Updated after week two with link below taking you to post with comments from volunteers who want to be tagged for all or various Blog Hops.

https://markbialczak.com/2014/11/14/two-weeks-down-nano-poblano-time-to-hop-in-and-volunteer/

The first of November has its fist raised.

It comes a knockin’ on our doors right after all the trick or treaters have cleaned us out of all our candy on Friday.

Are you ready for the alphabet soup of blog writing come Saturday? I’m talking NaBloPoMo, popular here on WordPress and BlogHer, the month that we bloggers can choose to band together and get better by taking an oath to post at least once each day of November.

Last year, a group called that called itself the Peppers included my blog friend — and yours too, most likely, knowing Sheena of Not a Punk Rocker.

The group was led by Rara, who came up with the cute logo above.

Sheena convinced me to take a turn hosting the Peppers this year. Fish of Gold kept the theme and came up with this year’s great version up top.

I staged the photo below, which has nothing to do with peppers and has nowhere in it a mention of 2014. But I dig the photo of my old faux Remington doodad on the screen of my newish iPad Air with bluetooth keyboard to signal the start of a big blogging month.

I want you to join Team Pepper, to take the leap, to decide that yes, you can publish a post worthy of notice every day from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30. You have what it takes to write a story. To take a photo. To write a poem. To report what your children did, or your parents did, or your classmates or coworkers or friends did. To comment about a social issue. To share a big dream and recall a striking memory and confess an altering moment.

If you get stuck, of course we have Team Pepper prompts. Sheena has collected an assortment from volunteers from last year’s group, and the first batch is posted on an accompanying page. More will follow on additional prompt pages.

I’ll offer one personal prompt here, because, well, I’m the host.

Tell us about the last time a stranger really made you stop to converse in public. Set up the situation that led up to the encounter. Describe your feelings as you started to talk, chronicle the dialogue to the best of your recollection, and tell us how you felt leaving the situation, particularly if it unfolded the way you expected or took a turn that surprised you.

Prompts are strictly voluntary, of course. Use one, use some, use none.

Remember to tag all your related posts Nano Poblano and Team Pepper.

This post will be evergreen of sorts, the meeting place for updates and comments. As the host blogger, I’ll check in here daily during November to converse, stir, steer, listen.

Consider the comment section from here on out as your roll call. If you’re joining Team Pepper, tell us a few words about yourself and your blog, and give a link to a piece you’d like teammates to check out now.

This is your BLOG ROLL. Make sure you have placed your blog link in the comment section here so all Nano Poblano team members can follow your blog this month.

Sheena says it’s a good idea to register with BlogHer come Nov. 1. I will, and you should check it out, too. She says they provide plenty of prompts and serve as a nice meeting ground.

The idea this month, after all, is to find new blogs to read, meet the people behind them, and foster an environment in which all of us become better bloggers.

Here’s the link to the WordPress notice about NaBloPoMo.

Here’s the link to BlogHer’s notices about NaBloPoMo.

Here’s the link to Sheena’s Not a Punk Rocker blog.