The end is in sight - an OU update

 

Hi folks! Now the mad frenzy which is the A-Z Challenge is over, it's time to try and get back to something resembling normality.

My Open University studies have been continuing in earnest, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're one week away from the deadline for the final assignment, and I feel I'm in that exam delirium where you're frantically trying to cram as much revision into your brain as you can, and as a consequence I'm in a constant out of body experience. It's fun, but only for a short time.

There is no exam for this course though, just a 4000 word short story to be sent alongside a commentary on how we feel the whole thing has gone. My story has been taking shape nicely, but it has been a hurdle to get to the 4000 word mark. I've never completed anything this long before, but its actually quite exhilarating. I'm excited at how I've been focused to push myself, to write things I didn't even know I had in me.

I've really enjoyed writing this story, and I'm keen to submit it somewhere after my studies are done. I may as well, right, after putting all this effort in. It's been up and down, I've lost faith in where the story was going, only to be drawn back into it after working through the kinks. It's been a huge reminder of why I Iike writing so much, and why I got into it in the first place.

I just need to get over this final stretch with my editing cap on, and then I can enjoy the summer sunshine until I start all over again in October.

Almost caught up!

OK, so we're one week past deadline day for my third assignment, and I carried on true to form and submitted about two hours before the final hour passed. All my good intentions of spending the whole week on it went out the window, but I did a reasonable job on it I think. I'll have to wait until next week for the result, and I think this one will determine if it's still possible to get the Distinction I've been aiming for. Fingers crossed then!

In the last two weeks I've managed to do a lot of catching up, and I'm now only one week behind. Yippee! Admittedly, I did skim read a lot of it, and was pretty selective about which activities I did, but I can always go back over it if I need to. I enjoy doing the activities, I've been producing lots of material that can be put to good use in the future, but sometimes time just doesn't give me the luxury. They're my course books now though, so I can go back to them whenever I want :-)

I'm excited about the next assignment, we're putting together our proposal for the 4000 word short story that is due for the End of Module Assessment. I've never written anything as long as this before, so I'm looking forward to stretching myself a bit. I've got an idea in mind for it, I just need to work out the details and see if it fits the length requirements.

Right then, time to hit the books I guess. I better make a cup of tea first though ...

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