Today's flash fiction takes us back to the Icarus Universe a few hours after the events of "A Gift Horse."

You should not need to have read any of the other stories to understand this one.

We are back in the Icarus Universe today with a story set about a week after the events of "High School Never Ends." While the same group is involved, you do not have to have read the other story to understand what is going on.

Just know, it's a random bunch of high school kids who were out of town when the world decided to end. So now they're stuck with one another.

Today's story is set in the A.I. Universe around about the same time as "Interoffice Politics." This is the beginning of a new story line within the same universe that touches on some of the others but isn't directly connected to them. Therefore, it can be understood perfectly well without having read any of the other stories first.

We're back in the Icarus Universe with today's story. It is set roughly eight years before the start of The Icarus Project. You don't have to have read any of the other stories in order to understand this one. It's set years after or years before all the other events in the series and really just provides a bit of characterization for the main cast.

Today's story is another from the Myth and Science universe featuring Jenn and our resident adolescent refugee from space, Lily. It is set a few months after the events discussed in, "I have the Weirdest Friends," but you don't need to know anything aside from what has been mentioned in this paragraph to understand the story.

Today's story is set in the Icarus universe not long after "The Quiet Pause," but it is dealing with a brand new set of characters half a country away. This is the start of a brand new story line for this universe, so don't feel like you need to know anything about it to just jump right in.

Today's story is set in the A.I. Universe, starting a few months after the events of "Opening Moves." However, there is absolutely no need to have read any other stories in the series to understand or enjoy this one.

Today's flash fiction takes us back to the AI Universe a few months after "Adventures in Childproofing." While you might recognize the characters if you have read a few of the other stories, you don't have to have read any of them to understand the story.

While trying my hand at teaching high school back in the fall, I spent so long away from my current rough draft, I forgot half of what I'd written. So I've been going back to read through it. In doing so, several issues with the rough have been jumping out at me, but they all stem from one factor common in rough drafts, lacking conflict.

Readers have their favorites, and they don't enjoy seeing them put through the wringer, but at the same time, what are the chances they would be so fond of those characters if they never struggled? No matter if your story is plot driven or character driven, without conflict, there is no story.