Woohoo I made it - 31 posts in 31 days!

I got this one!

I'm so pleased to have completed this challenge, and I've learned a great deal.

One of the most important lessons I've learned is having a challenge like this can help attain a target. The desire to remain part of a community striving for the same goal keeps you motivated when things get tough. And they do get tough! It's amazing the curve balls life throws at you in a month.

Keeping On Target

I've also learned that I can write a blog post every single day. But it doesn't have to be a massive, highly-researched post. In fact, if I'd tried that, I never would have succeeded. Shorter posts have value, too - thoughts on a quote, a poem, a tip of the day or an uplifting message are gentle pauses for both reader and writer.

For this challenge, the organiser Paul Taubman sent us daily e-mails with an idea to write about. I didn't use these prompts every day, but they were useful for the days my brain refused to engage. I'll be going through those e-mails and writing all those prompts down for future ideas. I'll add to them as I spot good ideas while reading elsewhere.

Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

For any future challenge, I'll get myself better prepared - a few posts outlined in advance, a general overall plan, lots of relevant images etc. This is particularly important for me as I only have access to my PC a couple of days a week. My laptop is great for writing and surfing the net, but not so good for using photo editing software.

I would also have liked to include different media, such as videos. Explaining a process in words can be difficult and lead to misunderstandings - how much better to show how to divide plants, for instance, than write out a long-winded explanation. That's going to be a whole new learning curve.

Fellowship of Writers

I read a lot of my fellow writers' blogs over the month and really enjoyed them. One stark lesson I learned, however, was the importance of the font used. A clear sans-serif font made reading articles easier and more pleasurable. I stopped reading one blog because, while pretty to look at, it was, surprisingly, a strain to read.

The next Ultimate Blog Challenge will be in October - I'll be ready for it! Will you join us?