Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

@wulfmoon

Woohoo! Excited  

It sounds like the quality went way up once again! Joni has mentioned before that she believes it’s because so many have taken the Writers of the Future Online Workshop. Well done for absorbing and applying the teachings everyone!

I was sorry to hear that Angela had to bow out from the Top Gun 2021 Super Secrets, but I know she is still writing, and I’m looking forward to hearing more success from her in the future.

@wulfmoon and my fellow Top Gun high flyers, thank you very much for welcoming me into the Top Gun to take her seat. Since Top Gun started, we have continued working together on the side of this challenge, but I’ll admit, I was a little jealous. In terms of qualifications, I know I have not managed to receive a silver honorable mention quite yet (nor landed any major publication deals), but as Moon pointed out, I have flown a hundred missions. In 2020, I hit nearly 150 submissions; this year, I’ve hit 51 submissions so far. To help with this, my 1-2 times monthly blog with submissions deadlines has kept me motivated, and I hope some of you as well. I also managed to find some success on my missions, most recently receiving a personal from one of my dream publications, Fantasy Magazine (the magazines of Lightspeed/Nightmare/Fantasy, basically anything John Joseph Adams, are among my top level goals for short story submissions).

Now to get focused on Top Gun. I have met with two fellow Top Gun pilots to share our progress and have already finished and submitted my flash fiction piece for this month. The short story element of the challenge requirements is under way.

Looking forward to studying alongside my fellow pilots and taking to the skies. Keep up the writing everyone!

Good morning, folks! Today's Monday prompt is: WITCH SWITCH. 

@rjklee we are so happy to have you here flying with us. You will bring us to the highest of heights. (Putting on oxygen mask). 

@rjklee

Ryland,

I love rewarding intrepid dedication—for instance, Candice (clisle) did all the Super Secrets exercises for a year and turned them in to me privately when she missed that year’s open call. Of course, doing the work no doubt helped her get that SHM, qualifying her for this year’s workshop and challenge. You’ll hit that mark as well. I have foreseen it. 😎

Carry on, pilot.

Commander “Beastmaster” Moon

A HUGE thank you to Author Services’ tech Jason Toth! He just reconnected every Super Secret AND the exercises to the hyperlinked TOC directory on page one where this topic began! These were knocked out by the transfer and Jason had to hunt each of these down through a very long thread. Let’s hear it for Jason Toth! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

Check it out! For the Super Secrets Table of Contents, clickHERE!

Huzzah!

Such a huge help - thanks, Jason!!

@jason

Jason,

Just letting you know we appreciate all your work, and not just here, on the entire Forum upgrade!

Thank you, Jason! A massive help with this amazing resource we have here.

@swiftpotato Oh, I like that prompt. Witch Switch. It even has a nice rhyme to it that makes you want to play with silly, tongue-twisting words. Heh.

A reminder to all in the Forum. And I'm requesting SUPER SECRETS Workshop members not to miss this event if at all possible. It's rare to get one-on-one time with a literary giant like Tim Powers, and that's what he is. A GIANT. Consider this AN ASSIGNMENT.

This Saturday we have a special event happening in the WotF Forum. It's an Ask Me Anything AMA event with bestselling writer extraordinaire, TIM POWERS. If you don't know that name, go get a copy of ANUBIS GATES. Or ON STRANGER TIDES, my personal favorite. Tim is one of the most literary writers in speculative fiction. He's also funny and is an intellectually stimulating person to hang out with. The event will be held here Saturday, April 24th, from 1 pm to 3 pm PST, on this Forum, in the Writers of the Future Online Workshop Topic. 

Don't miss out! Tim Powers is a judge of this Contest and in my opinion, one of the most creative writers alive today! 

Bring good questions about the Contest, about writing, and about stories Tim has written that you've enjoyed! It's an AMA!

See you there!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Hello Top Gun members of my Super Secrets Workshop and Challenge!

Will all your training in this workshop pay off? Did the requirements I set for you each month and quarter hone your skills? We’re about to find out!

Bombs awaaaaay!

Commander “Beastmaster” Moon

Oh good. I was already an anxiety-ridden mess today, so this definitely helps.

@rschibler Same here!

Will there be a Zoom link to the seminar tomorrow?

Took a risk by sending my last HM out again with some tweaks. With....no payoff. HM again for me. Fresh story in for Q2. Fresh motivation for Q3.

Posted by: @retropianoplayer-2

Will there be a Zoom link to the seminar tomorrow?

Not a Zoom event, Retro. I believe we post questions to the topic I made on the AMA and Tim will answer them live. John Goodwin is hosting it. 

Posted by: @zeeteebeez

Took a risk by sending my last HM out again with some tweaks. With....no payoff. HM again for me. Fresh story in for Q2. Fresh motivation for Q3.

Sorry, Zeet! It’s a good story, keep shopping it to different markets!

Results are coming in. Those in this Top Gun Super Secrets’ year, please post your results here. May the Force be with you!

It's a SHM for me... This was a major rewrite of the same story that got me the other two SHMs I've received (significantly rewritten each time). I believe in this story and wanted to give it its best shot. But... Still SHM. 🤷‍♀️ I do think this latest version is improved over the past two versions, but this was my last attempt to see if I could get it higher in the contest.  I'll likely be submitting it elsewhere this week, as soon as I decide on where. 

Posted by: @ccrawford

 

It's a SHM for me... This was a major rewrite of the same story that got me the other two SHMs I've received (significantly rewritten each time). I believe in this story and wanted to give it its best shot. But... Still SHM. 🤷‍♀️ I do think this latest version is improved over the past two versions, but this was my last attempt to see if I could get it higher in the contest.  I'll likely be submitting it elsewhere this week, as soon as I decide on where. 

Congratulations on your SHM, Crystal! That used to be top 50, from a contest gathering thousands of entries each quarter from around the world. These days, probably top 80 to 100 because there's more entries, and the quality has improved. It's still a Big Deal, and you should celebrate it. Nicely done!

As for resubmitting, here's my take. Dave has said he often gives Silver HMs so he can see it again. In fact, it may even rank in quality above a Semifinalist, but he gives a critique with Semis, and he doesn't want to kill it from being submitted again (you can't resubmit Semis for this reason--unfair advantage). So I do think if you really believe in a story, get some pro eyes on it (or hire a pro editor that actually has pro story credits or has worked for a major publisher) and see if you can figure out why it didn't quite rise to the top. Try it again, maybe after a cool down period of a quarter or two so it's a bit fresh again when Dave reads it. But if it doesn't take the next time, I recommend moving on. This my fresh stories recommendation--the foundation of this workshop, btw--which many pro writers recommend. You learn editing from rewrites, you improve craft through writing fresh. And yes, I know some have won rewriting the same story over and over, but I believe many more have won by pushing themselves beyond their comfort zones and expanding their skills as writers. 

I know you know this. This is not counsel so much as teaching, as many read this topic.  And I do understand believing in a story. Send it off to other markets now and quit fiddling with it. Go write something fresh, something mind-bending, something Dave has never seen before from anyone. That's where you will find your winner. My advice as your Beastmaster.

Cheers!

I got an HM

This was a re-submission of my Silver HM. I am going to move the MC's problem to the front page and ramp up the sacrifice at the end. Then I am releasing this Kracken!

Muwha-hah-hahaha

My 3rd and 4th quarter submissions are progressing nicely.

I'm hearing those words about writing fresh. Between Wulf's crit and additional packmates and forum friends looking at it, I learned more out of working on this story than most writing workshops I've taken... and it definitely feels like beating a dead horse to open it back up. Oof.  Not that it's perfect, but I think this concept's reached its full potential, and not everyone will go for it. I let myself tweak a few lines to link promises/payoff more clearly, and I'm packing its suitcase tonight.

Which means . . . more writing while we wait for Q2 results!!

Got the okay from Joni to “scream it from the hills”. I did it! I really can’t believe it. I’ve been in a state of half-stunned disbelief. I did it! Couldn’t have done it without you all!

@rschibler I'm SO happy for you, Becky!!! CONGRATS! Hope to see your story in v38 - it's a good one

Posted by: @rschibler

Got the okay from Joni to “scream it from the hills”. I did it! I really can’t believe it. I’ve been in a state of half-stunned disbelief. I did it! Couldn’t have done it without you all!

YESSSS!!!!!!  So so so so so happy for you, Becky!!!!