Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

Posted by: @linardos

9. Why do I spare Tussaud's Wax Museum?

Because she serves as an additional adversary. Robin Williams said it best "Having people that make you feel alone is worse to being alone."

Batter up! Akis stands at the plate next. Loved your Robin Williams quote, Akis. Knocks your answer out of the park. I spared Tussaud’s for that very reason. Not only has Sophie seen her friends destroyed, but she is turned on by the last survivor, which is even worse than losing a friend. Things get worse. I used to have that phrase—which I learned from judges Kris Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith—taped to my monitor.

Margaret Atwood of The Handmaid’s Tale fame said: “The number one rule in writing is ‘Hold my attention.’” This is how you do it. Your job is to think of new ways in each scene to make the crucible of test even hotter for your protagonist. This was me thinking of a new way I could turn up the heat when Sophie had already lost all that was dear to her. This was a soul-crusher, and I did not spare Sophie from the pain. But please note that even in this unsolvable problem, Sophie didn’t allow herself to be walked on, she was proactive. Sophie had to cut ties to shield herself, as many of us have had to do from such individuals. I trusted readers had experienced this in their lives, and would respect Sophie for making the painful choice to cut ties with a former friend. The Reader/Hero Bond grows stronger because of shared pain and personal experience of the reader. 

As a sidebar, I no longer have that mantra taped to my monitor. I’ve practiced this lesson enough over the years, it has become second nature. But I remember who taught it to me, and I’ll always be grateful. We all stand on the backs of giants.

You come to your conclusion with question thirteen. Excellent answer, and it’s obvious you understand why the Super Secret of Vulnerability is such a powerful tool. Let’s conclude with it.

13. In conclusion, how did I use vulnerability to make you care about a building? How can you utilize this Super Secret in your next story to grab your readers’ hearts?

It's wired in us to feel for the downtrodden. It's why the "orphaned" MC is so popular. By making her vulnerable you make us care to protect her. There are many ways to utilize this secret and make an MC vulnerable, and it adds points toward Reader/Hero Bond. Ways I have done so is: give a handicap, make them the target of racism/segregation, have them be a powerless child whose enemy is an adult etc etc

Exactly.

Go forth and conquer, Akis.

Beastmaster Moon

Posted by: @jennyperrycarr

12. How do you feel when Sophie, in her most vulnerable state, risks everything she fears in order to obtain her heart’s desire? At that point, she has everything and nothing to lose. I worried for her taking further risk with the vagrant. Will this hasten her demise? Her action is a hail mary. She already thinks she's lost as he takes out each of her friends then parts of her. Her fate seems inevitable. Unless she can reach him. Somehow.

13. In conclusion, how did I use vulnerability to make you care about a building? How can you utilize this Super Secret in your next story to grab your readers’ hearts? Putting the characters in jeopardy makes us instantly worry about them, even if they are buildings. We relate to the feelings Sophie has; we know isolation, loneliness, hopelessness, feeling without purpose. Making her kind in the opening also helped build a connection with the reader (aka Save the Cat). She welcomes Ripley's ramblings even when they aren't relevant. So when we see her threatened, we fear for her and hope for the best each step of the way.

Jennyperrycarr is next on the dragstrip and we hear her engines roar. And she's off! Every answer is on point, and she crosses the finish line with her last two answers as my faves.

On #12, I liked how you called her final desperate act a Hail Mary. That's what it is, a final do-or-die attempt to survive and achieve her heart's desire. The most powerful climaxes involve sacrifice. Being willing to sacrifice their life in the protagonist's attempt to achieve their heart's desire is one of the highest stakes you can place before them. David Wolverton in his last WotF workshop stated, "Show me something they'd be willing to die for." High stakes. Make sure they're at their highest in your climax, and that can often involve the choice between life or death, or being locked away in one's worst vision of hell. 

In #13, you understand that this story is about the human condition, even though I'm using buildings. That's why human readers can relate to it. These buildings are much like us! They fear isolation, loneliness, hopelessness, and feeling without purpose. We've all experienced versions of that, including dealing with feelings of betrayal, so when I wrote this, I was betting readers would identify with Sophie's problems, and care that she was facing them because of feeling sympathy for her. And yes, Ripley was filled with endless trivia facts and liked to spout them off because, hey, he housed humanity's archive of trivia facts. I wrote him cute, like a child brimming with excitement, so that when he died, readers would feel Sophie's loss. But I also made Sophie patient and kind in dealing with him, much like a mother with her child, so that the reader would respect and bond with her. You've got it!

Great work, Jenny! I hope this assignment helps you tune up your Formula One racecar for the Q3 heat. Only twelve days away.

START. YOUR. ENGINES!

Beastmaster Moon

My next SUPER SECRETS of Writing article has just been published at DreamForge! "SET. YOUR. STAGE."

We all know smart stagecraft is vital to successful plays, but did you know it's just as important in writing stories that win? Failing to set your stage may not be as bad as the classic blunder of starting a land war in Asia (inconceivable!), but it's mighty close. Aspiring writers have the hardest time mastering this aspect of the writing craft.

Take advantage of my heads up before you Challenge Beasties submit your Q3s! Study your settings in every scene of your stories. Use my opening scene checklist. This Secret can make or break you!

Here's the link that has the potential to change your future! CLICK HERE.

Beastmaster Moon

Posted by: @wulfmoon

My next SUPER SECRETS of Writing article has just been published at DreamForge! "SET. YOUR. STAGE."

Moon,

what a thoughtful, reasoned article. It's typical Moon--fun to read and easy to follow. I particularly appreciated the 'checklist' under Needs to Proceed. In intend to compare that to my Q3, which is basically ready to submit. 

I almost feel like you wrote this one just for me. So kind of you, Beastmaster. 

It's a great article! And good advice to those of us fighting our natural urge to blather on like a Victorian novel, spending endless pages on setting, while not hacking away at the parts of it that truly enrich reader experience.

Posted by: @folkloremipsum

It's a great article! And good advice to those of us fighting our natural urge to blather on like a Victorian novel, spending endless pages on setting, while not hacking away at the parts of it that truly enrich reader experience.

Thank you! I’m so glad it helped. I see these issues in my workshops and with clients I do editing for, and we work hard to root them out. When they do, I find they start selling and to great markets … and they had never sold a story before.

For some, the issue is too little proper setting, for others, it’s too much. Good balance that hits all the notes jusssst right is the mark of pro stories. It’s also important to understand how much the market will bear, which is what today’s readers will bear. Victorian readers wanted all those gorgeous descriptions and splendid interiors, almost as much as they wanted a story. There are reasons for that. Today’s readers have different needs, and understanding their needs and meeting them while retaining our Voice is the key to selling our work. And an important key to winning WotF, I might add. Don’t ask me how I know. ?

I developed the “KYD: Kill Your Darlings” exercise to help writers with this issue and more. Many began selling and winning major contests—like WotF and the Mike Resnick Award—after practicing what they learned. One in this year’s Super Secrets Workshop—David Hankins—turned the flash piece he created in the Fyrecon workshop I conducted last year into his very first sale. That was to DreamForge, titled “A Properly Spiced Gingerbread.” No sales before then; several wonderful sales now. 

At the top, fine-tuning skills like this is vital to nosing ahead of the others. May the article give you that edge you’ll need at the top to win.?

And I know you are doing well. Best of success in bringing home the gold!

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

Only TEN days left to create your Q3 winner, Challenge Beasties! If you need a fresh idea, here’s your Monday prompt!

Suspicious activity reports.

May the Force be with you!

Beastmaster Moon

Posted by: @scott_m_sands

10. How do I make Sophie even more vulnerable through the attack by the vagrant?

The vagrant destroys her speakers, adding to her sense of isolation (greatest fear). He also wipes out ol' Donald, which I found very unnerving. Yes, the Donald figure was in close proximity to Sophie, which added to her stakes, but Donald himself, bless him, represents an innocence and purity. Destroying that cuts deep and I feel that witnessing this adds to Sophie's vulnerability.

Continuing on in our study of Vulnerability through my WotF 24-hour story “Sophie’s Parisian Stationery and Parfumerie Magnifique,” we come to Scot Sand’s answers. Great job, Scott, and you picked up on something no one else caught—why I used Donald Duck in the story. Loved your answer here to question ten.

While at the WotF workshop, I knew my setting for the 24-hour story would be Hollywood Boulevard—it’s iconic, it’s been in tons of movies, it’s a major tourist attraction, and I felt the street would resonate with a majority of readers. They know the place! So each time we walked the street, I did my best to absorb every detail I could. There were many stars on the Walk of Fame in front of the El Capitan building, and Donald Duck stood out for me. As I composed my story, I needed a reason for the vagrant to really hate Hollywood to cause him to be so vindictive. Solution? He moved to LA specifically to be closer to Disneyland because his kids loved it. And after making that sacrifice for them, the Blitzers wiped out his family. When a quacking Donald Duck hologram lights up because the dog stepped on the star, it ignites fury in the vagrant because Donald represents all he has lost to the machines. I’m glad your empathy for Donald kicked in because he is innocent, he had nothing to do with the Blitzers, and he is just playing out his role on the famous street. It’s what I wanted you to feel, and it’s obvious you recognize what I was doing. Great!

I also wanted to use the situation to bond you closer to Sophie, so you could feel what she’s feeling in the story. Just like you, she couldn’t comprehend why the vagrant would want to destroy something representing childhood innocence and fun. It is so shocking to Sophie, she risks her life defending Donald, exposing the fact that she is operational. “Don’t kill Donald!” she cries out through her holodrone. If I’ve done my job right, you’re crying out the same thing in your heart. Donald doesn’t deserve to die.

This also touches on another important Super Secret: the Reader/Hero Bond. I use this event to make you feel in touch with Sophie and to respect her all the more. You like Donald, she likes Donald. You think the vagrant’s actions are bad, so does she. In fact, even though she’s completely vulnerable to this man with a shotgun in hand, she risks it all to stand up for Donald and what’s right. I’m betting you’ll respect her for that, not everyone would do so (like selfish Taussaud’s down the street). Her virtues and selflessness represent characteristics we admire in good people; revealing their strength in Sophie ups your respect for her. She’s not just a sentient building. She’s a decent person.

I might add that she’s a real person. Well, based on one. When you win WotF one day soon, say hello to Sophie for me. She’s the wonderful French receptionist and official greeter you’ll meet when you enter the main offices of Author Services. She’ll give you a warm bonjour when you come off the elevator, and when my protagonist speaks in my story, all I hear is dear Sophie’s French-accented voice from that reception area. She’s wonderful, and I mirror her in my Sophie. She was also tickled to find out I had done so. Like I said, I absorbed everything around me while in Hollywood, adding it to my list of ingredients, not knowing what would I would need in the end for the stew. Turns out I needed it all. ?

You understand the Secret, Scott. Use it well.

Beastmaster Moon

Posted by: @wulfmoon

I might add that she’s a real person. Well, based on one. When you win WotF one day soon, say hello to Sophie for me. She’s the wonderful French receptionist and official greeter you’ll meet when you enter the main offices of Author Services.

I love that personal touch.

Well done, sir.

The Super Secrets hit 800,000 views the other day! I'm happy so many have been helped by this award-winning resource I created. Thank you to all that have been part of this workshop, and thank you to all those that have read the Secrets. I shared them after I won Writers of the Future to make your path to success easier, and I’m happy to note they have done so for so many. Keep up the great work!

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

Your Monday prompt, delivered on Sunday! That’s because I want you to change things up and do the unexpected. If a judge, editor, or reader can see your ending coming early on, there’s no pleasant surprise at the end. You want them to say, ‘Wow, never saw that coming, but it makes a satisfying or surprising (or shocking) sort of sense.”

Remember that ‘make sense’ part. You can’t do a surprise ending that hasn’t been baked into your story early on. The reader won’t forgive you if they believe you just tossed it in at the end for a fake surprise. It’s not clever, it’s cheating. Clever is building the ending in all along, and no one sees the man behind the curtain until you send Toto over to pull the curtain back. 

Heeeere’s your prompt:

Green-eyed mystery.

I’m adding one more twist, just to make it interesting. Interesting and unique wins! I’d like you to twist genres with this. The prompt lends itself to romance, but why not do a hard sf romance? Or perhaps a green-eyed dragon is in a weird western. Twist your genre up and make magic happen, perhaps where magic normally never would. Give yourself permission to have fun and go wild!

And if you don’t have a clue what your Q3 will be, I’ve just thrown you a bone! You’ve got four days yet. I only had a day and a half to write my winner. Four days can be plenty of time to write a fresh story. Believe.

All the beast!

Bastmaster Moon

@wulfmoon these Super Secrets CHANGED MY LIFE !!!!

I do like that prompt. I have a story ready to submit this quarter, but I'm still trying to do better.

Adding green-eyed mystery to the mix adds an extra layer of complexity. Thanx

End of the month check in!

I've completed my KYD, and this month's story ahead of schedule. (You have no idea how proud I am of that accomplishment. It doesn't happen nearly as often as it should.) I've also subbed three stories this month and WotF will be my fourth. Heck, I might even try for a fifth, since I have time. I know lots of you manage more than that, but it's pretty good for me, so I'm calling it progress. LOL

Posted by: @empressed

Heck, I might even try for a fifth, since I have time

That's awesome, Empressed!

Never just about what others do. Five is great! You should be proud!   

Check in for June:

Wrote 1x KYD

Expanded that KYD to 3K, but the story isn’t close to finished yet.

Finished my Q3 entry and submitted to WotF.

Submitted to 3 markets and have one more I’ll drop tomorrow when they open.

And Factor Four Magazine published my second story and DreamForge released the print version of my first story!

It’s been a good month.

I have completed all the tasks to remain in Moon's Volume 39 challenge to date. April went really well, but I really struggled in May and June to keep up.

For June, I completed 1 KYD, wrote 3,000+ words on a fresh story which I completed for my Q3 entry. I also went to an in-person writing conference where I placed in 4 out of 7 contests entered.

For WOTF Q3, I completed three KYDs, Wrote 9,000+ words resulting in 3 fresh stories, and I submitted four stories to professional markets (2 have been returned and the other 2 are still in review). As mentioned above, I submitted a Q3 story (this afternoon). As a side note, I've also entered 3 original digital illustrations to IOTF Q3.

I would like to thank Candice Lisle @crlisle, Victoria Dixon @empressed, and Scott Sands @scott_m_sands for their helpful feedback on my Q3 story in a short period of time. If my Q3 story manages to get above a RWC, it will be because of their help. They pointed out significant things for me to consider and change.

Onwards to Q4 with a day to spare!  

June report:

1. Wrote about 4000 fresh words (finished stories I began last month)

2. 1xKYD

3. Submitted to Q3

4. Submitted to over 5 pro-paying magazines

Editted a buttload of stories.

June Report:

1. A new story around 2200w, 5600w on my novel chapters.

2. 1x KYD based on the 'suspicious activity reports' prompt

3. Submitted my Q3 to WOTF this month

4. 10+ stories submitted to respectable markets

*My goal was for 100 submissions to respectable markets this year. I'm currently sitting on 92 and should crack it in July.

@physa 

Very kind of you to mention us, Amy.
If your story does well, it'll be because you wrote an awesome story.   

June Report: 

1. Wrote a 2500 word and 8500 word story.

2. wrote one kyd

3. Submitted to Q3 of writers of the future. 

4. Submitted to two markets and made my goal for the quarter. 

Year 4 June Check-in

1. Wrote a fresh 8900 word story and reworked a 4000 word novel chapter

2. Submitted to Q3 WotF

3. Wrote 1 KYD

4. Submitted to 7 markets this quarter.

June report:

Subbed to Q3.

Subbed to many more than just 3 markets. I'm still waiting on the majority of them.

I did a KYD on suspicious activity reports. I'll be honest that I did it more in the spirit of the exercise (killing darlings) than exact wordcount. My laptop screen is broken so I limit my usage as it involves hooking up my laptop to the projector. I wrote it by hand, halved the pages written, then halved it again. Now that I don't have pressure of wotf I'll type it up. If it's not enough I'll add more, if too little I'll cut.

June report:

Subbed to WotF, submitted a flash to Flash Fiction Online, wrote a short story that definitely needs more work, and wrote 1 kyd. 

My originally planned story sub for this month was closed, so I ended up cleaning up an expanded kyd and I love what it's become.

With that, I finished all the quarter requirements and am anxious to get started on the next one.

The Keeper of Records rushed into the Summer Jousting Championship and wove through tent-lined pathways to the royal pavilion. Sunshine warmed his skin and the smell of roast boar reminded him that he hadn’t eaten yet.

He entered the pavilion as jousting knights clashed to thunderous applause.

The Wulf, seated beside the king, saw the Keeper and signaled the trumpeters. Brass fanfare silenced the crowd and the keeper stepped to the podium. Even the knights retuning to their respective ends of the field paused to listen. All in the kingdom were anxious for the Keeper’s news.

“Hear ye, hear ye! Your favored bards, minstrels, scribes, and scribblers have reported in. Despite three grueling quarters—nine months!—these writers remain committed to perfecting their craft, achieving more sales and continued acclaim. These are the names that remain scrawled in blood upon my scroll.”

He read the names and each received deafening cheers.

@empressed

@scott_m_sands

@linardos

@jarrodkwilliams

@physa

@scribblesatdusk

@lost_bard

@jennyperrycarr

@cpapa

“May their exploits and stories serve to entertain, enthrall, and encourage those writers who follow after.”

I’ll be brief since it’s a holiday.

Your Monday prompt is:

Digital detox.

OR

Magical detox.

Have at it! Twist it up!

Beastmaster Moon

Baen’s Fantasy Adventure Award finalists were announced over the weekend. Congratulations to all the finalists, and a shout out to TWO from my Wulf Pack Writers Group that are now in the running for Baen’s Adventure Fantasy Award: Brittany Perry Rainsdon and Alex Fox! Well done! We look forward to hearing the final results when they’re announced at Dragon Con! ????

I donated this webinar to support DreamForge magazine’s Kickstarter. I was told yesterday it’s sold out, full at 50 participants. The same thing happened with the one I donated last year. When I taught this at Fyrecon, David Wolverton/Farland kindly agreed to join me. He had that meditative look in his eyes at the end, commended me, and said at all the conventions and seminars he had attended in his life, he had never seen this topic taught, and yet it’s so important. Made my year. I miss my mentor, but the show must go on.

Many of you in this Super Secrets Workshop will be attending the webinar this Saturday. I’ll share a few of the points David added last year, hopefully while not getting choked up. It’s going to be a great time. Do bring something to write on, and a six-sided die. And sturdy chains. Once you release your kraken, you don’t want it going rogue. You need that beastie to do your will!

Or is it the other way around . . . ?

See you there! 

Beastmaster Moon

To all those that have met the workshop’s requirements this year all the way to Q3, well done! Just look at what setting goals that challenge your abilities have helped you to accomplish! Ask yourselves: Would I have created this body of work without the challenge requirements? Have I seen improvement in my skills by writing fresh stories, instead of endlessly revising the old? Are there external signs my efforts are being rewarded? Where am I at on my writer’s path since I began this workshop?

I encourage you to make a stair step chart up a slope. Mark where you were at when you started, and then on those stairs, some significant achievements you’ve enjoyed over the past nine months. Next, add a step beyond, something achievable through your own efforts in the next three months, completely independent of the judgment of others. It could be to add additional words to your output, to read more books, to take a writing course, to attend a seminar—anything that will help advance your skills. This is your next target of growth.

I’m happy to see all the productivity. You all have positive growth, some with first respectable sales this year, others in tremendous output of new work, and all have increased submissions beyond the realms of trying to win one Contest, albeit a wonderful one. This is what it takes to grow. This is what it takes to become a pro writer.

This is the way.

Beastmaster Moon