recent success

For the past two months, my journey to discover if I have a story worth telling has been both exciting and earth shatteringly introspective.

Recently I submitted a short story (fleeting moments) to The Times for their “An affair to Remember” column. Last week I received an email stating that it would be published in their Times2 liftout. The news couldn’t have come at a better moment.

My mood has been erratic to say the least. I spent most of my energy fighting of the questions that have become my demons.

Will this journey actually lead me closer to understanding myself? Is my goal to be published born from a passion of writing or a passion of self-gratification?

I also felt a sense of selfishness and guilt. Are the changes I have started to create in my life necessary to help me cultivate and develop as a writer?

I still wrestle with the thought of reducing to a part-time workload. Why? Simply because I enjoy my time in the classroom but realistically, if I am to realise my dream to be a writer, I need to be brave enough to commit real time to it.

On a lighter issue, an article of mine (Can games have a political narrative?) was printed on an online website (bitmob.com) and mentioned in another (gamepolitics.com). This success did bring a smile to my face; despite reading some heated and negative responses left by certain readers.

I understand my last paragraph was emotive, but I never imagined so many readers could focus only on the end (which was meant to be bathos) and forget what the piece was really exploring. Yet, what matters was that the editors of both sites understood the piece and therefore my message couldn't have been that misguided.

In hindsight, the title should have been "should games have..." rathar than "can". It might have helped the readers understand the concept better.