The last prompt for the july Ultimate Blogging Challenge is to write a recap of the experience. So, here goes.
And so…. we approach the end of the July 2026 version of the Ultimate Blogging Challenge. At midnight, I will post my monthly photograph of rabbits on Facebook because it’s good luck for the start of a new month. Some people say that, with August approaching, summer is nearly over. But some people ain’t me. Yes, “some people ain’t me” is a direct quote from the song “Some People” in the musical, “Gypsy” (music by Jules Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim). I am going to share one photograph for each week of the challenge and will talk about the challenge, as well.
There’s a song for every occasion.
Week one included the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States as an independent nation. I wasn’t feeling it, for sure, for a variety of reasons, and I talked about that in the blog post. I always want to write about plants and fun outdoor events in July. But the outside world intervened, and I felt that I had to express my emotions on a day when I felt very conflicted. I believe that, when you’re feeling conflicted about anything, talking about it is a good thing. You can work through your feelings. Blogging about it is probably even better than talking because you can write about what you’re experiencing and you have the chance to edit before you post. The feedback and the support are big helps in the process of working through your big emotions. And my emotions are very big and somewhat dramatic. Which is why I try to not spend too much time with people who exude a lot of negative energy. I tend to be a mirror and to reflect that unpleasantness. I’m also a mirror for people’s positive emotions, so there is an upside to the mirror thing.
When I started the challenge, I had no plans. I intentionally decided to let the challenge lead me, rather than me leading the challenge. I also decided to try to follow the prompts each day and interpret them in any way that moved me on that particular day.
When I started writing about the Steampunk bear during week two, I intended to write a very short story that would take me no more than two days. As it turned out, the story led me, and it went on for nine days. I absolutely did not plan the story. It took me in directions that I never imagined possible and now, it’s taken on a life of its own. For me, this story has exceeded my expectations, and I am so grateful for the kind remarks that I have received in the comments section and on Facebook. I intentionally left the door open for more stories because I brought Bearnacle in at the end.
In week three, I was encouraged to provide a training for my readers. I ended up by offering my readers two trainings. One was on how to draw a fanciful bear, and the other was about writing from one of Natalie Goldberg’s prompts. They were fun, even though I questioned my ability to teach or to facilitate such a workshop. Those posts were inspired by the Ultimate Blogging Challenge prompts. Speaking about a challenge, interpreting the UBC prompts can be difficult. My brain wants to read everything literally and, sometimes, that doesn’t work so I have to brainstorm a solution to that to come up with the story that I want to share. I did enjoy offering the trainings and, in the future, I think that I will offer a training about visual journaling. If you’re interested in learning more about visual journaling, please mention that in the comment box or on Facebook, if that’s where you prefer to comment. I’d like to offer a visual journaling training in my blog, as well as one in person in my community for local people who are interested. So, discovering these goals also came from this month’s Ultimate Blogging Challenge.
In week four, I managed to complete the steampunk bear’s story. I was very focused on creating a story that was full of conflict and twists and turns. That is the stuff of fiction. The comments indicated that I had been able to do that. People said that they were waiting for the next episode. I felt so happy and relieved because I didn’t plan this story at all. I wrote spontaneously with each episode. Which, by the way, is one of the ways to turn off your internal editor. You know, that critic that tells you that you aren’t good enough and that your writing isn’t enough? The internal editor’s role is in your rewriting stage, not your initial writing stage. And, yes, there will be a rewriting stage, and the internal editor’s criticisms and hopes for a shiny story that is the best I can possibly do will be very helpful that that point. If you use the internal editor correctly, it can be your best friend. And that’s at the rewrite stage. If you let your internal editor take over when you are originally creating your story, it will get in your way, and it will give you a raging case of writer’s block.
In other words, turn off the internal editor when you are creating your first draft. When you are editing and rewriting, turn on that internal editor. Also, at this stage, please turn off the overly active ego that says, “I’m madly in love with my purple prose . Do not change my lovely words!”
I think, in a future training, we could explore the positive role that an internal editor can play in the later stages of the writing process.
Week five (the partial week). I think that the most fun part of this partial week was to write about that fun day I had yesterday, starting with greeting my cat and ending with the lovely sunset over Lake Erie.
I am so happy that I had the chance to share summertime with you and I look forward to sharing the autumn in October. If there’s anything that you want me to write about, please share that in the comments section. You could very likely see those in October!!
Thank you to everyone who read my posts and who commented. Your words mean so much to me. Some of these blog posts were hard to write, while others were joyful. Thank you for following me through this month’s adventures. And than you to Paul Taubman, who has been organizing and running these challenges. He always does a great job, and I appreciate him so much.
