This contest has been just what I have needed for my writing. for the last couple of months, I have been struggling. It felt like there were no more new ideas out there. All of the best opening lines had been written (see Wilcox's great opening line for Figure). It felt like all of my endings were predictable. I have felt better and better about this since the contest started. I like my stories more. Possibly its because I have fallen so far behind the pack that some of the pressure is off.