Yes, I can! and Yes! I did!!!!

Today is the last day of the January version of the Ultimate Blogging Challenge. The challenge was to write 31 blog posts for the month of January, and this is blog post number 31. This is the first time, since I started participating in the Ultimate Blogging Challenge, that I have actually completed the challenge. I usually miss two or three days or even more.

This blogging challenge has been a great experience for me. My main goal was to explore who I am as a writer and to test the waters on writing a novel or a memoir. During the course of the month, I've talked about and shared different types of writing, including a few fun creative writing exercises, personal stories, and fractured fairy tales. I've encouraged you to share your writing, as well, and the responses that I have gotten have been great. I am convinced that there is a writer inside of each of us.

It is exciting to have completed a project. It feels good to know that I was able to start something and bring it forward to completion. I began on the first of January, when I was wondering why the year hadn't lived up to its lofty name. Shouldn't my eyesight be the same as the year (20/20)?? Well, I guess that I could write a story about eyeglasses. Magic eyeglasses? Nah. Nobody could beat Madeleine L'Engle in that department with her book "A Wrinkle in Time." Meg was one of the greatest protagonists who wore eyeglasses. And she did get a pair of magic eyeglasses that enabled her to see through the impenetrable darkness. For a short amount of time, those eyeglasses, along with her subbornness, was Meg's superpower.

I am stubborn, too. That is my superpower. I've had a lot of failure in my life, but I've had successes, too. I remember reading that fail means "first attempt in learning." It's not the end. It is not an announcement that all hope is lost. it is more like "get up and try again." I have participated in numerous blogging challenges: both the Ultimate Blogging Challenge and the A through Z challenge. Generally, I succeed with the A through Z challenge because it is 26 very specific posts that must start with each letter of the alphabet. But the Ultimate Blogging Challenge can be difficult because I have to motivate myself to write a blog post each day. And, when I've put a lot of effort into a newspaper article, the added discipline of a daily blog post can feel like too much.

But this month, I am happy to say that I made it happen. It has been a great experience. I really owe it all to my readers. The fact that you visit my blog means so much to me. And the comments that you've shared are priceless. They have touched my heart and have encouraged me so much.

You have encouraged me to take my writing in different directions. In the next weeks, I will continue to explore different styles of writing. The blogging challenge is now over but as Doug, who writes a travel blog, is fond of saying, "blog on."