The times they are a changing

 Once upon a time

Years ago, when I was in the mood for writing, some people I knew asked me if I was going to enter a writing contest,

The contest rules were to write 30,000 words in a month, at the time I did consider entering as I was "in the zone." The thing which kept me from entering was the thought of having to write four pages a day; on my good days, I doubted I could keep the pace, even for two weeks.

I knew several writers who did get certificates for completing the task; it made no difference to them as they didn't get a contract for their work.

I did enter a couple of contests but found the judges biased toward their favorite writers, not only in the USA but in the UK.