Well, that was a hell of a month. Writing drama is one thing, but living it at such an intense level and almost getting killed in the process, for nothing.... no thanks.

We're all here because we're writing novels and would otherwise have prepared and practised at our own pace in our own way, had we not taken this challenge. By taking it, we can't not have benefited in some way, though we signed up to work on someone else's terms in good faith.

Before this, I had never entered a contest or done anything like this. Being technically self-employed, working for less than the minimum wage, time is money, so I paid in time and money to get all the assigments except the last one done on time. Day 31 was only late because I had a heart attack/seizure of some sort (that's certainly what it felt like, hence I called an ambulance; but the doctors never explained what the problem was with the ECG, only that something was wrong).

Technically, me busting a gut to complete all the assignments and walking away with nothing because the last one was late, is correct.

Retrospectively, I'm a prize mug for doing it in the first place.

The only 'karmic payback' was someone gifting me a month's membership I didn't need, by pure accident, because of a technical cock-up. I offered the same gift to anyone else in the group who needed an 'emergency bailout'; not taken up. Technically, the extra month is mine, but I feel like a thief, so I will find some other way to pass it on.