“Just when you thought it was safe to eat fruit snacks” is something I tend to say when things change in my life. It is the tagline in a commercial from the 90’s for a snack called Shark Bites. 30 years later it is still part of the colourful sayings I toss around on a daily basis. Now that was some good writing! And I say that honestly. That writer put together a string of words that did more than sell some pseudo-fruit flavoured gummies. They gave me a lifelong adage that serves to amuse and confound those around me and to conjure nostalgic memories for those who happened to be young and impressionable during the early 1990’s.

I aspire to, one day, write something as memorable and I know that in order to do so I can’t give in to procrastination or complacency. And I am lucky to have people in my life who, in their own way, keep the fire stoked and keep me on track.

I missed a deadline recently and I was feeling pretty down about it. It was the first goal I had set in this new journey that approached on the calendar at a pace I could not manage.

And, if I am being honest, I missed the deadline partly because the subject matter I was writing about was hitting a little too close to home, as non-fiction pieces tend to do.

It seemed to be part of an ongoing lesson I am learning about time management and goal setting. It’s a tough class, this life.

This morning I woke up at some absurd hour (6am on a Saturday – ridiculous right? I know.) and my dear Random was watching some videos on YouTube. While I made my first cuppa joe he queued up a video from the 2016 Game Development Conference that he had previously watched and thought I might find interesting. It was a talk given by C.J. Kershner of Polyhedron Productions on Game Narrative and Non Player Characterization. I admit I may have rolled my eyes, but sat down and watched the video and I am very glad I did.

I love the feeling of my world expanding. I love when something new happens or when something I thought I knew is presented to me in a manner that lights a corner in my mind that had been previously undiscovered and allows me to have a deeper appreciation for that thing.

It never ceases to amaze me how writers influence the world around us and in ways we so often take for granted. To hear the writer speak about the level of thought and effort that goes into the seemingly peripheral characters in the video games my husband plays, the emotion they seek to evoke from the player and the appreciation for the complexity of those emotions was truly eye opening. I even pulled out my notebook and made notes.

The fact that my husband saw that video, watched it in its entirety and then sat through it again for my benefit said a lot to me about his commitment to my success.

At one point, as the video played, I picked up my phone and saw a message Professor K sent me in the dead of the night. 1:43am Who on earth is awake at 1:43 in the morning? Professor K, that’s who. (This from the girl who wakes up at 6.)  The message was simple. It read: “DEADLINE EXTENDED” and had a link attached. I couldn’t help but smile.

With the fire stoked and the track laid, I am encouraged to get back to work.

After the dentist, and a visit to my folks. It is Saturday after all. I have things to do today!

The new deadline is March 22nd and with this kind of support all around me, I can’t help but feel that I will make it this time.

Thanks Guys.