A few weeks ago, I wrote about my shock at advancing past the first round of this year's NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge. Well, it is with a bit of relief that I announce my short story challenge journey has come to an end.

My Round 2 short story--a sci-fi romp about sushi and a dentist--did not finish in the top 5 of my heat, so I did not advance to the finals. I'm not disappointed. I had fun writing this story, which ended up being a sci-fi mystery about a sushi restaurant suspected of using alien fish. In a roundabout way, it was inspired by Isaac Asimov's Caves of Steel, a sci-fi mystery about a murder in a future where humans, aliens, and robots coexist but only very tenuously. I appreciated the sci-fi of Asimov's story, and his effort to blend genres, but the mystery in Caves just wasn't all that well-crafted. Hopefully, mine is a bit better in that regard. I know the sci-fi part of my story doesn't hold a candle to the master's.

My Short Story Challenge story was just fun, and I know the NYC Midnight judges tend to look for more than that when choosing the writers that advance to the next round. Consequently, I was saved from having to write an entire story in 24 hours this past Saturday, a relief after a week in which I had to put in long hours at work.

Now I have time to practice my craft without the pressure of a deadline and to recharge my writing batteries before the next NYC Midnight competition. (Did someone say 2014 Flash Fiction Challenge?)