The Not So Haunted House: First Sentence Writing Prompt

I’ve recently started teaching a student online in a first-sentence writing prompts class. Each week, there’s a genre. Then I have a list of 100 first sentences, which may or may not easily apply to that genre. The student picks a number, and that’s the prompt that we go with for the class. Then we…… Continue reading The Not So Haunted House: First Sentence Writing Prompt

One Disaster After Another at the Temple

A little over a year ago, I felt like my shift at the temple was one disaster after another. I began to question why I’d even bothered to come that day. Everything seemed to be going wrong. Disaster on My Dress One of the first things on my schedule that day was my lunch break.…… Continue reading One Disaster After Another at the Temple

40 Things About Shilo Dawn You May Not Know

In November, I did a post about how my life wasn’t where I expected it to be at 40. I thought I’d do a little more lighthearted 40 post. Here are 40 things you may not know about me, Shilo Dawn Goodson. For fun, keep track of how many facts you know about me. You…… Continue reading 40 Things About Shilo Dawn You May Not Know

It Was An LDS Best Seller on Amazon

This morning, I was obsessively looking at the statistics on my book, Feeling Like the Outcast. I’m not embarrassed to admit that I do this pretty regularly, hoping for good news. Well, this morning, I scrolled down, and I saw unexpected numbers in the Best Seller Rank section. My book was #81 in the Church…… Continue reading It Was An LDS Best Seller on Amazon

This is No Magic Trick: Another Writing Contest Loser

It’s time for another writing contest loser. This entry came from “The Chilling Pen Award.” The criteria were that the story needed to be under 1,000 words, it should have a bit of a scary element, and it should involve betrayal. The contest results were announced on Halloween. I decided to write a story about…… Continue reading This is No Magic Trick: Another Writing Contest Loser

Cross the Line: A Nonwinning Protest to Impress Story

A while back, I entered a writing contest for “Not Quite Write.” When I entered the contest, I knew almost nothing about the company, so I entered based 100% on the contest rules. There were four rules. First, it had to be no more than 600 words. Second, it had to have someone cross a…… Continue reading Cross the Line: A Nonwinning Protest to Impress Story