My Hardluck submission is officially submitted. Titled "Home", it follows a former Marine who faces a hard reunion with his sister after learning the aunt who helped raise them has died.
This is the fastest I've crafted a story from beginning to end, five days. I was encouraged upon reading that Guest Editor Charlie Stella writes fast. Up to now, I've mostly written stories a chunk-a-day over a week or two. Gearing up my pace, I stayed aware of the emotion of each scene as well as the story's momentum. I'm proud to have worked this swiftly but also thoroughly, and now I'll see where the story lands.
Hardluck's deadline helped me sharpen one of a writer's most important intangibles: openmindedness. I realized I couldn't achieve all my goals for "Home" following routes I'd chosen at the outset. All I could do was keep the final destination in mind and let the characters arrive by any route they wanted. With this temperament, I was able to recognize and implement changes more quickly and not mourn too long scenes I had to cut.