Whither Goeth the Challenge?

(Warning: Today's post is self-indulgent, stream-of-consciousness rambling. Even more than usual!)

No, please do not get excited by the above illustration. I will not be participating in this year's A-Z Challenge.

Why? (Or should that be, "Why not?")

Well, as it so often occurs where I'm concerned, it's complicated. But as long as I have you here anyway, here I go, rambling (as promised above). Take a deep breath. Or, as I used to say back when I often posted wordy entries, pack a lunch.

First of all, I joined the A-Z Challenge (in both 2014 and 2016) to promote my blog and encounter a few others. Both times, I ended up signing on to follow several blogs. Both times, several people decided to follow me as well. So, that worked. Or so it seemed...

In 2014, I got to know a lot of people who write what I call "writers' blogs." In other words, their blog's primary raison d'être is to aid, instruct, ask questions of, or otherwise deal with other bloggers interested in writing for publication, whether they're doing it mostly for fun, or desiring to make an actual living from it. (That I found so many "writers' blogs" is not a complaint, by the way. Just a long-winded statement.)

The blogs I found during the 2016 challenge seemed to have a little more variety, for no apparent reason. Just happenstance, I guess.

So, what's my problem, with several people signing up to follow me in both 2014 and 2016? Well, I learned that more than a few of the bloggers whose blogs I try to visit don't necessarily reciprocate, especially over time. A lot of the "followers" I gained during my forays into the A-Z Challenge didn't keep following.

Admittedly, almost no one has the time or inclination to read every single post on someone else's blog. I certainly don't. But there are some bloggers I follow (or, in most cases, I should say I used to follow) who either never visit my blog, or if they do, never let me know it by commenting. And, to amend my earlier statement, I realize that almost no one has the time or inclination to comment on every single post they read. (And again, that applies to me as well.) But never?

I've been accused in the distant past of being a comment whore, but let's be honest, here, fellow babies. What do we blog for if not a little bit of feedback? It's not like there's any real money in blogging. (I should know. I used to have little sidebar co-op ads from Google and Amazon, and after nine years, they netted me about a hundred dollars. Not quite enough to live by, fer shure fer shure.)

Also, while I'm on that subject, I should add that there are some readers whom I'm pretty sure read my blog regularly who rarely comment... but comment they do, at least once in a while.

But I oh-so-characteristically digress...

Now, in a similar vein, a lot of the bloggers I've been following for the last year or so don't post regularly. (Who the hell are you to talk, you may well ask. Hang on there, that's not my complaint.) And the authors of these blogs only seem to visit mine when I've commented on theirs. See the problem? This can be a bit frustrating, especially when I'm in the process of posting one of my multi-part fictional stories. I'll admit it. I am fervently hoping that people will read all of a multi-parter (and hopefully comment). Otherwise, what's the point?

I should point out here that I don't expect or demand that my "regulars" read all of my damned posts. As I said above, no one can (or want to) read them all. Even when there are so few, like the posts on my silly blog. Heh.

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that I feel I've done a lot, and wound up with a little. It's made me wonder if it's all been worth the effort.

Finally, this year, the people who run the A-Z Challenge have done away with the "linky list." They've posted several ways for you to find out who's participating -- and I provided that link for those of you who are interested in joining the fun -- but frankly, it seems like a lot of extra work to me. I joined the challenge (both times) to have some fun, as well as prove to myself that I could be disciplined enough to post on a regular basis if I really put my mind to it. Both years, I succeeded. But, as I said, this time (along with the other reasons mentioned above), it just seems like a lot of extra work.

Well, that about sums up my reasoning, fellow babies.

On the other hand, if I follow your blog regularly, I certainly won't miss the chance to read your A-Z entries! So, there's that.

Wow, this was a long post. (And rather somewhat incredibly self-serving, I'll admit.) I haven't done one of those for a while. I've probably written more here than I would have if I'd done this year's challenge instead!

Thanks for reading this far. Seriously. (Unless, of course, you just skipped to the end, you cheater!)

And, as always, thanks for your time.