365 Days (Part 2) | ✓

365. Congratulations

365. Congratulations: Did you write a poem, short story, or journal entry every day for a whole year? Write about what you've learned and that celebrates your achievement!

Wow.

366 Days. 365 stories and poems. 2 Wattpad books because you can only go up to 200 chapters. I don't even want to think about how many words this is.

An entire year. I have spent 1/18th of my life writing this book.

I don't know if I can end this project gracefully, because honestly all I feel is awe and mild shock. It's been a long road. Of all the things in 2016, this has been my favorite.

What did I learn?

I learned that the more you keep writing, the easier it gets. Writing is like any skill: practice makes progress. There are going to be moments when you're unmotivated and you feel like giving up, but it's the people who can fight through that who are the writers. It's hard. That's the long and short of it: It's hard. There were moments when it was past midnight, my eyes were drooping, and all I thought was, "I want to quit." There were months at a time when I would stare at each daily prompt, wondering how in the sam hill I would turn it into a story. There were times when I absolutely despised writing and questioned why I even started writing. It's hard, but if you're truly passionate about it, you'll keep going, because it is worth it. This payoff that I'm experiencing right now -- this sense of pride and accomplishment -- was worth it.

I learned that if you write every day, it gets easier and easier. It makes writing a priority, and instead of waiting for time to open up for you to write, you make time. Finding the drive to pen some words after a long break is more difficult than doing it daily.

I learned that inspiration is found everywhere. Everything is a story, and all we have to do is learn to read. The opportunity to exercise different styles and play with different viewpoints was my favorite part. I was a hundred different people in this book. Like any talent, seeking inspiration needs to be practiced to be improved. It's not something you're born with. You have to want it.

In the same way, there is beauty everywhere. The moment I started looking for it, the world showed me all sorts of lovely things. I noticed the looks in people's eyes, the acts of random kindness, and the utter, raw, incredible beauty of human nature. I started seeing people's souls, and I had the opportunity to write about it. Maybe my little stories were just glimpses, but I think that's all they needed to be. Humans are so beautiful and lovely and precious.

There was darkness too, and that needed to be recognized, but I hope, in my stories, you have encountered love more than hate. I hope I have managed to portray things correctly.

I have written a lot of different things over the course of the year: broken love letters, cute love stories, robot takeovers, Charles Dickens spinoffs, stories of redemption, funny tales, poems of praise, poems of sadness, warnings about the dangers of geckos, guides to cleaning, side tales to my stories, story starters, riddles, and more. I have written out my heart and exposed a side of myself I didn't know existed. It has been a journey and an adventure, and I am glad I got to go on it with y'all.

I'm sure I could go on, and part of me wants to go on with this forever, but all things come to an end. So, in the words of Markus Zusak:

"I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."

Much love,

Hannah xx