On the first of this month, all I had was the idea to write about a suspicious person, male or female, I didn't know. I had no plot, no other idea, nothing. I still didn't have much until the contest round. While writing for the third of the month, I found my main character, gave him a name and a childhood. To tell the truth, I didn't even think I'd write for this contest round at all.
This might have to do with pantsing, I wouldn't know, but it seems to have worked for me. So, maybe having the first contest round early wasn't a bad idea, at all.