Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

Posted by: @physa

Why can't there be more cool writery things in the Southeastern US? 

Dragoncon in Atlanta from Sep. 1st to 5th is probably the closest to us. I'm in the Fl. panhandle.

Our coordinating judge Jody Lynn Nye is scheduled to be there. Here's our chance to meet her.

Posted by: @wulfmoon

I'd love to see you there!!!

It would be so cool if you could skype from your booth or table. Or maybe set up a zoom meeting so we could be your virtual guests.

Happy Monday, Challenge Beasties!

Your KYD writing prompt this week is:

From the watchtower, a cry.

This one lends itself easily to fantasy, but works for SF as well. It even works symbolically, such as a research team discovering an upcoming cataclysmic event and trying to warn their world, like in Isaac Asimov’s “Nightfall.”

Happy writing as you avoid this summertime heat! Hm. Weather forecasters are crying out from their watchtowers right now about our own global warming. See how this could work? 😊

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

July Report:

1. 3 fresh short stories (5000, 1800, and 1730 words)

2. 1xKYD started as solarpunk, ended up biopunk

3. Submitted to ~10 pro-paying markets

Plus: rewritten some of my old stuff and edited some others. Quite a productive month

Posted by: @linardos

ended up biopunk

Remind me, Akis - what's biopunk?

July Report

1. 37,250 words on my novel (or 16 chapters - I'm almost done 1st draft!)

2. 1x KYD on 'From the Watchtower, a Cry'

3. 19 subs to respectable markets

4. Haven't subbed yet to WOTF. Will probably do that in September

-Part of this month was holidays, which was super productive  -Plus, I changed work roles. Busy but great!

@scott_m_sands In a biopunk setting your tech is based largely on biotechnology. Which can very easily get dark. Brave New World, Altered Carbon are some examples. I think even Frankenstein.

So far this quarter

*I've got 3 stories submitted to respectable markets which means I have 5 pending...

*I'm ready to submit my application to superstars scholarship as soon as I get my second letter [UPDATE, second letter received and application in. My thanks to both Candice and Moon]

*I'm enrolled in an online young reader class and have been keeping up with their assignments. Bonus points for making me want to dust off two of my works in progress novels

*I got a KYD done and received nice comments for focusing me to remember to set the stage. Nice to know the emotions were there...

*I've been furiously trying to start a new short story and am working to completing a draft of one of them by end of the day tomorrow. I'm sure I'll get that completed for my July check in for Q4 [UPDATE, not pretty but done]

Posted by: @scott_m_sands

Posted by: @linardos

ended up biopunk

Remind me, Akis - what's biopunk?

What Akis said. Not sure if you purchased the recent anthology, but my story in After the Gold Rush is biopunk. And weird Western, and off-world sf, and detective noir, and … 😁

AND it’s first person, present tense. Just to mix it up. 

After the Gold Rush

Check in for July:

I did one KYD and found my good friend Corbin the Coward on a new adventure.

I expanded that KYD into a 4,700 word story aimed at a specific anthology call.

I also edited down my very first HM from 7K to 3.5K to aim at a specific market. That 50% cut took much longer than I expected…and my target market didn’t accept it. But the story’s better for it. Tighter. So I’ll probably add about 500 words back in to revive a couple of darlings I really didn’t want to kill and finally start that story on the rounds. Speaking of…

I submitted to 18 respectable markets in July and now have 15 pending submissions. Lots of great markets opened in July, several of which accepted simultaneous and/or multiple submissions.

I have not submitted to Q4 yet. I have an idea for a story, but need to turn that idea into reality in August.

Now back to your regularly programmed twitching as we await Q2's results.

I'm excited we'll be able to root again for finalists. It seems like a few quarters since we've been able to do that between getting our results and the announcement.

Posted by: @scribblesatdusk

I'm excited we'll be able to root again for finalists. It seems like a few quarters since we've been able to do that between getting our results and the announcement.

Fingers crossed no technical issues come up when Joni sends out result emails... I would love to root for the finalists while they await placement results, too. Last time it took about 5 days before she reached all of the finalists. Emails should come out soon.

@physa Fingers crossed. 🤞 

July report:

1) Wrote 1 fresh story (5000 words) and 2 novel chapters (6500 words)

2) Wrote 2 KYDs

3) Submitted to 3 pro markets this month

4) Working on my Q4 - outline complete, just need to finish it!

Wrote two kyds (or more? I lost track of a lot of stuff this month!) Two short stories and one flash. Only submitted once, though. I really have to work on that!

1 KYD on From the watchtower, a cry

For the 3k story I did something weird, not sure if it counts. I wrote a full fledged 1600k word story (got it up to even 1700k but then edited down) for a call, but in writing it I had many false starts. I had 500 words of a diff story that I dropped. 500 of another etc, so it adds up to 3k but it's not all in the same story and so if that disqualifies me so be it. I'd rather not lie.

Subbed to 4 or 5 markets. Already got 1 rejection 🙁

@scribblesatdusk I know you had a hard month, Yelena. The purpose of the story goal with a 3000 word count requirement is so that members aren’t tempted to cheat and say they wrote a story when it might have only been a 100 word drabble. Nothing against drabbles and flash, but fresh short story writing (and/or novel chapters) is required in this workshop—it’s part of the program and how we grow. However, you did do the monthly word count output under a challenging month for you, and that’s good enough for me. 😊

Thank you for your honesty, and do stay the course. It’s yielded wonderful results for you this year, including being among the seven Wulf Pack members that were published in the pro-rate anthology After the Gold Rush. You took my challenge, did the work, and made the sale happen. That makes you a winner in my book!

You know, I’ve loved seeing all the alumni from this workshop that have won Writers of the Future. But to have seven of us from the Wulf Pack Writers blitz this pro-rate anthology? That was so impressive, even the editor noted the accomplishment in her preface. It proves the principles and training I’ve shared here in the Super Secrets work. And there’s more to come! I am so proud of all of you. Keep up the great work.

The rewards are obvious.

And kudos to each one of you checking in for the month of July! Look at all you’ve accomplished by having a monthly challenge with accountability! Amazing! 

Now remember: this is Q4. Everyone submits in Q4. It’s the hardest quarter to win in. Remember your training. Save you, it can. After you’ve mastered craft and storytelling and created a unique character the judges can bond to (and an interesting trial to challenge your character), the win is in the fine tuning. Everything must flow perfectly to the inevitable and hopefully surprising ending. Don’t forget your poignant and satisfying denouement. And please take advantage of your skilled fellow wulves I’ve asked you to team up with, as well as all the other provisions I’ve given you in the Wulf Pack to help you succeed. 

There’s absolutely no reason you can’t win this—you’ve seen all the others that have come from this workshop that have. You have all the tools. The rest is up to you. Focus. Focus every effort on creating your gem the judges cannot deny, cannot look away from. 

The win is in your power. It is all up to you.

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

July check in

1. Wrote a KYD.

2. Turned that into a 3600 word short story which may be the start of my Q4 entry.

3. Submitted to three markets 

4. Worked on rough draft for my q4 entry. 

Your SUPER SECRETS Monday writing prompt!

Since I'm teaching my "FLOW STATE: Release the Kraken!" workshop today for Apex Writers, and then a 4-hour Zoom masterclass on Flow State this Saturday, this invocation from a 1961 translation of Homer's The Odessey will do nicely:

"Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story....”

Happy writing!

Beastmaster Moon

"FLOW STATE: Rlease the Kraken Within You!" is my newest workshop. The 1.5-hour webinar version of this workshop that I donated to DreamForge's Kickstarter was a huge success. It sold out at fifty openings. DreamForge was able to reach a powerful push goal: seven cents a word paid to writers for their stories, and that's a permanent pay rate. Kudos to DreamForge, and kudos to all of you that helped them move forward for another year. And the publisher is Scot Noel, a Writers of the Future winner, so that makes it extra special.

I'm teaching the Zoom virtual masterclass on Flow State this Saturday, August 6th, from 1 pm to 5 pm Pacific Time. It's almost sold out, but I thought some of you in the workshop might like a shot at it before it does. You can get the skinny on my website at: http://thesupersecrets.com

I hope to see you there!

Wulf Moon

July was interesting for me. I submitted to Online Flash Fiction, wrote 2 KYDs, and drafted 1 new story. I was hoping to complete the 5 KYDs in a month, but maybe I'll have better luck once kids are back in school and things normalize a bit.

@wulfmoon I'm so glad you did! It really did push me into gear!

The Keeper of Records sat outside Rowdy's Tavern and eyed the end of his scroll. Just enough space for two more months of challenge member reports. It was good to see the last challenge member report for July--not that he'd doubted--their name rising from the parchment in cursive bloody script. He jotted a quick message to inform the Wulf.

Challenge members reported in. All are thriving. More sales reported. Contest results are pending.

A touch of anxiety made his hand shake, but he continued on.

Working together, challenge members are improving by leaps and bounds. Iron sharpens iron.

Sincerely - The Keeper of Records

He sealed the note, pressed his sigil into it--a crossed pen and sword--and caught the attention of a passing fairy. "Deliver this to @wulfmoon in the cave beneath the Devil's Hill. He is expecting you." The Keeper passed over the letter and a copper. The fairy sped away in a sparkle of wings that tinkled like distant church bells.

Alone once more, anxiety resumed its preeminence in his chest. Contest results were due. How would the challenge members fare? How would he fare?

He harrumphed. Enough twitching. Time to write the next story and let the future resolve itself. It always did.

@lost_bard

The Beastmaster sat on his throne of bones, deep in his underground lair outside the hallowed hall where names once innocent had been inscribed in blood over the years. They had transformed into lethal hunters now. Fey light that glowed in orbs to each side of his throne ignited in phosphorescent brilliance as a faerie zipped into the lair, dust that smelled of crushed cloves trailing it.

"We have word, Beastly Lord. The Keeper has sent you a missive."

The Beastmaster held out a gnarled hand. "Give it."

The faerie flitted closer, nervously eyeing the hovering orbs, their light source winging erratically within. With a slap of the scroll to the Beastmaster's palm, the faerie backed quickly and said, "Will that be all, Lord?"

"No, that will not be all. It's dark in this cave. Come closer so I can read this blasted thing. And damn the Keeper for using yellowed parchment instead of quality ninety-two brightness paper stock. What are we, animals?"

The faerie bit her lip.

The Beastmaster broke the seal, unfurled the page, and grumbled. "He could have at least waited for the blood to dry." But as he read on, his lips lifted in a smile, exposing ivory fangs. "Well, well! It appears our Pack is taking down lots of prey! There is no end to their carnage! And the biggest catch yet is about to be announced! Well done and well-written, oh Keeper of Records. Well done and well met, all you Challenge Beasties. Your reward will be great."

He stared into the gloaming that fey light could not pierce. His eyes kindled bright, lighting up like morning stars.

A deep chuckle winged through the hollow darkness. "The future is ours."

(The future is yours, Challenge Beasties! Because you're doing the work! Carry on and hold fast.)

My "Flow State: Release the Kraken Within You!" masterclass has sold out.

See some of you Challenge Beasties tomorrow!

Don't forget to bring sturdy chains! Some get so good at calling up their krakens, they actually materialize in the room. I don't carry insurance for that. You take this workshop at YOUR OWN RISK.

Beastmaster Moon

The "Flow State: Release the Kraken Within You!" masterclass on Saturday was a success--several reported their highest word count output in their lives! And the samples they shared were excellent. In fact, one from this Year 4 Super Secrets Workshop was there, and I'm betting she's going to sell that story, her opening was excellent. It won't have been the first time someone sold a story from my workshops. Or won a prestigious contest, either.

But I'm here today to tell you it's Monday! And Monday means WRITING! Here's your prompt:

The Temple of Sensory Delight.

Happy writing, Challenge Beasties! It's the best cure for Q2 results jitters.

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

I’m going to go back and read this entire thread full of awesome things from @wulfmoon and figure out what the writing prompts are so I can join! 😊

Posted by: @annax

I’m going to go back and read this entire thread full of awesome things from @wulfmoon and figure out what the writing prompts are so I can join! 😊

Good for you! That’s where I started when I found the forum. Read through the Super Secrets, do the exercises, post them (Not here. There’s another thread for posting Super Secret exercises for non-challenge members. You’ll get feedback.), and you will see a difference in your writing. I made my first sale within a year. Three pro publications within 18 months.

The Super Secrets work if you put in the smart practice. This thread is 160 pages of awesome (and growing!) but the content here is pure gold. Have fun!

@lost_bard and @wulfmoon I have been watching from the shadows and playing along at home, rather than getting under the feet of the cool kids. You mentioned a "thread for posting Super Secret exercises for non-challenge members." Could I beg a favour to be directed to where that thread is? TOA

@wulfmoon fun!