Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

Just thought I'd mention, besides getting your best story into WotF, I noticed that F&SF is closing for submissions for a month after 6/30, and there are some other deadlines with other publications to keep in mind. Plenty of places to keep up the submission game. Good luck everyone.

Thanks for the reminders, Ryland! Don’t miss your deadline to WotF today, all! I wrote 5,000 words to Moongirl on the last day of the quarter because I was determined to stick to my goals. You do whatever it takes to get your story in. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Back to meeting the deadline an editor set for me on revisions. This is what we train for!

Cheers!

Beastmaster Moon

Don't worry. I was just on my 2000th draft. Heh. Okay, maybe not quite that many... I also polished a few other pieces and made four other submissions, too. Keeping up the submission game. Fun stuff!

Anyway, to business. Reporting in... my WotF story for the 3rd Quarter is submitted. On to the next!

Got you down, oishisushi! Nice job!

Getting down to the wire, folks! Only hours left to go...get those stories in and don't forget to let us know here!

I'm happy to say wizehive is working well. I'm in.
Best of results for everyone.

Got your WotF sub, storysinger! Is your second sub in as well? Just want to make sure I didn't miss it.

I just sent my second story to a respectable market. Both krakens are newborns. Now to get going to the next quarter.
Thanks for keeping tabs Leah. Good luck to all.

Nice!! Got your second down too. Best of luck!

I'm in, although my new work for WotF wasn't up to scratch in time for the deadline so submitted another recent story not yet submitted to the contest. My new piece to another market is also done and out and back with a personal message from the editor stating that the ending seemed rushed (so good feedback to take on board for new work).

I hope everyone is keeping well.

Reporting in at last . . .

WotF submission in with almost 30 minutes to spare. Not like I was cutting it close or anything . . .

Also, my 2nd story (certified fresh) was submitted to a respectable market on June 19th.

Partial report: I just submitted my WotF entry with three hours to spare. Thanks to all who helped (Alicia, Becky, Brittany, Leah, Liz, and Wulf)--for some stories, it really take a village! I learned a ton from all of you
Working on wrapping up another story now. I know, I know...it's been a busy quarter.

Good luck, everyone!

I've been so busy writing and editing lately that I am finally checking in here to see what has been happening.

Guthington, So sorry to hear what you've been going through. And cheers for hanging in there and getting a story submitted in spite of that.

Henckel, So sorry to hear about your ruined copy! Did they offer a replacement or was it a bad postal error?

CCrawford, Awesome interview! Hope you get some attention for your indie books

Retro, great job with your 250 assignment. Nicely done!

Moon, I'm paying very close attention. Your comments spurred me to apply a sharper scalpel to my story. Superfluous characters and scenes vanquished. Was it enough? We shall see . . . !

Best of luck to everyone with their stories!! Q2 and Q3.

Reporting in under the wire. Got my q3 in for WOTF and another sent to a respectable market.

Thanks to Becky for some last-minute commentary. It was very helpful.

Good luck to all!

Good job, guys! I've got subs down from Peter Glen, StarReacher, officer, and zeeteebeez. Another quarter down! Start writing your next story!

I have to send out a personal salute to all those writers who always get in under the wire. You definitely have a B-type personality; life ebbs and flows around you. Your lives are probably Indiana Jones "grabs hat at the last moment" scenarios.

Personally, I can NEVER do this. With Type A personality, all t's need to be crossed, i's dotted, in Pre-Pandemic times, airline reservations made months prior, transport arranged, suitcases packed and waiting downstairs the night before. Travel itineraries arranged weeks ahead of time, book diaries and calendars documenting all professional appointments. WOTF stories plotted in advance, action story must arc similarly to emotional story, read Wulf's Super Secret Rules over and over, try and memorize them, apply each to the story.

And, yet, it seems the Type B personalities wind up the winners, as evidenced by Wulf's masterful story.

Best,

Retro

Thanks for the reminders, Ryland! Don’t miss your deadline to WotF today, all! I wrote 5,000 words to Moongirl on the last day of the quarter because I was determined to stick to my goals. You do whatever it takes to get your story in. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Back to meeting the deadline an editor set for me on revisions. This is what we train for!

Cheers!

Beastmaster Moon

Your story inspired me to finish my story in the last five days before the deadline (I had scrapped my other story, which I'm picking back up this quarter),

I thought if Wulf can do a story in one day, certainly I can finish mine in 5!!

Your story inspired me to finish my story in the last five days before the deadline (I had scrapped my other story, which I'm picking back up this quarter),

I thought if Wulf can do a story in one day, certainly I can finish mine in 5!!

I also wrote another complete story this quarter. But wasn't convinced it was "there" yet and needed more time to simmer. In the past, I would have just gone with it and hoped for the best.

I think back on those "silly" days when I thought I was accomplishing a lot by getting in one story a quarter.

Also, for inspiration, I look to oishisushi911. The man is a machine in churning out submissions. As we were swapping WotF manuscripts for final polishing, he mentioned taking a "break" to send out four more submissions to markets.

Reporting in: My second new story from the quarter has been submitted to a top market. I admit that I spilled into the once-every-hundred-years leap day, June 31. But then everyone's computers adjusted to July 1

The good news is that I have three other half-finished stories, so completing them this quarter should be doable. I submitted last quarter a month early; I'm not usually down to the wire!

I have to send out a personal salute to all those writers who always get in under the wire. You definitely have a B-type personality; life ebbs and flows around you. Your lives are probably Indiana Jones "grabs hat at the last moment" scenarios.

Personally, I can NEVER do this. With Type A personality, all t's need to be crossed, i's dotted, in Pre-Pandemic times, airline reservations made months prior, transport arranged, suitcases packed and waiting downstairs the night before. Travel itineraries arranged weeks ahead of time, book diaries and calendars documenting all professional appointments. WOTF stories plotted in advance, action story must arc similarly to emotional story, read Wulf's Super Secret Rules over and over, try and memorize them, apply each to the story.

And, yet, it seems the Type B personalities wind up the winners, as evidenced by Wulf's masterful story.

Best,

Retro

Happy to see you challenge beasties rising up to the quarter's challenge! By dedicating yourself to a do-or-die goal, you can accomplish what might seem the impossible. Kudos to all getting their challenge reqs in to SwiftPotato, and as always, a bow to our Keeper of Records. She makes my life easier, and yours, too.

Kizer, happy to inspire. Your avatar shot makes you look like a newspaper reporter, rushing to make deadline. I have found that thrill of the deadline can create powerful energy, energy that transfers into your story as you write it. There is no time for second guessing. There is little to no time for edits. The writing is raw, and raw can win, IF you have the technical skills already in place. Keep writing, never give up, and keep learning everything you can about craft and storytelling. You need to be a master of both. Much success as you run this marathon, this infinite game.

StarReacher, good work on being ruthless with your writing. We can't give our writing a pass, can't be soft, because flabby writing will just get our story rejected. Try to see through an editor's eyes. Study the type of stories they buy, and compare yours to what is the gold standard because that editor paid gold out for the ones they chose. Those published stories set the bar. For new writers, you actually have to exceed that bar, often substantially. A break out story must be written to break out. I will have to write a Secret on that. Don't believe me? Go back and listen to that podcast where Dean Wesley Smith talks about this so-called dirty little secret with Preston. It's true.

Ryland (Oishi), you are indeed a writing machine. You are also doing the pro routine. Keep writing, keep sending, keep learning. You are on the path, and I commend you for your diligent efforts. That's what it takes.

Retro, thanks for your kind words on "Moongirl." The story I'm revising per editor's request at this very moment (Heinlein's Rules apply here), is a novelette beyond Moongirl in many ways. Why did he ask me to revise? Because I neglected to apply one of my Super Secrets. It's funny, but I find myself going back over my own rules to get it right. We can know a thing, but forget to apply a thing, and that can come back to bite us. Fortunately, my place is held, provided I apply the Secret properly. I was given two weeks--I allowed myself one. Today is D day.

Deadlines. This is what we train for.

Congratulations to all of you that wrote two fresh stories in Q3, and sent one story in to WotF, and another to a respectable market. Well done on those of you doing the bonus monthly KYD flash, based on provided prompts. Those are challenging, but doing them regularly will make a difference. You are not just practicing, you are doing smart practice, creating powerful pathways in your writing synapses that will stay with you long after the KYD is done.

We have one quarter left of the year, challenge beasties! Make this one count more than all the others. You have already made breakthroughs--just compare your KYDs at the start of the year, and the Ping-Pong Dialogue 250s you just did. Many of these are as different as night and day.

Now take it to the next level. You have 90 days.

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Dialogue Assignment part 2:

Hecate gave the potion a final stir. “There! Come bring the vial, child!”

“Oh! But which one? How big?”

The child looked up at the shelf filled with shining glass, trying to spot the empty vials from among the filled ones.

“That one! Next to the rat’s whiskers. It’s empty isn’t it?”

The child scampered up the ladder

“Yes it is!” He clutched his hands around the vial. It was too wide for his small hands. He stumbled on the way down, allowing the vial to slip from his fingers.“Oh no. Whoops.”

She jumped when she heard the crash. The child was already in motion with the broom, sweeping the shards from the stone floor.

“Clumsy child. Your father said you were a good worker when he traded you!”

She turned to find the child at her elbow, a more comfortably held vial in his outstretched hands.

“I brought another one. Can I ladle the potion?”

She dipped the metal ladle into the shimmering green liquid. “And spill it all over yourself?
That’s what I would need, a fish for an assistant.”

“Why does the blacksmith want a fish potion?”

She plugged the stopper into the neck of the vial. “Who am I to ask why? He paid! There might be some effects around town to amuse us, as well.”

“Can I brew the next one?”

“You, child, want to brew the next? You have extensive knowledge on love potions then?”

“Yes?”

We continue with the 250 word vignettes built from the seed of your twelve line Ping Pong Dialogue exercise.

AJ Zach already created a nice one, prizeworthy even--she won an edit on her opening from me, and it will likely be included in the Super Secrets book when it comes out this year. How did she do when she filled this winning piece with more narrative?

We certainly get a better picture of the surroundings. AJ was able to drop in some descriptive action beats around the dialogue this time. Like this one: She dipped the metal ladle into the shimmering green liquid. We get views of those shelves with the glass vials on them. And we also get to see what caused the child to say, "Whoops." The vial is too big for the child's hand. We don't have to guess, like we did before. All good. The imagery in our mind is enhanced, and it's not overburdened with too much description.

Some constructive criticism. Personally, with the gift of the extra words, I would have done a bit of introductory scene setting. It doesn't take much, but giving a sense of place and time is always good at the opening of any scene. Setting helps the reader set the stage for these characters to interact within in their mind. Are we in a witch's hut? A wizard's cold stone tower? Just a bit of grounding keeps characters from floating in gray space. Done properly, you can also use environment to set mood. Bright shafts of sunlight beaming cheerfully down on the workbench? Or dripping tallow candles, bleeding rancid odors into the air as they flicker with uncertain light? Nail your openings, even in vignettes and flash pieces. Your readers will thank you. So will the judges of this contest.

Missing a period on the "scampered up the ladder" line. You can get away with one or two mistakes like that in a short story--more words to hide the error. You cannot get away with it in something this small. It jumps off the page like a wart on a witch's nose. Vignettes and flash pieces have to be perfect in every way. There is no margin for error.

She jumped when she heard the crash. Who jumped? You have two people in this scene, and either could have jumped because both had good reason to. Tag this action beat. Hecate jumped when she heard the crash.

...allowing the vial to slip from his fingers. The child didn't allow this action, it's the last thing he would have wished to happen! No, it was an accidental stumble, so you'd say it like this: ...causing the vial to slip from his fingers. Always be precise with the words you choose. Incorrect wording can send your readers into the ditch, heading off in a direction you never intended them to go.

Other than that, you didn't gunk up your sweet ending with extra details. You left it alone. So the energy of the dialogue filters down into that last one-liner. So cute!

Well done, AJ! Carry on!

Beastmaster Moon

Thanks for the critique Wulf!

Though I've been a ghost this quarter, I wanted to check-in w/ my end-of the-quarter update.

For this past quarter, I've submitted two fresh stories over 3k, one to a pro-market, the other to WOTF. I've written and submitted a few flash stories, too. As of now, I'm stackin' up the Rs, which I print and tack up on my cork board w/ the mantra if I ain't submittin' I ain't ever goin' pro, or something to that effect that's more pleasing to Orson Scott Card (I learned in the WOTF workshop droppin' gs on "ing" words is a no go).

Re: being a ghost
Life, as it is for many others right now, is in sort of an upheaval. In most everything, I am very fortunate (good health, job, etc..) Simply, we have a young one who is not in childcare. Much of my time outside of my job goes to that. I carve out any free time for writing. Consequently, I haven't been participating in the workshop portion of the Wulf pack. I hope this will change soon as I'm missing out on tons (the camaraderie, the advice, the valuable exercises, the encouragement--the tribe). Anywho, y'all rock. Keep on writing, keep on encouraging, keep on keeping on & stay safe!

Cheers!
John Eric

Don't worry, JE Schleicher, you're already doing an important job –– raising a young child who looks to you for guidance, support, moral values, educational values, and one day will grow into a functioning adult, maybe our next great scientist, teacher, musician, poet or Nobel Prize winner.
The results you achieve won't last one quarter; they'll last a lifetime.

Two rules come to mind. Rule 60: Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.

Rule 260: Every day show your family how much you love them with your words, with your touch, and with your thoughtfulness.

I'm certain you're a winner on both of those rules.

Best,

Retro

Got you down, JESchleicher. Good to see you back.

Got it in with two hours to spare! Woot! There was more stuff I could have done and will likely have another chance to complete, but hey. It's in. It's a story influenced by one of Wolf's prompts and the WOTF workshop, so here's hoping.

Got it in with two hours to spare! Woot! There was more stuff I could have done and will likely have another chance to complete, but hey. It's in. It's a story influenced by one of Wolf's prompts and the WOTF workshop, so here's hoping.

Glad the prompt helped you out, empressed! That's why I conduct the workshop on an open forum like this--so that even if you aren't in the workshop, you can still benefit from its provisions.

Much success on your entry!

Finally, to all those looking on, I've been invited to conduct a Master Class on my Super Secrets at Fyrelite Online on July 18th. "How to Write Winning Stories that Take the Gold!" From the comfort of your own home, you get to participate in an interactive class where I discuss the Secrets essential to every prize-winning story. I'll be discussing Super Secrets you haven't seen yet, and those powerful Hidden Secrets as well. You also get to go on a virtual field trip into my writers' office! I'll show you how to dress for success, so to speak.

But here's the thing. I spent twenty-five years trying to figure out how to win this contest. I knew I could win--I've won many contests with far more entries than this one. And I was told I had almost won three times, by all three coordinating judges. It was painful to find out how close I had come each time. Had I known how to tweak my entries to the specific needs of this contest, I would have been a winner years earlier. I don't like suffering, and I don't enjoy seeing people putting their heart and soul into an endeavor suffering for years, beating their heads against the wall, wondering what in the world they're doing wrong. I'd like to help. I wrote these Secrets to help. I conduct this workshop to help. I wish someone had done this for me, so that I didn't have to stumble about in the dark for years. Some of these things are very easy to fix, but you have to understand what they are in order to fix them.

The Master Class is your opportunity to have me personally show you how to do it. I'll also be releasing a story structure worksheet and plot system I've never shown anyone before. It's my secret system, based on knowledge I've gleaned from a lifetime of workshops from the best in the field. It works.

For some of you, I believe a flare will ignite in the darkness. I believe you will find that one thing you were missing that will propel your writing to the next level. And that, my friends, can knock years off your "almosts" and "really liked this, buts"...and launch you toward your win.

But only if you're there.

I haven't checked lately. There were only three or four spots left. Don't miss this opportunity.

I promise to teach you some magic.

Beastmaster Moon https://www.fyrecon.com/master-classes/ ... -workshop/

Wish I could attend, but pandemic, blah, blah, blah. Any chance you'll offer this in the future?

Yippee!! I'm in the Master Class!!

(I did have trouble registering . . . took 4 attempts and the threat of magic spells . . . but well worth it.)

Wish I could attend, but pandemic, blah, blah, blah. Any chance you'll offer this in the future?

Re: pandemic: it's going to be taught virtually, if that changes your ability to attend.

Yippee!! I'm in the Master Class!!

(I did have trouble registering . . . took 4 attempts and the threat of magic spells . . . but well worth it.)

Awesome, StarReacher! Welcome to Top Gun! This Master Class is going to be filled with the Wulf Pack, the Best of the Best!

I'm going to have to play "Ride Into the Danger Zone" at the opening!

START. YOUR. ENGINES!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

***Only three spots left! Maybe. It's been awhile since I asked, but StarReacher got in! Here's the details for the ONLINE class. Catch it before it fills, because it's about to! https://www.fyrecon.com/master-classes/ ... -workshop/