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Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

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RETreasure
(@rschibler)
Posts: 957
Platinum Member
 

It's my turn for Writing to the Point! Yay!

V34: R,HM,R
V35: HM,R,R,HM
V36: R,HM,HM,SHM
V37: HM,SF,SHM,SHM
V38: (P)F, SHM, F, F
V39: SHM, SHM, HM, SHM
Published Finalist Volume 38
Pro’d out Q4V39
www.rebeccaetreasure.com

Managing Editor, Apex Magazine

 
Posted : March 23, 2019 10:37 am
(@wulfmoon)
Posts: 3143
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Topic starter
 

It's my turn for Writing to the Point! Yay!

Yay! That's got everything you need to know to write a professional story. The rest is practice, practice, practice.

Keep writing, keep learning, keep sending.

~Moon~

Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!

 
Posted : March 24, 2019 6:43 pm
storysinger
(@storysinger)
Posts: 1504
Platinum Plus
 

It's my turn for Writing to the Point! Yay!

You'll find a lot of excellent advice in a small package. Enjoy.

Today's science fiction is tomorrow's reality-D.R.Sweeney
HM x5
Published Poetry
2012 Stars in Our Hearts
Silver Ships

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 12:12 am
chuckt
(@chuckt)
Posts: 431
Silver Member
 

So what is Moon's super secret tip re "happy endings?" Need to have one for WoTF? Can it be a tragedy? Or mixed? I think all the ones I've read so far in WoTF are upbeat endings.

Chuck Thompson
6 Rs, 5 HMs, 2 SHMs

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 5:33 am
(@olddarth)
Posts: 77
Bronze Member
 

And now that our discussion has ended on the topic, with some members weighing in with excellent comments (Well done, youse guys!), let's return to:

Moon's SUPER SECRET #22: THINGS GET WORSE!

~Beastmaster Moon~

Great advice - and the very thing I need to amp up in my stories.

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 5:48 am
(@wulfmoon)
Posts: 3143
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Topic starter
 

So what is Moon's super secret tip re "happy endings?" Need to have one for WoTF? Can it be a tragedy? Or mixed? I think all the ones I've read so far in WoTF are upbeat endings.

To comedy or not to comedy, THAT is the question.

We are speaking in the Greek storytelling sense of the term, of course. Comedy = happy ending. Tragedy = sad ending. And that's GROSSLY oversimplified, so don't jump on me! Oh yeah, we're among friends here, I'm safe. No one's trying to showboat. wotf010

The best way to answer this question, and you have already answered it, is to read the latest WotF volumes. (Everybody has preordered the latest, right?) They tend toward happy endings, as you've noted. You will note many Hollywood movies tend toward happy endings, whereas many Asian movies do not. It's a Western cultural thing. We like our denouements to be upbeat. Perhaps because it's been ingrained since we were babies that "they lived happily ever after." We want our heros to learn a good lesson, come out on top, and yes, have a better life with a very very very nice house, and two cats in the yard, because life used to be so hard.

Doesn't mean you have to write an ending like that, and many do not. But it does tend to satisfy what we crave in stories in our Western culture. Good people coming out ahead, bad guys getting their just deserts. Doesn't often work like that in real life, but this is, after all, escape fiction.

All the beast,

Moon

Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 9:13 am
(@wulfmoon)
Posts: 3143
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Topic starter
 

Moon's STUPID SUPER SECRET #23: READ!

This is my stupidest SUPER SECRET EVAH! There's only one that's even a STUPIDER SUPER SECRET  laughing , and I'll post that next time. Writers MUST be readers, and not just in their favorite genre they write in, and not just fiction either. Writers read. *Everything.* Cereal boxes, grill assembly manuals, good fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, ships' logs, advertising lines, Celestial Season tea boxes....anything with print, even, dare I say, WRITERS OF THE FUTURE VOLUMES.

Why? Our minds are sponges. They are soaking up whatever we put in front of our eyes and ears. As wordsmiths, we want to soak up words, lots and lots of good words, and we want to exercise with those words, left, right!, up, down! As storytellers, we want to soak up lots and lots of ideas, we want beakers and vials bubbling over in our minds with the stuff of crazy mad scientists' laboratories. Our subsconscious is a mulch pile, and we want to heap lots and lots of organic matter upon it so it will ferment and sprout with a cornucopia of ideas and stories. Reading from a diverse palette of works and interests gives you a massive array of real life matter to grow your beautiful story garden from, or to gather the abundance of body parts necessary to create your growling Frankenstein. Read. Read everything. Because it all goes on the mulch pile.

But this challenge is about something more than writing. It's about writing a story that WINS Writers of the Future. So you're going to need to read the Volumes to figure out what David Farland (and now added, first reader, Kary English) deem as the necessary elements to BE a winning story. And not just read, but carefully analyze as well. Did you preorder Volume 35? Are you planning on getting it? Because that's got the latest, and the latest means cutting edge. You want that cutting edge. Many skilled contestants will never have a chance to win this contest because they didn't do numero uno when it comes to selling a story: STUDY YOUR MARKET. How do you do that? You read the current issues. This will give you the mind of the editor, and in this case, the mind of the coordinating judge, and insight into what passes the judges' panels in the various quarters.

You guys accepted my challenge, so I'll give you a special tip. Think about it. Before any story gets to Dave--the coordinating judge--it must first go through Kary English. That means if you want to win Writers of the Future, you now have to get past her FIRST. But how do you know what she likes? How do you know what she believes are the necessary ingredients that must be present in an award-winning story? How do you discover what her tastes are? THE SAME WAY. : ) Read her works. Study her style. This is how Dave won so many contests in the past--by studying the contest judges, what they buy, what they've written, what they've written on writing if it's out there. Well, Kary was a WotF first place winner. I can't recall the volume at the moment, but I think it's back five or six (one of you will certainly know). If you have it, read it. If not, get it. She just published or revamped four stories to Amazon. One of them was free, not sure it still is, but if not, they're only 99 cents. This is my 'word to the wise,' and that means you guys in this challenge. She's the gatekeeper now, she's got the guest list at the gate of the mansion, and you scruffy mutts  laughing , it would behoove you to figure out the type of folks she's letting into the party.

We all have to remember...if we aren't cutting edge, if we aren't learning everything we can, someone else is. Knowledge is power. You be that guy or gal that went above and beyond, discovering that bit of extra knowledge that put your story above and beyond...and into the WotF winner's circle.

Fortune favor the industrious,

~Beastmaster Moon~

Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 10:26 am
Todd Jones reacted
 TimE
(@time)
Posts: 404
Silver Star Member
 

It's the 'behooving' bit that I'm not keen on. I like my feet with toes. Getting hoofs is a step too far for me.

?

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 10:31 am
Dragonchef
(@dragonchef)
Posts: 385
Silver Star Member
 

It's the 'behooving' bit that I'm not keen on. I like my feet with toes. Getting hoofs is a step too far for me.

Never saw yourself as a Centaur or a Satyr, eh?

3 HMs
6 SHMs
Umpteen Rs
Still hoping and working toward better -
One of these days, Alice . . . POW! We're going to the moon!

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 10:44 am
(@wulfmoon)
Posts: 3143
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Topic starter
 

It's the 'behooving' bit that I'm not keen on. I like my feet with toes. Getting hoofs is a step too far for me.

Never saw yourself as a Centaur or a Satyr, eh?

I dunno. I danced with a satyr once at Norwescon. She was lovely and graceful in her hooves.

But I SERIOUSLY do not know how she stood in those things, let alone dance!

Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 10:53 am
Dragonchef
(@dragonchef)
Posts: 385
Silver Star Member
 

I dunno. I danced with a satyr once at Norwescon. She was lovely and graceful in her hooves.

But I SERIOUSLY do not know how she stood in those things, let alone dance!

Ever see Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief? Percy's friend Grover, a satyr, dances to Lady Gaga. Must come natural for those with satyr genetics.

3 HMs
6 SHMs
Umpteen Rs
Still hoping and working toward better -
One of these days, Alice . . . POW! We're going to the moon!

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 11:08 am
(@wulfmoon)
Posts: 3143
Platinum Plus Moderator
Topic starter
 

I dunno. I danced with a satyr once at Norwescon. She was lovely and graceful in her hooves.

But I SERIOUSLY do not know how she stood in those things, let alone dance!

Ever see Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief? Percy's friend Grover, a satyr, dances to Lady Gaga. Must come natural for those with satyr genetics.

wotf019

Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 11:47 am
 TimE
(@time)
Posts: 404
Silver Star Member
 

I can see a humorous short story developing here. (But if women can dance in stilettos hooves have got to be easy.)

?

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 9:29 pm
(@scafontaine)
Posts: 119
Bronze Star Member
 

I just submitted my Q2. It's a fresh.

 
Posted : March 25, 2019 11:47 pm
(@wulfmoon)
Posts: 3143
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Topic starter
 

I can see a humorous short story developing here. (But if women can dance in stilettos hooves have got to be easy.)

Not these hooves! Only the ball of the foot made contact with the floor through the small hooves. The arch and heel were elevated in the air, forcing her to counterbalance just like a satyr. That she could stand in them at all was impressive, that she danced well in them was miraculous. She really did look like a satyr dancing on the floor. I love the dance at Norwescon, it's like being at a mad fey dance!

Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!

 
Posted : March 26, 2019 6:23 am
(@wulfmoon)
Posts: 3143
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Topic starter
 

I just submitted my Q2. It's a fresh.

Well done. Thanks for posting without a prompt. For the rest, please confirm each quarter you are keeping up with the challenge commitment. It's for your own good.  typing Brittany, our Keeper of Records, is finishing her Q2 and will be back to tally as soon as she's done. I critiqued three Challenge Beasts' stories this quarter--I hope it helps! Who will get theirs critiqued by the Beastmaster in Q3? Well, I wish the entire group could, but I simply don't have the time. So share in the discussions, keep doing the work, offer a helping hand to others, and YOU could be next! You also have award-winning professionally published writers in this very group to help you, and others that have many honors certificates, all the way up to finalist. Even published finalist. Take advantage of the knowledge.

I predicted a winner from our group this year, let's make it happen! Have you preordered Volume 35? Good!  clapper Wait, you haven't? What are you waiting for?  uh-oh Studying those as swiftly as you can will put you ahead of the pack. Carefully study the Q3s and Q4s in there as well--I believe that's when Kary became first reader, which means every one of those were chosen by her to send up to Dave. Could cause some subtle shifts in the anthology. One thing is for sure, you have to pass through her to get to Dave now. As I've mentioned, her work is available on Amazon. Figure out what she likes just like you are trying to figure out what Dave likes. And Dave is easy, he posts tips on writing, many of them about the contest. If you read any of his novels, you'll know immediately why he praises "big worldbuilding" in stories. You write what you love. You read what you love. For a judge, you award what you love. Study your judges. It will give you an edge.

And that, my friends, is Moon's SUPER SECRET #24: Study your judge!

And never forget a first reader is the first judge of your work. You must past through them to get to an editor or judge. I know some first readers at the 'zines I work for and am or am about to sell to. They are well read, they have definite tastes in fiction, and they are tough, tough, TOUGH on what comes in, shedoobee. They have to be. Their job is to sift through all the sand and pebbles to find that gold ore that gets them kudos from their editors. The have strong opinions on what makes good fiction and good writing. Problem is, they are often unknown secret readers behind the scenes, so you never get a chance to figure out what their tastes are. In Writers of the Future, you guys have an edge. You know who the first reader is. Use the knowledge. Dave studied everything he could about judges of contests. And he tailored his stories to suit their tastes. It's why he won so many contests. He wasn't just writing, he was marketing, and studied his targeted market in great detail.

You do the same. It's how you win.

Q2 is almost over. You've got a few days, Use them wisely. But don't miss a quarter! You promised us you wouldn't, we're counting on you! Even if you're writing up to 11:56 PM before you push submit, get it in!  fistinair

May the Force be with you.

~Beastmaster Moon~

Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!

 
Posted : March 26, 2019 7:04 am
Todd Jones reacted
chuckt
(@chuckt)
Posts: 431
Silver Member
 

Thanks again Moon. Wish I found the forum before I submitted my Q1 and Q2 but better late than never! My Q3 definitely benefited from the advice here. Gotta come up with an idea for Q4!

Chuck Thompson
6 Rs, 5 HMs, 2 SHMs

 
Posted : March 26, 2019 8:50 am
Thegirlintheglasses
(@thegirlintheglasses)
Posts: 171
Bronze Star Member
 

Just wanted to pop in and let you guys know I'll be updating the list soon-ish. wotf011 I wrote two fresh stories because some of you amazing people inspired me to write more than one so I could choose a favorite. But I wasn't loving either. I wrote a new one last week and now I'm frantically polishing (hard to find polishing time with little kids, no? Lol). Wulf said we're writing to win-so I'm aiming higher than a fresh and finished (which is what my goal has usually been). I'm writing until I write something I love-because even if I don't win, I know I've got a dang good story to sell somewhere! So long story short... The list will probably update after Sunday. I'm pretty sure I'll be writing until then 😉

Brittany Rainsdon
R-SHM-HM-R-HM-R-F-F-HM-HM-SHM-HM-HM-SF-PF-2nd place!
Published Finalist Volume 37 Quarter 4
Second Place Volume 38 Quarter 1

First publication was "Perfectly Painted Lies" published in Deep Magic Spring 2021 and reprinted in the anthology, Best of Deep Magic Volume 2.
Learn more about me at rainsdonwrites.com

 
Posted : March 26, 2019 5:32 pm
 TimE
(@time)
Posts: 404
Silver Star Member
 

Save you looking through the threads - I've submitted new stories to 1 & 2.

Damn - F means Fresh, and there was I thinking it was a prediction of Finalist.

?

 
Posted : March 26, 2019 11:45 pm
(@wulfmoon)
Posts: 3143
Platinum Plus Moderator
Topic starter
 

Just wanted to pop in and let you guys know I'll be updating the list soon-ish. wotf011 I wrote two fresh stories because some of you amazing people inspired me to write more than one so I could choose a favorite. But I wasn't loving either. I wrote a new one last week and now I'm frantically polishing (hard to find polishing time with little kids, no? Lol). Wulf said we're writing to win-so I'm aiming higher than a fresh and finished (which is what my goal has usually been). I'm writing until I write something I love-because even if I don't win, I know I've got a dang good story to sell somewhere! So long story short... The list will probably update after Sunday. I'm pretty sure I'll be writing until then 😉

Thanks for the update, Brittany, we understand! Get your Q2 finished and submitted! You have a mission to complete!

Speaking of missions, I'm about to head out to the workshop. Some of you have been asking how to get a personalized copy of my story in Volume 35. Use the private message feature and I'll tell you.

Now get your Q2 stories in if you haven't already! You have a date with Destiny, and she's buying lobster!

All the beast,

Moon

Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!

 
Posted : March 27, 2019 6:33 am
(@wulfmoon)
Posts: 3143
Platinum Plus Moderator
Topic starter
 

Best of success on your Q2's, Challenge Beasties! Done is beautiful.

I'm off to the workshop and gala. See you guys there! I'll know you're in that camera somewhere!

All the beast,

~Beastmaster Moon~

Click here to JOIN THE WULF PACK!
"Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler" won Best SFF Story of 2019! Read it in Writers of the Future, Vol. 35. Order HERE!
Need writing help? My award-winning SUPER SECRETS articles are FREE in DreamForge.
IT’S HERE! Many have been begged me to publish the Super Secrets of Writing. How to Write a Howling Good Story is now a #1 BESTSELLING BOOK! Get yours at your favorite retailer HERE!

 
Posted : March 29, 2019 4:33 am
(@anikekirsten)
Posts: 39
Advanced Member
 

Have an excellent time, Wulf! Looking forward to the pics.

 
Posted : March 29, 2019 5:08 am
 TimE
(@time)
Posts: 404
Silver Star Member
 

Travelling there on Cloud Nine is my guess. I know which side of a camera I prefer to be, but I reckon you'll have a great few days.

?

 
Posted : March 29, 2019 6:03 am
(@scafontaine)
Posts: 119
Bronze Star Member
 

Have fun! Enjoy the week!

 
Posted : March 29, 2019 7:49 am
Disgruntled Peony
(@disgruntledpeony)
Posts: 1283
Platinum Member
 

In with a fresh story as of 3/30/2019.

If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise: attack it at an hour when it isn't expecting it. ~ H.G. Wells
If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. ~ Mark Twain
R, SF, SHM, SHM, SHM, F, R, HM, SHM, R, HM, R, F, SHM, SHM, SHM, SF, SHM, 1st Place (Q2 V38)
Ticknor Tales
Twitter
4th and Starlight: e-book | paperback

 
Posted : March 29, 2019 4:13 pm
Dragonchef
(@dragonchef)
Posts: 385
Silver Star Member
 

In with a fresh story as of 3/30/2019.

Pushing the envelope. I like it.

3 HMs
6 SHMs
Umpteen Rs
Still hoping and working toward better -
One of these days, Alice . . . POW! We're going to the moon!

 
Posted : March 30, 2019 2:20 am
Disgruntled Peony
(@disgruntledpeony)
Posts: 1283
Platinum Member
 

In with a fresh story as of 3/30/2019.

Pushing the envelope. I like it.

I didn't like it, but I made it in and that's the important thing. wotf019 I like to have my story in a week or two in advance when possible.

If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise: attack it at an hour when it isn't expecting it. ~ H.G. Wells
If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. ~ Mark Twain
R, SF, SHM, SHM, SHM, F, R, HM, SHM, R, HM, R, F, SHM, SHM, SHM, SF, SHM, 1st Place (Q2 V38)
Ticknor Tales
Twitter
4th and Starlight: e-book | paperback

 
Posted : March 30, 2019 2:36 am
storysinger
(@storysinger)
Posts: 1504
Platinum Plus
 

Just finished my 2nd new story so only two more to go. I already have been pre-planning my Q3 so I'm thinking I will submit the next quarter earlier than at any other time.  fistinair

Today's science fiction is tomorrow's reality-D.R.Sweeney
HM x5
Published Poetry
2012 Stars in Our Hearts
Silver Ships

 
Posted : March 30, 2019 11:27 am
(@megan)
Posts: 9
Active Member
 

Just submitted my fresh story for Q2! Cutting it a little close for my tastes, but I got it in before the deadline and that's what matters, right?

HM—2, R—1, V36 Q2 pending

 
Posted : March 31, 2019 10:39 am
chuckt
(@chuckt)
Posts: 431
Silver Member
 

Good job Megan! So. Who has the time machine we can use to check out Q2 results?

I finally have an idea for a new story. I get fairly excited when I come up with something that I think has a chance to become a story. It can be my Q4 if I don't come up with anything better between now and the Q4 deadline. September 30?

Chuck Thompson
6 Rs, 5 HMs, 2 SHMs

 
Posted : April 1, 2019 1:09 am
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