So, if you've got a story for the competition and haven't posted it yet, I'm trusting y'all to get 'em in by Midnight (February 5th 2016) your local time zone. With the response we've had I don't see any reason to prolong the due date, especially after the idea being submitted garnered minimal concern.

Also, just a reminder: as of right now the prizes are:

Everyone who's interested in submitting a story to my mini-contest "The Crush" and hasn't already, fair warning: Friday is the final day to submit!

On the other hand...

Warning: word play ahead.

There are some things in life that are unobtainable, like the legendary white stag. Everyone has that one thing they've wanted, and every organization has that one lofty goal that every member seeks.

Today (or, in point of fact, last night,) I have obtained one of those goals.

I am now a full-time employee.

My first post about my personal rules for what makes writing -- whether it be games, movies, stories, etc. -- good or bad did really well, and a lot of people seemed to think I had good advice, and good points.

Well, of course I'm going to take a chance of mucking all that up by adding more!

Yep. I'm still here. I check the site every day, in fact, though I've been quite remiss in my commenting.

Work is keeping me thrashed. Writing is, as a result, going slow. With luck the more I get used to the former the better I'll do at the latter. Until that time, though, sorry for the delay on any and all projects I've been working on, though just so everyone's up to date...

For many of us who've grown up primarily over the last 25 years, Satoru Iwata was an important figure in our lives. As a member of the team at Nintendo, and CEO, he's influenced a lot of us more than we may care to admit, and for many of us -- such as myself -- the products he's helped bring to the market have been one of the few things in life at times that helped us deal with the pain of transgenderism, adolescence, and just life in general.

I'm not sure what Satoru's stance on trans issues or LGBT stuff in general was, but it really doesn't matter at the moment.

On the one hand (and the more important one at that,) it's GREAT to have a job again, and I'm making more per hour than I've ever made before, with semi-stable hours to boot.

On the other....

I'm completely, utterly thrashed at the moment. As mentally ready as I was to get back to work, my body is definitely feeling it, especially after two six-day-in-a-row sessions virtually back to back. I'm sore, and I'm exhausted to the point that writing has been the last thing on my mind: heck, some days I've barely gotten out of my bed until time to go to work.

I haven't been very active on the site the last couple of weeks, but I promise, there's good reasons!

I just have to say . . . good call.

It's coming along, but at this point I don't think I'll finish it in time for the contest. Not because I don't know where to take it, but because it's not the most important writing project I have right now.

Writing is hard work.

It doesn't matter if you do it for a site like BC, or for magazines, or just in your journal; writing is VERY hard work. It takes passion, it takes practice, and it takes the guts to put your words out into the world for other people to see.

Writing isn't a one-sided endeavor, though. When you write something and release it into the world, there is always someone else who is just as important to the success or failure of your work as you, the writer, are.

The reader.

I've said it before, and I'll likely say it many many more times: I love video games.

That said, there are a lot of problems that the industry has with not taking alternative sexualities or even anything other than guys into consideration when designing games. Sure, that's slowly changing, but it can always use a bit of a push.

This is my idea for a game that could do just that.

I'm not a big fan of the sun most of the time, but today?

Today is beautiful.

It's in the high 60's, and the birds are out singing, the insects and frogs and other wildlife are joining in, the air is fresh after a few days of rain, and it's just absolutely gorgeous, the kind of day you want to throw the windows open and just let the fresh air wash away all the staleness from a stuffy, enclosed winter.

So, that's just what I've done.

My second Kingston Academy Shorts has gotten a LOT more user response, and a lot more quickly, than the first one did!

So, I'd like to know: what about Ruby's short story (both before and after the rather important fixes) appealed to readers more than Jules' little mini-adventure?

Are there any characters in particular you'd like to see shorts for in the future, or other PFH mini-stories you think would be fun?

And, lastly: how many other people want to see the next chapter of Angharad's Princess For Hire: The British Kid? Show of hands?

*raises hand*

It's amazing how much difference time and experience can make in the way that you write a story. Really, it is!

I've been thinking about this a lot this last year, mostly while working with the rewrite of Oh, Cheers, but also now that I'm cleaning up/tightening up Princess For Hire too, it really strikes me just how different my work comes out with more effort put into it.

Early on in the rewrite of Oh, Cheers, I tied to keep things pretty close to the original, but I still found myself changing things quite a bit. I've learned a lot in the last seven years or so.