My Three Super Short Writing Contest Losers

This summer, I entered three very short writing contests. Unfortunately, I didn’t win any of them. Here’s a look at each contest entry. The First Contest For this contest, I had to write a story of no more than 50 words. It had to include a ticket. I considered several tickets: a parking ticket, a…… Continue reading My Three Super Short Writing Contest Losers

A Leprechaun Surprise: First Sentence Writing Prompt

Recently, as part of my first-sentence prompts class, we did a holiday story. As has been the case with every class we’ve done together, I ended up with a completely different story than my student. While hers was about Christmas, mine involved a leprechaun. Our first sentence was “Shawn snuck quietly down the hallway, hoping…… Continue reading A Leprechaun Surprise: First Sentence Writing Prompt

Living My Dream Life: A Writing Contest Loser

It’s time for another writing contest loser. The story, entitled Living My Dream Life, is pretty much about how we sometimes look at other people’s lives and think that they have it great. Yet, often other people’s lives aren’t as great as we assume based on their “social media” life. This is longer than most…… Continue reading Living My Dream Life: A Writing Contest Loser

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

Failing Romantically: A Look at Another Writing Contest Loser

It’s that time again. It’s time to look at another writing contest loser. This one was entered in a contest sponsored by The Failing Writers Podcast. The theme was “failing.” The short story had to be under 500 words. It had to contain the phrase “Sorry, I haven’t got time.” I thought of a few…… Continue reading Failing Romantically: A Look at Another Writing Contest Loser

What 2023 Book Do You Need to Read?

I’ve really been looking forward to writing this post about books from 2023, and I hope that other people enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. I, of course, haven’t read every book written last year, but I have compiled a list of 22 books that I read that were written in…… Continue reading What 2023 Book Do You Need to Read?

Three-in-One: Three Weird Christmas Short Stories

In late October, I encountered a strange short story writing contest. The company, Weird Christmas, wanted weird Christmas stories. There were three categories. The first, Stocking Stuffers, was any weird Christmas story. The second, Weird Christmas Specials, was about taking a well-known Christmas story and messing it up a little. The final one, Weird Cards,…… Continue reading Three-in-One: Three Weird Christmas Short Stories

I Hate Sarah Smith: Not a Writing Contest Winner

Recently, I entered a flash fiction writing contest. It needed to be 200 words or less and include a twist. Mine was cutting it close at 193 words. When I entered my story, “I Hate Sarah Smith,” the contest through Fusilli Writing was free. It was the last free contest for the company, and they…… Continue reading I Hate Sarah Smith: Not a Writing Contest Winner

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