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The writer set out to write a short story for that literary contest, whose generous cash prize would allow him to pay the mortgage that month.
He placed the main character in the lounge of an exclusive club with a glass of brandy in hand and continued to develop the story.
The protagonist waited for him to correct himself and point out that the brandy he was drinking was from Jerez—the only one he considered suitable for his social standing and tastes—but the writer ended the story without changing a single comma.
Dissatisfied with that situation, the main character moved down to the last line, positioned himself over the period, and, leaping off the page, fled the story.
The writer submitted the story without revising it. Naturally, he never knew why he hadn’t won first prize.
Concha Fernández González
