Hello, all!
For an overview of this challenge, read the post below this one, and the post linked to on the right sidebar, from last year's challenge. The main differences this year are that we will post every other day, on odd-numbered days, and hop to read each others' on even-numbered days; also, there will be themes for each week, although following these themes is optional. See below.

Some people have been asking for more concrete details, so here they are: To register, leave your name AND type out your blogsite, in a comment to the previous post. Your blogsite is important. And although I do know a lot of your blogsites, I don't want to assume. You might have a second blogsite since last year. You might only be expressing interest, not commitment, to join. I don't want to annoy anyone, so I will put you on the list when I see your blogsite, okay? Thanks.

The challenge begins October 1st. Write your first post that day. The week before, I will collect all names and blogsites in the comments, and create a master list of everyone participating. You can copy this list onto your website for hopping, or refer back here on the even days to hop from here. But there will likely be some people coming in late, or dropping out if some personal emergency prevents them continuing, and they'll let me know, so please check back here every week at least to find corrections to the list.

Blog challenge etiquette. It is polite to visit other people's blogs, if you want them to visit yours. It is particularly polite to visit the sites of those who visit and leave comments on your posts. Kinda like, she had me over for coffee, it's my turn to have her over. Leaving comments is great, but time-consuming. It's okay to sometimes just like a post instead. It is nice to in some way leave a friendly mark of your passing, though - think of dogs and hydrants. In dog-talk, that's being polite. Hi, I was here!

What have I forgotten? Oh, I'm sure you'll let me know! And when you do, I'll edit this post and add it. So if you check back and see something written below this paragraph, it's new, and it'll be right HERE:

If you want your twitter handle added beside your name, leave me a note and I'll do so. I don't really hang out on twitter, but my handle is @janeanmclachlan.

Last year, I started a blog challenge - and a bunch of us had a blast sharing our posts and reading each others! What's it all about? See the links to last year's challenge at the right side of this post! What's the point of it? Read on!

In my writers’ group, the question was asked: Do you use real experiences from your life in your writing? The memoirists, of course, all put their hands up. But not surprisingly, every writer there did, too, in some way – they wrote in incidents they had lived; they wrote incidents others had told them about; they wrote into their character their own emotions when something similar happened to them; they created characters from people they knew. I finally asked the group: So are we fiction writers using our pasts to create stories, or secret memoirists who turn our lives into fiction?

However you answer that, the fact is, story is the stuff of life and we all draw from our lives to write our stories. So whether you write memoir or fiction, your work will be richer for digging deep into your own life experiences. Welcome to the October Memoir and Back Story Blog Challenge, 2013!

Because creativity can’t be hemmed in, once again I am leaving how you complete this challenge in your own creative hands. The overall theme is Memories. And based on comments at the end of last year’s challenge, doing this every day was a bit much. It was hard to blog and visit each others’ sites every day. So this year, we’ll all blog on odd-numbered days. That gives us the even-numbered days to hop from blog to blog reading each other’s posts. (Or, for those who tried to do more than one blog challenge in October, you have the even-numbered days to do your other thing!)

What kind of posts are acceptable? The sky’s the limit! Write poetry about your past; do a photo collection of old and new or then and now; explore the past through songs or art or cartoon; explore your characters’ fictional pasts.

What are the topics? I’m going to give you some choices here. Some people wanted to carry on reviewing their lives chronologically from where they left off – go for it! Others weren’t able to complete their 25 years last time, and want to work on that – great! For those who want to, though, I’m suggesting this year we have a memory theme each week. And since we’re posting on odd days only, that means three posts on each theme.

Week 1: Childhood. I’m sure we barely scratched the rich creative soil of our youth last year.

Week 2: Relationships. Memories or incidents involving our parents, siblings, friends, romantic interludes, marriages, even our children or grandchildren.

Week 3: Secrets. Dig deep, fellow bloggers, this is powerful stuff!

Week 4: Roots and Wings. Memories of home, leaving or finding it, and of travel or journeys.

Week 5: Gratitude and Regret. The people, experiences, choices you are grateful for or that you regret.

Remember these are options: the over-riding theme is memoir and back story, and we’ll all love seeing just how you choose to explore that! So, how will YOU meet the October Memoir and Back Story Blog Challenge, 2013 ? Get your creative juices flowing - post one is October 1!

Now, all you have to do is register: leave me a message below with your name (real or fictional), your blogsite URL, and your intent to join us. And spread the word - tell everyone you know about it - the more people who join us, the more fun it’ll be!