Day of wrath. That's the name of the latest piece I submitted to a new flash fiction contest organized by QSF. I came up with the concept for the story one evening, and the next day I spent a good amount of time writing, editing, proofreading, etc. I sent out this draft to my beta readers and really wanted to hear their thoughts.
Before I tell you what happened, I'll give you a writing tip I've always been given: if you want your reader to feel for one of your characters, you must make the character likeable and you must make the reader care for said character.
In my piece I did just that. I wrote about how my two main characters met in a flashback, and bookended that with the present conflict.
Once I collected feedback from my beta readers, I discovered a surprising trend. They all said that the story felt flat. With a maximum length of 300 words, the story was missing something; the violence implied at the end didn't satisfy.
I took a couple of weeks to think about the story and what would make the ending work. Against what I've always been taught, I decided to exice much of the backstory (what remains is mostly implied) and only focus on the present conflict; flesh it out. My second wave of beta readers approved unanimously.
I've submitted the story and I'm now waiting to hear from the judges. Ideally, I'd like it to win one of the three top spots (who wouldn't?). But I'd also like to see people's reactions. The theme in the story is one that has always intrigued me.
H. J. Chacón