W is for Writing Challenges: Ready for Another Round!

Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not;

and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Back in January, I began the One Page a Day Challenge and immediately threw away my quill.  Now in April, I’m participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge and prepping for a Wilderness Writers’ Retreat.  I need ink, a stiff drink and therapy.

I

must be a masochist. 

Only three more days to go in the A to Z Challenge and I’m prepping for another blogging challenge in May.

What can I say?  As much as I witch and moan, these challenges are a great training program for writers.  If you didn’t have a daily writing habit before, you do now.  The key is continuing the practice after the challenge has ended.

W is for Writing Challenges

Every writer is different.  Every blog is different. 

Maybe blogging every day isn’t your bag. 

Maybe you are a disciplined writing machine and don’t need to do another challenge.

But as for me and my Muse, we will blog challenge as long as we can.  It hones our writing muscles and forces us to write every day.

So I tooled around the ‘net looking for another blogging challenge.  30-Day, 26-Day, Once-a-Week ~ I didn’t care.  I just wanted community support, and enough structure to push me.

And I couldn’t find any.  At least not with the subject I was looking for.

Writing for a Cause 

Image credit: Bill Watterson

May is National Mental Health Month.  And mental illness is something I am very passionate about, but it seems I haven’t been as vocal about it.  I bought into the social stigma that still surrounds it.  No one is ashamed when they’re diagnosed with cancer or a heart condition.

Even HIV has managed to overcome its social pariah status.

But somehow, being diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, or depression, or schizophrenia is shameful. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I know we are more open and accepting of helping people who suffer from mental and emotional illness today than at any other time in history since the dawn of Freud's couch.  

But so much more needs to be done.

Working Together

One way to help raise awareness is to do a blog challenge with mental health as the theme.  So for the month of May, I’m going to blog five days a week ~ that’s 22 days ~ about Mental Health.

Now, I don’t mind doing this by myself.  But the more people who do this, the more awareness we can raise.  And the more support we have as writers. 

If you’d like to join me, please email me mdeigh (at) gmail (dot) com with your blog name/address and your email address.

Let’s hone our writing skills and shine a light in the darkness of mental illness at the same time.  You never know whose life you may touch.

Or save.

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

Are you doing another blog challenge after this one?