That's fine. Just include either a link explaining cold classical KBOs or a specific named body when you submit, to help with judging.
Ah, thanks for the info. I have the story pretty much done and was going to upload it either way, but I wanted to be sure I could enter it. It fits the other specifications. In the past I've compromised certain story elements in order to fit into contest parameters. It's something I always regret afterwards.
Yeah I hear that. I actually find it convenient cause I then have my "free" version to submit elsewhere, tbh.
Contest regulations can be fun and challenging to write within, but if it happens to negatively impact quality (I've had to funnel endings for word limits), I find it better to skip entry. Something which was clearly butchered to fit a framework is unlikely to do well in a contest anyway.
True. That said, I think it's worse when a work is extended to meet a minimum than when it's stripped down.
Oh, definitely. One of the golden rules of editing is to cut off the crust. Faulkner said to kill one's darlings, and he was right. Sometimes certain things need padded, but overall cutting word count down a bit tends to leave the work far more polished.
I've read stories that had interesting backgrounds and details, but could've still had the core of the story without the surrounding. Breadth can vary.