: increased from 11 to 219
- Views for April: 11,589
- Comments: 260
- Most popular post: What is the Beginners’s Mind?
- 4,379 views
- 241 likes
- 116 comments
WordPress – Freshly Pressed
Although I’m tempted to claim the highlight of the month was having my “B” post promoted on the WordPress Freshly Pressed page but it has actually been the amazing blogs that I’ve discovered and the wonderful and inspring comments I’ve received, especially when posts have been re-blogged.
Thanks to everyone at A to Z Challenge, to all my followers, and the the blogs I now follow and am regularly inspried by.
The Posts:
- A – A is for “A Fettered Mind”
- B – What is the Beginner’s Mind?
- C – The Cunningham Classic – one of Australia’s Spring Cycling Classics
- D – Who was the 15th Dalai Lama?
- E – Is Ego the mind killer?
- F – The Bureau of the Five-Grain Transmigration – from A Journey to the West
- G – The strategic game of Go
- H – Humanity, how do we ensure the survival of our species?
- I – What is Immovable Wisdom?
- J – Does Rabinovich live here?
- K – How I kicked asthma by simply breathing
- L – Learning…the teacher must learn the most
- M – The Mars Series by Kim Stanley Robinson
- N – No-Form, No thought, No Mind
- O – What is the One Point, hara, or lower dantien?
- P – Paul Dempsey doesn’t write love songs
- Q – 1Q84 – Murakami’s cult masterpiece
- R – Ray Kurzweil…and the singularity
- S – Carl Sagan, and the Baloney Detection Kit
- T – Looking through the wrong end of a Telescope and other Analogies for Time
- U – The Universe…the tyranny of distance and time
- V – Releasing your and your character’s VOICE
- W – Why do we write?
- X – Where does Nationalism end and Xenophobia begin?
- Y – A message to me to yourself…
- Z – Who is the real Zo Boone? A new Koan is born
Thanks again…
A Fettered Mind 
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Reblogged this on Diary Incarnate • Jayne Ayres and commented:
I just thought this was a great post perspective. “The Beginner’s Mind” is the first post I read from this blog, “A Fettered Mind”. This is from the comments there –
As Bruce Lee wisely answered when asked “what is the
greatest technique you wish to achieve?” “to have no
technique.”
Gillian Colbert’s post about falling apart made me think of it again – especially after reading the words from “From When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron.
Also, for those of you who look at stats – this was interesting – possibly helpful?? I. myself, haven’t wanted open that Pandora’s Box –
Thanks for re-blogging Jayne, and yes I’ve found the comments either helped tighten my thoughts or sent me off on a new tangent. I’ve tried a couple of time to view Gillian Colbert’s post but my work’s internet filter keeps blocking it. I’ll have to remember to try at home.
You’re very welcome. Great compilation of your experience and information. Black Door Press is an intellectually articulate, thought provoking and plain entertaining but mature – not for children so perhaps that is why it’s filtered. Yes – the thought tangents of this wordpress experience are never-ending!!
I swear to God, my mother wore one of these faufltilhy. She also had various bastardized versions of this same cap – flimsy plastic raincaps that came in little platic pouches she always had tucked away into her purse. Ahh, memories…
Thanks for the great way you have organised this post. I will be going through all your A – Z posts. I have followed your blog for a while. I would like to reblog this to provide a resource to your list of posts. Many of your titles are of particular interest to me: X, W, U, R, N, K, I, H, E, D, B and A.
Just read all of you AtoZ posts. You’ve had a lot of thinking going on here! Well done. Thanks for popping by mine which helped me find you. Most of my posts are done in the way you describe you did your AtoZ. Often I wake and they’re there, to be written down quickly before they flitter away. I did have a theme and found pre writing was less free thinking and made blogging harder than I’m used to.
Thanks Lynne, wow…all AtoZ posts in one sitting: that is sharing the love.
Wow, that’s cool that you put together all the stats. I didn’t think of doing that. I also like your approach to the challenge; you remained disciplined enough to blog every day while not picking a theme/planning posts. I like hearing how differently we all work. 🙂
Hi Steph, I had a lot of words in my head that had been waiting to be let loose so that helped. I think next year I might need a theme though, they’ve worked so well for others this year.
Do you have a blog Steph? your Gravatar doesn’t link to one? I’ve found I get an email with links to people’s blogs when they “Like” or “Follow” but not for comments.
Beginner’s Mind is when I found your blog and I’m glad I did. I just read the comments – I find those to be as interesting as the post. I love the Bruce Lee quote about wanting to have “no technique”. Great conversation material!
Thanks Jayne, yes the comments are fodder for fesh posts on their own