Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

Thanks Moon!!!!

You’re welcome! May the Force be with you this Q!

Great one, Wulf. I've been working on my scene openings and endings, so this was good timing.

Thanks, Becky and Henckel. I've had to repeat this counsel over and over to clients and workshop members, so I know it's needed. I think it will help writers if they view each scene as a mini story, and put extra care and effort into the opening of each scene, and it's conclusion. Especially the conclusions to scenes--as Ruby Rhod says, they need to pop, pop, POP!

Are we green? : )

Cheers!

Super green.

Happy first day of March, folks! Today's Monday prompt is: ACCIDENTALLY LOST SOUL.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MARKET

When I was at the Writers of the Future Vol. 35 workshop, each of us were handed a special gift: the very first issue of a gorgeous full-sized, full-color magazine known as DreamForge. I hadn't seen a magazine in the industry like this since Sovereign Media produced SF Age and Realms of Fantasy. It was an ambitious undertaking, a breathtaking publication filled with original art on each page, and I wondered who could go out on a limb like this and try it again. And then I found out who the publisher was: a Writers of the Future winner named Scot Noel. When you win Writers of the Future, you are taught to dream big, that anything is possible.

Well, they did the impossible! DreamForge ran for two years and had over twenty stories achieve the honor of being on Tangent's coveted Recommended Reading List. Then covid struck last year, severely impacting their business. The postal system struck as well, failing to get many print copies to their subscribers, costing them a fortune in additional printing and postage to make replacements.

But Scot and his wife Jane didn't want to throw in the towel. So this year they've switched to a nonprofit, and started a Kickstarter to keep paying writers six cents a word, a respectable rate! And they've put the focus on publishing aspiring writers, even providing edits to help stories that are almost there. Have you wondered where my SUPER SECRETS workshop members have been? I challenged each of them to write a story for this market, and they've now done so.

To aid DreamForge Anvil's cause, I just donated one of my live virtual workshops as a pledge reward, to be held May 15th, 2021. This workshop is part of my award-winning SUPER SECRETS Workshop series that kept selling out last year. The title is: "NAIL YOUR OPENING: How Driving to the Story Creates Accidents." This workshop is the most important one I teach, because if you fail in your opening, no one will read your story. Includes my workshop, their Best Of anthology (yes, an actual printed BOOK), DreamForge Years 1 & 2, a year's subscription to the new DreamForge Anvil, and more! It's not expensive, only $35 for all, and every penny goes to paying writers for their stories. I think that's grand.

If a workshop's not your cup of tea, you can support for as little as ten bucks, which will get you a year's subscription at almost half off! When you subscribe, you'll not only be helping hopeful writers like yourself, you'll be reading great stories, such as, oh, I don't know, how about this one? "Shaken, Not Stirred," by Wulf Moon in their flagship April Issue! Sipping chilled martinis alongside the Sagittarius Stream not your thing? Got you covered! I've been commissioned to write SUPER SECRETS writing articles for the magazine, and the first debuts in this same issue!

Come along for the ride! If you're able to help, this is indeed a worthy cause. Not only will it save a gorgeous magazine, it will preserve an important market for aspiring writers, possibly even one for you! And if we get to spend some time together in my workshop, all the better! But let's save the drinks for the end, shall we? You're going into the Forest after all. Got to have your wits about you . . .

Nighty-night.

Here's their Kickstarter! https://bit.ly/DFKicks

Final thought to add to the above: I highly recommend subscribing to markets you hope to sell to. It not only helps you see what an editor likes, it sustains the market so it will be there when you wish to submit your stories. It also gives you an advantage over others that don't support. You see, editors like seeing this sentence in your cover letter: I am a subscriber to your magazine.

Dean Wesley Smith, now a judge in WotF, taught me this Secret years ago when I was in Wordos. May it help you get that bit of editor appreciation that can help put your story over the top when the selection is close!

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MARKET
Here's their Kickstarter! https://bit.ly/DFKicks

!Rebel Yell!

Done!
I am looking forward to that workshop, Wulfy!

I got the email about this offer and signed up for the 35, well it ended at 39. I am stoked about the upcoming experience. 

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MARKET
Here's their Kickstarter! https://bit.ly/DFKicks

!Rebel Yell!

Done!
I am looking forward to that workshop, Wulfy!

Sweet, Dragonchef! Glad to hear that rebel yell! I'll hire you to cook virtual appetizers for everyone! Don't forget the SUPER SECRET SAUCE! : )

Storysinger, glad you're stoked! $35 covers my workshop, a year's subscription to DreamForge Anvil, a year's subscription to Space and Time Magazine, all the digital back issues of DreamForge 1-7, a novel, and their Best OF print anthology WORLDS OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS. It has to be mailed out, it's a physical book, thus the $4 add on at the end. Postage, and those shipping packages. But Scot has told me 100% of that $35 goes to paying hopeful writers for their stories. It's why I'm doing this. I have a strong desire to help writers like you get published. It's why I created the SUPER SECRETS. It's why Scot is creating the new DreamForge Anvil. See you there!

Looking forward to helping everyone NAIL YOUR OPENING. The most important SUPER SECRET you will ever learn!

Thank you to all who can support the DreamForge Anvil Kickstarter. Your pledge will help aspiring writers get published...maybe even you!

Here's their Kickstarter! https://bit.ly/DFKicks

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Thank you to all who can support the DreamForge Anvil Kickstarter. Your pledge will help aspiring writers get published...maybe even you!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Glad to do it, Wulfy! BTW: Is there a specific time on May 15 we should be tuning in (I am EDT)? And how do we get there (link)?

Virtual chocolate/almond croissants and espressos will be provided by yours truly!

Dragonchef wrote: "Glad to do it, Wulfy! BTW: Is there a specific time on May 15 we should be tuning in (I am EDT)? And how do we get there (link)?

Virtual chocolate/almond croissants and espressos will be provided by yours truly!"

Yes, please, Dragonchef! That looks tasty! : ) And THANK YOU for supporting this noble cause!!!

A favor to ask all: please don't post to this thread for just a bit so people see this post. It's important. I want to help DreamForge. And I know you guys do, too. So let's leave this visible by not burying it. More will see and will likely be moved to help out. Cheers!

Okay, here's the details:

DREAMFORGE ANVIL KICKSTARTER, A NONPROFIT MAGAZINE TO PUBLISH HOPEFUL WRITERS

Pledge Reward: A NEW SUPER SECRETS Workshop by Wulf Moon!

Title: "NAIL YOUR OPENING: How Driving to the Story Creates Accidents"

Description: This is the most important workshop Wulf Moon teaches. If you don't nail your opening, no one reads your story but your mother. Discover THE SECOND GREATEST BLUNDER. The first is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well known is this mistake: DON'T DRIVE TO THE STORY. Find out the Secrets to hook your reader in the very first lines of your story--even before your story begins!--and send them on the ride of their life all the way to its dramatic end. THERE WILL BE BLOOD! Okay, virtual blood, but it will splatter *virtually* everywhere as we sacrifice weak openings on the editing altar and bring forth vibrant life anew!

Date: Zoom Workshop, Saturday, May 15, 2021. Starts 1 pm EST. Workshop approximately 1.5 hours, interactive, with time for questions and discussion.

I'm donating this workshop to help DreamForge Anvil buy stories at a respectable rate from aspiring writers like you! 100% goes to paying writers for their stories. Not only is Scot Noel a Writers of the Future winner, this is indeed a worthy cause.

I hope to see many of you there! As anyone will tell you, my workshops are fun and eye-opening because I give you my best. I've won over forty awards in writing to date, so I do know something about writing compelling stories that win. But if $35 is a little hard for you right now (you do get two digital subscriptions, access to digital copies of DreamForge 1-7, and a Best Of print book included with the workshop!) you can pledge as low as $10 and get a year's subscription to DreamForge Anvil at almost half off!

Here's the Kickstarter. Nail your openings and see your results soar! I hope to see many of you there!

https://bit.ly/DFKicks

Hope it's been long enough that it's all right to post the prompt - let me know if not, Moon, and I'll take this down.
Today's Monday prompt is: HORRIBLE HOROLOGIST.

Hope it's been long enough that it's all right to post the prompt - let me know if not, Moon, and I'll take this down.
Today's Monday prompt is: HORRIBLE HOROLOGIST.

Thanks for posting our weekly writing prompt, Leah. The show must go on. Do you need more prompts or are we still good?

And to all that pass through these hallowed halls, please scroll up and view my post on the DreamForge Anvil Kickstarter. If you can help out, even by buying a ten dollar subscription, they will fund. If they fund, they will be able to publish stories by writers like YOU. If they don’t fund, we lose a great market for aspiring writers. And that would be a shame, these are good people trying to help aspiring writers.

I’ve also donated a live online workshop to help out. It’s only $35, and comes with a couple subscriptions, their upcoming Best Of print book, and more. By the time you add up all the goodies, it’s like getting the workshop for free. I’ll give you some Super Secrets that helped me win Writers of the Future, and some exercises to make sure you get the points. This workshop can change your future in writing, as my workshops have for so many already. But only if you’re there!

This is a nonprofit magazine, founded by a WotF winner, giving aspiring writers a better chance at getting published. Helping them out may very well help you out in your publishing goals. Thanks for helping them keep the DreamForge flame alive!

https://bit.ly/DFKicks

Hope it's been long enough that it's all right to post the prompt - let me know if not, Moon, and I'll take this down.
Today's Monday prompt is: HORRIBLE HOROLOGIST.

Thanks for posting our weekly writing prompt, Leah. The show must go on. Do you need more prompts or are we still good?

We're starting to get to where we'll need more prompts soon, yes. Nothing desperate - we have enough for at least a few months yet.

Happy (or is it?) daylight savings Monday, for those who still have to participate!

Today's Monday prompt is: EMOTIONAL SHIELDING.

I have a new assignment coming up for you challenge beasties. But first, give careful thought as to what's your favorite of all time short story. One that really gripped you from beginning to end. Not a novelette, short story, under 7500 words. It can be any genre, but it needs to have several scene changes.

Month is coming to an end so I have to say, Don't miss your monthly requirements! And never miss the WotF quarterly deadline, which is coming right up! Two weeks away, and the clock is ticking. I'm catching up in my editing queue for clients, and have one more workshop member's story to edit. These are line-by-line and developmental edits, so they do take me awhile. The Super Secrets books are still coming, and planning is underway for the Kickstarter. And I've got an interview this Friday on Chatting With Sheri. Always busy, but I haven't forgotten you!

Special kudos go out to Wulf Pack members Brittany Rainsdon for her sale to Deep Magic, and to our own Keeper of Records, Leah Ning, for her sale to Podcastle! WELL DONE!

All the beast,

Beastmaster Moon

Thanks, Moon! And congrats again, Brittany - can't wait to read your story in Deep Magic!!!

Thanks, Moon! And congrats again, Brittany - can't wait to read your story in Deep Magic!!!

I think Brittany will get that sweet cover with a maiden for their spring issue. They normally buy for the upcoming issue. They have the best cover art, but that one is exceptional. Be sure to print it out and frame it, Brit.

I am very happy to see so many Super Secrets Workshop members going from zero sales to being published in great venues, including Writers of the Future! And if it hasn’t happened yet for you, do not despair! Analyze the Secrets, find one weakness you need to work on, and just keep writing, knowing you will be rewarded if you stay the course. If these can do it, you can too! They are living proof!

As I had Brittany post to her work station a couple of years ago: Belief Determines Reality.

Don’t stop believing, and DO the work that gets you there, which is pushing your skills by writing fresh stories! Ever heard me say that before? Good. It’s the foundation of this workshop.

Make magic happen!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

7000 views in about 24 hours. A new record! Thanks for reading the Super Secrets! A bit of advice from my days in sales that works well for writing. Zig Ziglar was a master speaker and salesman, and I listened to many of his discourses while on the road. Here’s some great advice from the man.

“You have to be before you can do, and do before you can have.”

Keep writing fresh stories!

Beastmaster Moon

7000 views in about 24 hours. A new record! Thanks for reading the Super Secrets! A bit of advice from my days in sales that works well for writing. Zig Ziglar was a master speaker and salesman, and I listened to many of his discourses while on the road. Here’s some great advice from the man.

“You have to be before you can do, and do before you can have.”

Keep writing fresh stories!

Beastmaster Moon

Ziggy Ziglar - didn't he make rolling papers back in the 60s?

My interview with Chatting With Sherri went well today. I was able to mention the SUPER SECRETS Workshop, the upcoming books through Stark Publishing Solutions, and some of the great results members have been having with their writing. I also spoke about my Native American grandmother of the Chippewa Nation and how I learned storytelling craft from her. It airs on April 8th, 2021. I'll post when it goes live.

Less than two weeks left on this quarter! Don't miss your deadline! Meeting deadlines is the mark of a pro.

For those interested, DreamForge Anvil Magazine's Kickstarter met it's funding goal! Thank you to all those that supported! The Kickstarter closes in about a day. Last chance to grab some of its great rewards, like a subscription for only $10 (regularly $17). This is one of those great "respectable markets" I talk about, and it's a nonprofit focused on helping aspiring writers to get published. Last call to help keep their fires lit another year! The subscription price in the Kickstarter of $10 for six online issues is a steal! https://bit.ly/DFKicks

Beastmaster Moon

We pass the 700,000 mark on Super Secrets views today. 700,333 to be exact!

Thank you to all that pass through these halls. More Super Secrets to come! And a special expanded Super Secret that will be in the books is coming to DreamForge Anvil Magazine on April 10th, 2021. Don’t miss it! If you have a subscription, you’ll get to read these special editions throughout the year!

May they help you achieve your writing goals, as they have done for many. Cheers!

700k views - wow! Super cool!

Not to digress, but it is that time again! Today's Monday prompt is: MERCURIAL EYES.

Finishing a piece for DreamForge Anvil today that will be in their upcoming April edition. It's a behind the scenes article for my story, "Shaken, Not Stirred." I state the following in the article:

As The Return of the King scriptwriters had Gimli say: "Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?"

That statement really is the Secret to providing tension in plots. Are your stakes high enough? Could they go higher? Could they involve more than just your protagonist's life? How about their family? How about their civilization? How about their world? If stakes rise to such heights, what price would your protagonist be forced to pay to beat impossible odds?

Gimli's words in the movie, though not Tolkien's, are worth posting conspicuously in your writing space. Maybe even an image of him saying that to you.

Much success to your WotF Q2 stories! Nine days left to UP YOUR STAKES!

Beastmaster Moon

And, since this is the Top Gun Super Secrets Workshop year, we take you back to our commander at the naval air station at Miramar ...

At ease, pilots. Your mission for this week's training is attack pattern WOTF. I will be up there with you in this dogfight. I expect you to perform at your mission best. Failure is not an option, it's death in these skies. Win this one, and it will give your career a rocket boost. The WOTF maneuver can change your future. Remember your training. STAY. ON. TARGET.

You have your orders. Have your copilot check you over. Buddy system, people. Suit up!

Commander "Beastmaster" Moon

For those of you that subscribed to DreamForge Anvil magazine, there's going to be more BIG surprises. Okay, one I haven't even seen, because I'm told it's a surprise for me! If you recall, "Shaken, Not Stirred" is my first commissioned story (another one of those career stair steps I've told you about). It will appear in their flagship issue on April 10th, coming right up! But they also asked me to write a "Behind the Scenes" piece on how I created it. Want to see the Super Secrets in action? Want to learn how to construct stronger page-turners? I reveal the secret magic tricks I employ, step-by-step, so that you can do them, too! On top of that, this issue will feature an article from my upcoming Super Secrets books that will be published by Mark Leslie Lefabvre's company, Stark Publishing Solutions. You get an advance peek into the Super Secrets books! Don't miss this upcoming issue!

Hey folks, it's that time again! Today's Monday prompt is: STOLEN STARES or STOLEN STARS (depending on whether you'd like it to be SF or F).

Reminder: almost the end of the month AND the end of the quarter - don't forget to get those reports in! In light of the news that we'll be losing our PMs in the next few days, also please remember that I will message you back to let you know I've got your report. If the PMs roll over between you messaging me and me having seen it, you'll know because I haven't answered, so please PM me again if you don't hear from me in a couple days. Get them stories done, folks! Keep on pushing! You've all been doing great.

Hey again, all - an update re: my last post, for some reason I'm unable to view or send any private messages on the new forum. It did email me a PM from someone just now, so I was able to see it from there (and yes, the forum change did eat your message, sorry!). But if I don't answer your PM post-forum change, that is why! I'm not ignoring you! Thanks for your patience, folks. I'm working on figuring out why this is happening.

And all your hard work on the hyperlinked TOC got knocked out, Leah.