Last year was my first crack at the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction challenge. It went well enough, though I didn’t advance past the second round, which everyone gets to attempt. You score points based on each of the first two rounds, the total of which determines who goes on to round three. I believe last year I scored 2 points in the first round and 7 in the second.

This year I’m off to a better start, having scored 9 points in my first story. The second round just ended yesterday and I won’t know how I did until early November, but I’m hopeful that I’ll get to round three this time. At that stage, they reshuffle us into new groups (there were 60 of about 35 people each initially) and the best four in round three go to the final round.

I don’t harbour any illusions that I might make it to the last round (or even further) but I really do hope I get to the third. You’re given just 48 hours (11:59pm EST on Friday night until 11:59pm EST on Sunday night) to write a maximum of 1,000 words on a given genre, location, and prompt, and while last year I actually went into St. John’s both weekends, I made sure I stayed home and focused this year. It’s made a big difference, I think so anyway, and I’m very happy with what I’ve done this far.

So in that vein, for those who may be curious here’s my first round entry and my second round entry, shared as read only docs on Google Drive. The first round’s genre was romance, with the location being a money wiring office and the object being a highlighter, and for round two it was comedy / a principal’s office / a metal whistle.

That’s what I’ve been up to lately, along with trying to eat better and be healthier overall. That’s been going well too, thankfully, and while at first blush the two – writing and weight loss – may not seem to have all that much in common, they do. For me, at least, I suppose. They’ve both required a lot of determination and will power for me, and will only work if I focus on the goals at hand and just get through it.

Of course one results in me winning (hopefully) and the other with me losing (again, hopefully), but hey, they’re both worth trying, right?