Today is the last day of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge – whew, how fast time flies!  Z is the last letter on this challenging blogging journey and when I think about it, the word “Zest” comes to mind…

It is but fitting to end this blogging challenge with a word of thanks for the organizers, Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report, Matthew McNish at The QQQE, Tina Downey at Life is Good, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Elizabeth Mueller,Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain,  and Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small.

Thank you all, for the hardwork and zest you put into this challenge.  It has given me – and I’m sure countless other bloggers and writers-  the chance to re-discover our zest for blogging and writing.  Coming to this blog everyday was both a pleasure and a challenge.  It made me realize (again) how much I love writing, and that what matters is that I make the effort to be here and write daily.  That by itself is the reward for writing.  The comments and visitors are all sidings and desserts.

And so, we reach the end of the path of this journey and a stone that bears the letter Z marks  the culmination of this challenge. As I write the final words to cap this unique experience, the word “Zenith” comes to mind. Finishing this challenge has, indeed, enabled us to reach a zenith of sorts.  And so it’s but fitting that we each give ourselves a pat on the back!

Yet another blog post for the Blogging from A to Z challenge on yet another letter in the alphabet, this time, yes, it’s letter Y!

Yet is a short but lovely word – I think it’s full of possibilities and carries with it a message of hope.  Yet is usually only half of a statement, and the other half presents probabilities.

I have not yet worked on the outline for my book…. but I will, soon.

I have not yet begun work on a second blog….but I intend to do it sometime this month.

I have not yet given much thought to submitting an essay to the contest… but I just might consider writing one next week.

I have not yet decided on how to end this challenge with a bang… but an idea will come to me soon.

Yet another blog post has come to an end, and so has another week .

I have not yet greeted you a happy weekend, and in my part of the world, Saturday is almost over.  Anyway, have a happy and relaxing weekend!

The letter X! What a difficult letter to start a word with especially with writing as a theme, in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  So, I’ve decided to write about a very simple but highly effective method of re-balancing,  re-aligning, and relaxing one’s whole body after a whole day (or even just a few hours) of writing.  It’s not a word that starts with an X, rather, it’s a kind of passive stretch that will require you to use your body to form a big letter X.

This stretch was recommended by Dr. Robert Fulford, an American osteopath, in his book, “Dr. Fulford’s Touch of Life: The Healing Power of the Natural Life Force.”

It’s very easy to do this passive stretch – simply lie on your back and use your arms and legs to form a letter X.  Arms up, framing the head, and both legs stretched apart.  You can also imagine that you’re a big starfish.  That’s it!  Stay in this position for as long as you like.  You can also do this on your bed before going to sleep.  As your muscles relax, your body will slowly re-align and re-balance itself.

Our journey in Blogging from A to Z is nearing the end and today we tackle W, and the word that comes to mind is Wait.

Wait.  Another habit writers need to develop, because writers need to do a lot of waiting.

When we want to embark on a new project and write a book or ebook, we wait for the idea to come. We are constantly waiting for  the muse to inspire us, to offer us ideas and inspiration.

We wait for ideas, stories and concepts to percolate and refine themselves in our minds.  We wait for the right words to flow.

Writers and waiting are a perfect pair.  One compliments the other.

I can’t wait to write my next post, on the letter X.

Blogging onwards from A to Z, and we’ve reached the letter V. Voice is my choice for this post – because a writer’s voice is crucial to turning in works that are unique and memorable.

Just like singers, writers have different “voices,” and it takes time to discover, unearth and develop one’s writing voice.  Nevertheless, it is well worth the effort.

There are many ways to discover one’s own unique writing voice and of course, one of the best ways is to write, write, and write!

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge has been a very eye-opening experience.  Blog hopping has made me realize how unique each and every blogger is.

I’ve read posts about prisons, visited beautiful landscapes in far off places, witnessed snippets of adventures one finds only in the landscapes of very creative minds, and I’ve read posts about ordinary events transformed into humorous, dramatic, or memorable short stories.

Uniqueness is the quality that sets our work apart from the rest.  It is the expression of who we are, and it is what makes us writers / bloggers in our own right.

Here’s to the uniqueness in each one of us!

Yesterday, we had a timeout from the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  Writers need timeout every now and then.  Hemingway gave himself a daily timeout after writing for five hours in the morning – he went fly fishing.

There are timeouts and there are creative timeouts. I write content for an entire monthly online magazine and when deadline time is near, everything else false into the sidelines and all my attention goes to writing.  There was a time I felt bad about this – sitting in front of the computer monitor and typing endlessly for three days was beginning to be a bore.  But there are bills to pay, I told myself.  And as always, I tried to reframe the situation and look at it from a different perspective.  The three days give me timeout from the routine of everyday life – and it actually did.  After three days of practically relating only with the computer and focusing on the articles I needed to finish, I was more than eager to hurdle the household chores, attend to my responsibilities and face the daily challenges life presents us with.  Now I consider deadlines as opportunities that offer timeout.

I am working on a few other writing projects which fall under the creative writing genre.  Time spent on these projects are always a pleasure, and I consider the moments I write as time out from all the noise, the mayhem and confusion in the world.  I just love timeouts!