So that's it for my first April A-Z challenge.
I can't quite believe how the month has flown and that despite some big challenges going on around me I've managed to cobble together a piece each night off the top of my head based on how my day has gone and what that particular letter has been for the day. I deliberately avoided following a theme or pulling down a list of specific words. That certainly would've made writing a lot easier but I wanted to really challenge myself and I've succeeded in doing that.
I've learnt that my 'essay' writing abilities from school days haven't deserted me. That I can put together a fairly coherent 400+ words on average in about 30 or so minutes and within 40-50 minutes, which includes time for editing, I have a blog ready to post. I don't want to write novels but I want to write. What yet I have no idea but I have a framework now to work in. Just out of interest it would take me around 200 days to write an average length novel though if I put my mind to it - around 80 000 being an acceptable norm for adult literature - romance, thrillers etc and the average book having 64 500 words.
So perhaps I have a book inside me somewhere, zipped up for now, but in there nonetheless.
None of us know what we are truly capable of unless we put our minds to it. And so few of us accept that challenge of putting our minds to it! Between load shedding, a faulty ADSL line, school holidays, a week long visit from my dad and some other heavy emotional stuff going on it would have been so easy for me so skip a day here, write very short posts, or there or just give up like I usually do half way through a project. But I've persevered because this project was important for me on a deeply personal level. It has given something back to me that I can't explain in words but that I feel deep in my soul.
April 2015 has been a turning point for me. I'm going to take the lessons I've learnt and put them to good use. I'm a strong woman with a lot to contribute. Time to own that statement.
Time I unzipped the packet and got on with it.