PSA: My character arc died because I ignored the prompt's time limit

Wrote a flash piece for a contest in Portland last Saturday. The prompt said 500 words, 45 minutes. I got so deep into the backstory, spent 30 minutes on the first paragraph alone. Then the clock hit zero and I had like 120 words of actual plot. Panic mode. I just slammed an ending where the main character wakes up, but it made zero sense with the setup. The judge left a note saying "nice atmosphere, no story." That stung. Now I set a kitchen timer for every prompt, even for practice. Has anyone else lost a piece because you got too fancy with the opening?

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