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.

Note to self: Must be a better blogger - an A-Z Challenge Reflections/IWSG post

I realise I'm kind of cheating here, but I'm rolling my IWSG and A-Z Challenge Reflection posts all up into one little message. They fit into the same bracket at least, and it kind of saves some time and space.

The A-Z Challenge was a spur of the moment thing for me, having decided against it this year. It was less than a week before it started that my theme idea came to me along with the post titles. I managed to keep up (mostly) with the occasional double-posting, and I was only a day late with some of them.

It didn't seem to be as hard to keep going as I imagined it would, which to me suggests that I do still enjoy this blogging malarkey, and the month went by quicker than anticipated. It came at a time when I was teetering on the edge of giving up, but now it's boosted my confidence enough to keep it going.

The one area where I failed massively was in keeping up with replying to comments, and visiting other blogs. This is something I've struggled with a lot in the past, never seeming to have the time to sit and read through other peoples stuff and to comment. 

I know this is such a huge part of the blogging community, and I certainly don't expect people to comment here if I'm not returning the compliment. I have huge thanks for those few who did comment on my Challenge posts, I think I didn't do too badly at replying to your comments and it's on my to-do list to check out all of your posts for the Challenge too.

This is going to be the lesson I take away from this Challenge, and I'm hoping to improve my blogging etiquette and hopefully make some more friends in the process.

Thank you for listening!

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If you want to check out more people reflecting on their A-Z journey, you can find them on the link-up list here.

If you want to find out more about the Insecure Writers Support Group, they have an excellent web page here with everything you could ever need in this crazy game.