Writers Online New Year New You Contest

Writer’s Online sponsored an 800-word flash contest to write about a person who resolves to make a change in the year ahead.

My story, Negative Space, takes place in the contemporary era with a twist: New Year’s Resolutions are legally required, and there’s a marketplace for trading them.

My protagonist, who finds it increasingly difficult to pay his mortgage, scans the Resolution Exchange to accept a high-commission resolution offered by an eccentric billionaire, “Never forgive.”

The story explores the consequences of transactional morality through a speculative, near-future lens. The protagonist’s descent into algorithmic rigidity is gradual yet inevitable, underscoring how technology amplifies human frailty rather than eliminating it.

Negative Space satirizes wealth disparity by contrasting Everett Bellington, a billionaire who commodifies grief, with the protagonist, who sells his humanity. It leans into how the elite manipulate social systems for profit while ordinary people, desperate for stability, are forced into dehumanizing contracts that erode their emotional resilience.

The narration is sharp and laced with dry wit to balance the bleakness. Structurally, the resolution exchange serves as a satirical device to frame forgiveness as a commodity, reinforcing the protagonist’s eroding compassion and alienation from others.

I hope it does well! Fingers crossed — we’ll see!
R