We all want something for nothing

I was over at fwj yesterday, cradling my slack mouthed jaw in disbelief. Certain visitors to the website, when faced with a, in my mind, courteous post explaining a delay in posting leads complained at the unprofessionalism of having other things to do.

Whether they realise Deb has a full-time job, a family and other blogs to deal with I don't know, but I'm not sure it matters. If you are getting something for nothing, you are up on the deal- if you (temporarily) get nothing for nothing, you are not hard-done by! Rant over.

On another theme of wanting something for nothing, I like to enter fiction competitions, mostly flash or micro fiction, for which there is normally an entry fee. But how much is a reasonable fee? I have heard it said before that paying £10 to enter a competition where the prize is £50 does not make economic sense, but what about different levels of entry fee and prize? Part of me thinks that, by entering a competition, you should be happy that your work is great (I'm sure mine is) and that you stand a good chance of winning, and therefore any entry fee is worthwhile. But the problem with writing is that its appreciation is so subjective- I am aware that Catch 22 is considered a great work, but I just can't get into it. And Brave New World is better than 1984, just not so hyped.

I'm ranting again...