A to Z Challenge 2016 – Reflections

I had participated in the 2015 challenge and couldn’t go beyond the letter G.  So, I was fully aware of how tough the challenge is going to be.  This year I had decided to not sign up for the challenge.  But, I accidentally participated in an AtoZ Twitter chat and I knew I had to sign up.  There is too much fun in the challenge and even if I do not complete it,  I would love the journey.  And so,  I signed up with no goals, no themes in mind.

But I saw many bloggers preparing for the challenge and it egged me on to make an effort.  I made a complete list of A to Z of books I loved and authors I recommend.  That is what I had planned in the theme reveal too.  But again,  fickle me,  changed it to short stories of a couple who are very unlike each other.  This was my theme last year and so I went back to my last year’s notes and started all over again.   

Initially I started off by writing a story a day in advance and scheduling it.   But, as my work increased and I was spending 12-14 hours at work,  I was on the verge of giving up.  But,  nudges from the blogging community at Blog-a-Rhythm, Writetribe and Theblogchatter.com  ensured,  I decided to walk the extra mile.   This ensured,  I did not miss a single day.  There were some good stories, some bad, some I was proud of and some that made me cringe,  but I wrote them all.   At the end, I was ecstatic.  Not just because I completed a challenge for the first time,  but I realised that I could focus and write even when I felt I could not write.  I also started setting aside half an hour in the mornings for writing.  I am looking at a future writing short stories.

My characters,  Dia and Sameer,  who were never described and profiled,  gathered a fan following beyond my imagination.  If only,  I could also illustrate them. Most of the readers could identify with them.  The moments they shared were commonly acknowledged.  I had found it difficult to respond to all the comments,  but if it were not for the comments,  I would have dropped off the challenge.  Thank you all my dearest readers.  You held my hand and helped me survive the challenge.

Each day, I would visit 15-20 other blogs which I loved visiting.   Also,  a few new blogs on each day.  I have commented and shared blogs that I enjoyed.  By the end of the journey,  I gave up on commenting,  but I shared all the blogs.

It was a roller-coaster ride for me but I look forward to the next year.  My theme is ready.