Short Story Writing Challenge Results

At the start of the year I set myself the challenge of writing one story a week. Here are the results:

Stories written : 54
Words written : about 132,000
Stories submitted to a short story market : 59
Sales : 1

Which I'm quite happy with. Most of the stories are still in first draft, only 10 have made it into submission so far. So what have I learnt?

• I can write a first draft a week. That means I can not only put the writing hours in, but also come up with plots/ideas
• Having a deadline makes me write
• I find it easier to write longhand than on a computer. It's more portable and more relaxing, especially after a working day staring at a computer screen
• I can't write and edit a story in one week, it would probably take two to get it really polished
• I can start writing a story without the slightest clue where it is going, and only the slightest clue where I'm starting. Which is nice

So next year? I think I could sustain a two month writing, one month editing schedule. However first up I have 43 stories to get into submission. Hmmm.