I found all three contests stressful and rewarding for different reasons, but it was overall satisfying to finish all of them.
Gorgeous Glades went the quickest, since I had an idea to use my Amiibo cards of the Kappa family right away, but after I executed it and walked through the thread, I realized I was part of the majority in choosing that greenish color theme and the moss / vine items. I worry that my entry will be glossed over for looking the same, but ah well. It was heartwarming to put them all together.
I also regret rushing out my concept of the spell pages for Behind the Bookcase, but I consider this one my favorite because it's such a novel concept and the entries are all so beautiful. I can't wait to vote for Firesquids and Yanrima, lol. I know my handwriting is horrendous and physical art is so much harder for me to execute properly (it never comes out as planned), but heck, I am proud of my pop-up book and relating it to Animal Crossing at the same time. It is permanently enshrined in my sketchbook and I can look back on it any time.
I was the most surprised by my reaction to the Hero's Crossing event. I know very few people will read my humongous entry, but it felt validating to have written (and finished) something again. In my bucket list from over a decade ago I had listed "become a published writer" and back then, I spent much of my time thinking about quitting my job and writing fantasy novels. I listened to podcasts about the writing craft, went to weekly write-ins at cafes in my city, and enrolled in online writing courses and forums... but I let the dream and the skill wither away over the years. I haven't read a full novel in a long time.
As with any creative profession:
to be a good chef, you have to eat well
to be a good artist, you have to see great art
and to write well, you have to read
and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE
-- without consuming anything for so long, and neglecting to practice, I know my skills have deteriorated.
I don't think I will return to pursuing a writing career any time soon; the time invested there hasn't had a return as satisfying as my latest art ventures. It's harder to pinpoint flaws in writing, and critiques and viewership for art is so much quicker. People can see errors in anatomy / line confidence / shading, etc. but in writing, sometimes how clumsy or poorly written something is can be harder to describe or fix. Also, my time is much more limited now.
Sorry for the wall of text. I'm just gathering some fairy dust, lol.