Writing challenges can be inspiring and fun, but always remember WHY you are doing them. If you’re just doing them for fun, of course, the writing part is secondary. Commiserate with others on the message boards! Go to the kickoff parties! If you’re doing a writing challenge in hopes of ending up with something you might want to get published, then I encourage you to take the challenge seriously. You can still have FUN while doing it, but be aware of how much time you spend actually writing as opposed to talking about writing.