It's my own fault.

I generally log onto this site once or twice a week - more often when I've recently posted a story.

I check my inbox and click on My Stories, looking for any new comments to which I can reply. Then I'll click on More New Posts and read through the recent blog entries, joining in any which interest me. Finally, I'll look through Quickcuts and see whether there are any stories which attract my interest.

For some reason a few days ago, I scrolled a bit further down the Home page and came across details of the Summer Romance competition. I read through the rules. GREAT! It looked something I could have a go at. What's more, it had 13 weeks between starting and the closure of entries, sufficient time in which to write a decent story.

Except that the notice had been posted in May and the competition was closing shortly! Damn! I had missed it, and I cursed myself for not scrolling down the home page each time I log on.

It did subsequently cross my mind that notices like this should appear above the Quickcuts - so that one can "Notice" them. At the moment, the whole of the screen is filled with shortcuts (plus the ads) when one first logs on - shortcuts to other sites and shortcuts to stories. Important messages simply get pushed down and out of sight.

In the meantime, I'll try to keep an eye out for the next competition.