Slipping into Madness

I: Queen Alice

1. White pawn to 8th row/rank! Congratulations!
You have officially completed all the challenges and tasks and can now wear your crown proudly.

As I go now from princess to queen,
I'm glad of the places I've been
And the poems and the notes
that I gleefully wrote
to the end of the Wonderland scene.

2. Write a final blog entry (or static item) to commemorate this event including all you’ve learned (or not) with this process. (if it's your second - or more - time entering this, what was the difference between this round and the last?)

Okay, time for reflection. This was a hard one. I went out of town during the month, and so for a moment I thought I'd not finish again like happened last time I tried. But I kept up and finished. And I think that may be because I don't like leaving something undone more than the changing circumstance. Or maybe it did. Last time, I was ill, and that's why I think I failed to finish. I didn't have that working against me this time.

One thing I noticed was that it felt like more of the prompts this time led me into life stories instead of fiction. Which was surprising to me, because I think each prompt was a repeat from a previous venture through Wonderland. I try to avoid repeating myself, and if I feel that a prompt might do that, I refresh my memory of what went before and then go somewhere else. But it really seemed that most of the prompts this time were directed at personal revelation and growth rather than fictional creation. I'm not sure if that's because I was more comfortable there this year, or because I'm out of practice writing at all except poetry. But I think I enjoy it more when I can riff off of the prompts into story instead of into my own life, which I don't find nearly as interesting.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this. I just wish more of the prompts had come back to creation instead of introspection.

Of the entries, I did notice that I kept coming back to wind chimes, and I'm not sure why that happened. Although we do have some in the house (not outside the house, inside where some especially tall person like my father can run into it and announce his presence at the door). I enjoyed that—I think I'm going to have to think about wind chimes, glass, and mirrors as I go into April and national poetry month.

I've had a lot of fun writing this year. I've wandered up and down my psyche, into some funny places and sad places and chaotic places. And I'm glad that I did it. I enjoy it. I wouldn't mind doing it again . . . fifth times the charm? I also wouldn't mind helping run in other capacities.

Word count: 392