Today marks the end of the first full month of Fandango’s One-Word Challenge. WordPress published its final Daily Prompt on May 31 and I decided that I would pick up the baton and run with it. Or the gauntlet or whatever it is you pick up to accept a challenge.
Not surprisingly, I wasn’t the only blogger who decided to jump in and fill the vacuum that the folks at WordPress left. There are at least a half a dozen other bloggers (or teams of bloggers) besides me who have entered the daily prompt game.
One blogger, Judy Dykstra-Brown over at Lifelessons, published a poem the other day about what she refers to as the waterfall of prompts that greet bloggers every morning and how we are scrambling to fill all the demands of the plethora of prompts.
There are so many daily one-word prompts now that many bloggers have taken to writing responses using multiple daily prompts in a single post. My blogging buddy, Jim Adams over at A Unique Title For Me, usually incorporates anywhere from six to ten prompts in his daily prompt response posts. And it’s not unusual for other bloggers to include two, three, four, or more daily prompts in their posts.
So this begs the question, how much is too much? Managing a daily one-word prompt is not easy. It takes time and effort to choose good words to use, to post the prompts, to read all of the responses to the prompts, and to write my responses to my own daily one-word prompts. All while trying to keep up with the other prompts I regularly respond to and to continue to rant about Donald Trump.
I admit that hosting FOWC has done wonders for my stats. My blog got more that twice as many views this month as it did in March, my previous high month for page views. But do you really need or want all of these daily prompts hanging over your head each day? Would your lives be easier if there were a few fewer daily prompts to deal with?
Today, a blogger, Pensitivity101, who participates in my One-Word Challenge, wrote, “Well, here we are on Day 30 of Fandango’s word challenge, and long may it continue.”
So I have to ask myself if I should continue posting Fandango’s One-Word Challenge each day. It is, as I said, a lot of work. But at the same time, I really do enjoy doing it.
Let me pose the same question to you. Would you like me to continue with this daily prompt or would you prefer that I do what the folks at WordPress did and hang it up?
Let me know what you think.
Written for today’s Fandango’s One-Word Challenge, “continue.”
This, That, and the Other 
Thanks for the pingback, and yes, I for one would like to see you continue. I like to do both word and photo challenges as it gets my mind working, but sometimes if I’m late opening my blog, I run short of ideas to participate, or just run out of time.
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I probably will continue. Thanks for the support.
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Seems I’m not the only one. 🙂
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Yours is actually the one I look for first and am most likely to follow. However, having hosted a prompt in the past, I know how much of a pain in the butt it is and i wouldn’t blame you for giving it up. i know many who started and gave up. But i have to say — I like your best, maybe because we think along similar lines.
As long as you stick with it, i will stick with you — except maybe while Garry is in and out of the hospital. That is going to be a bit complicated for me. But otherwise, you’re my guy.
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Thanks, Marilyn. I appreciate your kind words.
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Very thought provoking, for obvious reasons… I was already thinking about all of this too. Of course the Challenge(s) has to go on, because there was a real need for it when the Daily Post ended last month. But as you said, how much of something is just too much? I guess there will be a “natural selection” effect over time?… Maybe some people enjoy linking their daily posts to more than one challenge, as it broadens the visibility of their work?… Hmmm…. a lot of questions, and it is hard to be sure about the answers.
Anyhow, Congratulations for this first month of FOWC!! xx
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Thanks, Cyranny. I will probably keep it going as long as it doesn’t become too burdensome. And congrats to you and your daily word team for jumping in as well.
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Thank you… Time flies, really. It is a pleasure to bring a little inspiration to people on a daily basis. Long life to both our challenges 😉
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No one would blame you if you stopped as I don’t know how anyone can handle all of the responsibility of holding a daily prompt challenge. Some bloggers work in groups and they split up the duties somehow and maybe you could consider taking on a partner, just to get a day or a week of rest. I have written 30 posts for your blog with the first one being my worst, comparing autonomous with a tomato ass, and I think that got two views. I write posts for multiple challenges, mostly because I am being lazy and I know that if I concentrated on one prompt at a time, that I would write a better post for that prompt. However when I look at all of the prompts before I decide to write, most times they reveal a story to me in a much different way than just one prompt would do. I hope that you decide to continue hosting FWOC and I would love to know what you thought was the best response to any of your prompts for this month.
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I am going to continue, Jim, unless it becomes too much of a burden. As to which response I think has been the best, that’s impossible for me to choose. I’ve enjoyed reading them all, even your first one. And, I really do like how you manage to pull in so many prompts into your responses. Well done.
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Do. Continue that is. The multi-word blog post has worked for me when I’m overwhelmed OR I just choose one or two to do and oddly or not; yours is usually one of the ones I choose every day. BUT. Only you know how much you want to put into doing something like this. GC and Sue have opted for a WEEKLY challenge instead. They post one photo challenge a week and one word prompt challenge every week. There are options. Good luck and keep us posted..
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YES, CONTINUE PLEASE. I have greatly enjoyed the one word challenge even on the days I neglect to respond. It appears (or so I read) that someone send you topics to use. I might suggest that you pick a few of your followers to send you an ongoing list of prompts to use. The followers have a vested interest in FOWC prospering and they are gifted with good writing skills. Then you could have a cache of topics to use/modify. TR
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I was thinking the same thing yesterday. Even though I have far less participants than you do, I started my challenge because it’s fun. I write my prompts on Sunday for the week and by the time morning comes I have long since forgotten what the prompts are…lol. I think many of us who participate in prompt writing combine things because they are better together than apart. Some times I get one story, and sometimes I get more, but they are all fun to do. I find myself being more selective in the prompts I do now than before, but not because they aren’t fun…there are so many that I get to be inspired and pick only those that I feel deserve to be told. I find writing for my blog very different than I do for my possible publications. Sometimes I feel bad when I remember I used to write for a prompt, but haven’t in a while, but then I remember that I usually only four or five people doing mine. I think people host prompts and challenges because they are fun, not because they really expect things from it. It really boils down to whether you have fun doing it and have time to do it. Either way, you will always find a writer and reader in me 🙂
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Thanks, Teresa. I enjoy your Three Things Challenge even though I don’t always have time to post a response every day. But some days those three things you put together armrest magical and irresistible. I hope you continue to post them.
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[ Laughs ] I don’t do prompts so I might not be the best qualified person to answer this.
But I would want to believe that a person is entitled to go the extra mile with these one word prompts.
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Before doing yours, I did another prompt. Several comments I received led me to believe I was not welcome because I was male. So, I stopped. I saw yours and decided to give it a shot. It’s been enjoyable.
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I say onward and forward with it
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Thanks. I think I will.
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I like yours, even if I don’t often contribute – they are the best reads! And to stay sane, I’d recommend using words that are multi-dimensional in meaning, or simply, everyday words – and yes, I would ask your contributors to ‘suggest’ lists of words (to save a tiny smidge of sanity in the midnight hours).
Cheers, and thanks!
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Thanks, Cage. I appreciate that.
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Do continue. Looking forward to write from this month regular on your prompt. That actually keeps me going to think ..
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I will. Thanks.
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Only two words, Dream on, Sensei. If you understand what I mean.
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“Dream On” is the name of a classic rock song by Aerosmith. Is that what you mean?
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Yep.
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Just to be clear..
Every time when I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by, like dusk to dawn
Isn’t that the way
Everybody’s got the dues in life to pay
Fits you perfectly and is, as per my understanding the best response to your query. If you feel like hosting the prompt, do it if don’t then sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, just for today…
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I do hope that you continue – as I see from some of your comments that you have decided to for now – Yippeeee! I enjoy the challenge and reading what others have come up with and what you share. Thanks for this.
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Thank YOU! I, too, enjoy seeing what other bloggers do with these words I toss out each day. The creativity, humor, wit, and ingenuity is amazing.
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I’ve enjoyed your prompt words — especially the promptness of them. I do agree, there are SO many and I think commitment will finally determine which ones last. Your posts seem to have had good participation all along. But it’s your time; I wouldn’t fault you for growing weary in time.
I haven’t committed to faithfully follow any one, but try to help along by advertising the options when I can. Each day I make a list of all the words and use whichever words best fit with my thoughts for today. Very desultory, like everything else I do. 🙂
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Hmm. “Desultory.” Good word. I may have to use it for one of my upcoming One-Word Challenges.
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It’s Sheryl’s Word for today, over at Your Daily Word Prompt. 🙂
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Oops. Already taken. Back to the drawing board.
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Please do continue only if you can handle the extra work. I have enjoyed it and read some very good posts. In the end though it is completely your call.
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I love your daily prompts. If you hand hung it up in June I would had never found your blog!
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I’m very happy that you found it!
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https://sashabudhai.wordpress.com
I know. Sweet thanks for the follow but I think you followed the inactive blog. I just realised that old blog is still open to the public lol. I’ve set this old blog to private until I decide what to do with it. If you don’t mind could you follow Writtly On instead. I posted the link above to Writtly On. This blog is where all my daily writings will go.
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Done. Thanks for directing me to the right place!
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