I'll have another look at the due date - both schedules are definitely just drafts at this point and can be changed for concerns like these.

My reasoning in setting it mid-week is that I'm twelve to eighteen hours ahead of most of my participants, and it's easier for me to scramble for pinch hits - and then read stories - over my weekend, even though it may not be the weekend yet for anyone else. How long a writing period do you generally prefer? I could possibly stretch that, and ask you to aim to upload your story the weekend before the due date. But yeah, I'll think about it.