HAWMC Recap

I participated in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge (HAWMC) in April. I completed thirty posts in thirty days. I'd like to write a bit about my experience writing thirty posts in a row based on prompts that someone else dictated.

First of all, completing this challenge was a HUGE accomplishment for me. Since my accident, the pain has been so unpredictable and debilitating that I often struggle to make or keep any sort of plans.

But, in February/March, I committed to attending a once a week church class for four-weeks. I had horrible migraines for at least two of the meetings, but I took meds and pained myself through them. You see, I haven't felt a sense of accomplishment in quite some time, so that was a BIG deal for me.

Then, this HAWMC came up in April. I decided to commit to doing it, even though I knew it would be difficult. I was blessed to have a week of pretty good days (i.e., 4-5 on a 10-point scale) the very end of March/beginning of April. I tried to balance getting a lot done and not over-doing it that week, and I think I did a pretty good job. I got a start on some of the HAWMC prompts; which really helped out, when I had my migraine days that usually come in about 3-5 day blocks of time. I paced myself toward the end of the month, when I knew I was going to be out of town and super-busy.

I found some of the posts incredibly interesting and enjoyable, while others were much more of a struggle to get through. I really liked learning different ways writing, and having a chance to practice with them. Some were styles that I've never even heard of, much less try to write in... some I will use again, and some I won't... but it was a great experience to at least be exposed to them.

I had a lot of difficulty with the more silly, creative posts. I know that my creative thinking skills have suffered greatly, since my accident; but this made it even more clear. I've had cognitive processing difficulties with the head injury, migraines, meds, etc... So, when my brain works, it's normally not creative in nature.

I also really enjoyed the WEGO Health Blog, where I had the opportunity to read other people's posts based on the same prompts. I was exposed to new blogs with some great people. It was a great experience, but I'm glad it's over... for now (I need a break from daily posts based on dictated prompts).