This post is part of my 30 day creative writing challenge. Click here to learn more about the challenge or here to explore the other posts in this series.
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For the last thirty days, I have shared a new post on this website in an attempt to explore my thought process and challenge my readers. Today is the last day of the challenge, so I figured I would end it by letting people know what I learned along the way.
Writing the posts was one thing. But preparing an image each day, formatting the article online, and preparing a personalized email to go out with each post took a lot more time than I initially expected or allotted for.
Thinking of something original each day to write about and share was tough. Thankfully I had some old ideas and thoughts in my Evernote folder for the days when I was feeling less than creative. However, I also learned how to look for inspiration in the world around me, and the challenge forced me to to stay accountable, even when I didn’t feel like it.
So many people have been sharing their thoughts with me over the last 30 days, more than I ever expected. It has been fun getting to know more about the different people who interact with my words.
I feel like a lot happened since I started this challenge, but seriously, 30 days? Holy crap, time really does fly!
A few of my posts were a little rough around the edges, which caused some people to get offended. Whoops. There were even a few people from my past who got offended about how I represented them in a story. Which leads me to #6.
I learned that we can all see the world a little differently, and that the way I write is a reflection of how I have seen the world as well as how I have experienced it. That is all they can be, and others will not always see things the same way.
I looked back on an event from over a decade ago and was able to publicly share the story. I realized how much that moment hurt me but how far I have come since then.
I don’t have a publishing schedule, editor or anything else that forces me to regularly publish under any sort of time constraint. Having a daily deadline was something new and added a sense of urgency to my writing. I think the quality may have suffered overall, but it was a great experiment and I am glad I stuck with it.
Enough said on that one.
Writing still makes me feel better about myself, and publishing the things I write helps keep me accountable. Those are two pretty important steps in any healing process so chalk that up as a win for #30DoT
Seriously, it seems like no matter how many times I reviewed each post, some sort of error always went unnoticed. I tried my best guys! And hopefully the typos weren’t too bad along the way.
On numerous occasions throughout the challenge, I went back and read some of my older work for inspiration. I noticed that my opinions had changed over the last few years. It was interesting to be able to see that change and better understand the evolution of my ideology.
Not all of you wanted to share your stories publicly. Many of you told me that your strength came from reading mine and other stories throughout the challenge. I learned that that for some people, reading others thoughts is enough.
I take it for granted that I am such an open book. One of my 30DoT posts got me into hot water and made me realized that not everyone is comfortable sharing their struggles openly. It taught me that I need to be considerate of that when I write about the people around me. Either that or do a better job of making sure they don’t know I am talking about them!!!
4 of my 30DoT posts were poems. They were also all in the top 10 most shared, read and commented on posts during the challenge. In case you missed them, here is a link to each of them.
Some of you shared your poetry with me as response to my poetic posts. It was great to see the variety of writing that came in over the last 30 days.
During this challenge I called out my friends and then told them how much they mean to me. A few then reached out personally and let me know how much they care about me in return. One even wrote me a letter that moved me to tears. That was priceless.
Seriously, a couple of you will be getting an email from me about becoming regular contributors to the website. You had me captivated with each of your posts.
There were events during this challenge which gave me a different perspective on the importance of family. On more than one level. If that changes my behavior in even a small way then the challenge was worth it.
After my dads accident, I thought about what it would be like to have to live without him. Then it made me realize that one day I’ll be gone too. Not trying to be all “Debbie Downer” here, just saying it was a thought. And this challenge was about embracing those thoughts. Maybe it will help me do a better job of making the most out of the rest of my time on this planet.
There were some things I thought I was going to write about during this challenge, but I never got around to letting them out. Maybe it was that I didn’t want to have to rush the delivery, or if maybe I’m just not ready to let go yet. Either way, I learned that I still have some soul searching to do.
I thought I was (kind of) dating someone at the beginning of this challenge. Later I found out I was wrong. But that’s alright, I’m ok with being single right now.
I have been struggling with what comes next in my life for quite some time now. But I think I might have figured it out during this challenge. If you are subscribed to my email list, you’ll definitely be hearing more about that in the near future.
I’ve struggled with writers block in the past, and even a bit over the last 30 days. But this challenged force me to push through it, and has given me insight on how I might overcome it in the future. Take the challenge to learn more about those writing insights!
I learned the truth about Picasso and his famous quote as well as how to steal like an artist!
I learned that anything can happen in an instant that could fundamentally upset everything you’ve ever had planned for your life. I learned that planning is great, but living in the moment is more important.
Nothing is off limits when it comes to what I post on this blog, but it seems others are not so open to discussing their beleifs. That’s too bad. I think we would all be better off if we were able to be more open minded as a whole.
After another round of rejection from the corporate world, I have started to wonder if my opinions and the thoughts I share on this website have made me unhirable. I’m not sure it’s necessarily a bad thing though. It might just be the last little inspiration I need to pull of my master plan.
I learned that this challenge is hard but real change is even harder. I learned that it is going to take way more than 30 days to overcome things that have been growing inside of me for most of my adult life. But at least I learned that I am willing to try. That I am willing to begin looking into myself to find the problems that are wrong with the world around me. That I am willing to start there myself and then encourage others to do the same.
This post is part of my 30 day creative writing challenge. Click here to learn more about the challenge or here to explore the other posts in this series.
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Congratulations on succeeding with your challenge! I see it came with a lot of useful lessons. Although I didn’t join in on the challenge, reading this post makes me eager to start my own soon!
Thanks Mathias. It was definitely a challenge, but as you can see, it was well worth it. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.