In an alternate, parallel universe, a writer joined this exact
same Sci-Fi Flash Fiction contest.
When he finished the piece, he paid the extra ten bucks to
promote. Then bought eighty some dollars worth of pumps to
get it all the way to the front page, believing that would better
his odds of winning seeing as how it's a 'winner takes all' payout.
He prettied up the piece with beautiful, italic font and vigorously
searched for the perfect picture, then waited with anticipation for
the deadline to arrive.
Back in this universe, I didn't do any of that crap.