Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

I found that once I put the magic sword into my story, it all fell together, like...MAGIC

I find it so interesting how the magic sword is intrinsically tied to Heart's Desire.

An anthology with stories by Writers of the Future winners, with essays on how they wrote them? Count me in! Wait! I'm already in! Join us in this campaign and together we shall rule the galaxy!

Click HERE to back these WotF winners in their first group publishing endeavor!

@crlisle It’s obviously working! Glad to hear you are deploying your Magic Sword!

It’s time for your Monday prompt!

The parting glass.

This prompt comes from an old Irish song, traditionally sung at funerals.

Get your Irish on and raise a glass … to writing your Q2 winner! March 31st is the deadline. Get your fresh, original stories in like I’ve taught you! That’s where you grow in writing skills. Avoid the rewrite trap new writers fall into. And you can’t win if you aren’t in!

All the beast,

Beastmaster Moon

It’s Monday, and that means it’s time for your writing prompt! Well, here it is!

Magic Sword

It can be literal, or you can create your own modern version of what your story’s Excalibur should be. Need more help? Click on this link!

Click HERE!

And don’t miss the Q2 deadline with your fresh, original stories! You can’t win if you aren’t in, and March 31st is almost here!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

It’s Monday, and that’s when I post a writing prompt for those following this topic, and especially for those doing my KYD Kill Your Darlings Exercise! Here it is:

Voodoo curse.

Try a twist on this, like a voodoo curse on a spaceship captain. Twists are fun and unexpected. If you pull off a surprising twist, it can elevate your story. 

Also, all the best on your Q1 results!

I’ll be seeing some of you in Hollywood this month, including two winners from this Super Secrets Workshop! I’ll be the one cheering the loudest as you take the stage! 

Cheers! 

Beastmaster Moon

Only FIVE DAYS left to back these industrious Writers of the Future winners on their first group publishing endeavor! Learn their secrets (and mine) on how to craft winning stories! Each story comes with an article on how they wrote it! Learn from the winners! 

Click HERE to check out their Kickstarter campaign!

It's Monday, and that means it's time for your Monday writing prompt!

Try this one on for size!

There's a story in there, I see it!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

It's Monday, and that means it's time for your Monday writing prompt!

Sticking it to a swindler.

Happy writing, Challenge Beasties! And I'll be seeing some of you at the Writers of the Future workshop and gala next week! Looking forward to it!

Beastmaster Moon

While all winners and entrants deserve a huge round of applause, in this thread, special congratulations are in order for TWO winners in Writers of the Future, Q1, Vol. 40!

The first is Stephannie Tallent who won FIRST PLACE. While I am the first to say she's Dean Wesley Smith's mentee, not mine (she did his Write a Story a Week for a Year challenge!), she has been in the Wulf Pack Writers group for a couple of years, ever since taking one of my webinars. It would be remiss of me not to congratulate her on a job well done. What did she win with? A FRESH, ORIGINAL STORY! Anyone ever hear me say THAT before? It's been the foundation principle of this workshop. WELL DONE, STEPHANNIE TALLENT!

Next is John Eric Schleicher, who won THIRD PLACE. John Eric is an alumnus from Year Two of this SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge! This will also be John Eric's first sale! John Eric stated he had great assistance in winning Writers of the Future by studying the Super Secrets and sticking with that year's challenge requirement for this group: Writing TWO fresh stories every quarter, sending one to WotF, the other to a respectable market. Hmm. Fresh, original story wins again. Anyone ever heard me say THAT before?

Congratulations, Stephannie and John Eric. They did the work. They deserve the praise.

ALL THE BEAST!!!

Beastmaster Moon

Posted by: @wulfmoon

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While all winners and entrants deserve a huge round of applause, in this thread, special congratulations are in order for TWO winners in Writers of the Future, Q1, Vol. 40!

The first is Stephannie Tallent who won FIRST PLACE. While I am the first to say she's Dean Wesley Smith's mentee, not mine (she did his Write a Story a Week for a Year challenge!), she has been in the Wulf Pack Writers group for a couple of years, ever since taking one of my webinars. It would be remiss of me not to congratulate her on a job well done. What did she win with? A FRESH, ORIGINAL STORY! Anyone ever hear me say THAT before? It's been the foundation principle of this workshop. WELL DONE, STEPHANNIE TALLENT!

Next is John Eric Schleicher, who won THIRD PLACE. John Eric is an alumnus from Year Two of this SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge! This will also be John Eric's first sale! John Eric stated he had great assistance in winning Writers of the Future by studying the Super Secrets and sticking with that year's challenge requirement for this group: Writing TWO fresh stories every quarter, sending one to WotF, the other to a respectable market. Hmm. Fresh, original story wins again. Anyone ever heard me say THAT before?

Congratulations, Stephannie and John Eric. They did the work. They deserve the praise.

ALL THE BEAST!!!

Beastmaster Moon

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Whoop whoop

The first is Stephannie Tallent who won FIRST PLACE. While I am the first to say she's Dean Wesley Smith's mentee, not mine (she did his Write a Story a Week for a Year challenge!), she has been in the Wulf Pack Writers group for a couple of years, ever since taking one of my webinars. It would be remiss of me not to congratulate her on a job well 

Next is John Eric Schleicher, who won THIRD PLACE. John Eric is an alumnus from Year Two of this SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge! This will also be John Eric's first sale! John Eric stated he had great assistance in winning Writers of the Future by studying the Super Secrets and sticking with that year's challenge requirement for this group: Writing 

Congrats Stephannie and Eric!!!!!!

Congratulations!!  

@wulfmoon Congratulations, Stephanie and John Eric!

@wulfmoon Congratulations to them both!

Posted by: @wulfmoon

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While all winners and entrants deserve a huge round of applause, in this thread, special congratulations are in order for TWO winners in Writers of the Future, Q1, Vol. 40!

The first is Stephannie Tallent who won FIRST PLACE. While I am the first to say she's Dean Wesley Smith's mentee, not mine (she did his Write a Story a Week for a Year challenge!), she has been in the Wulf Pack Writers group for a couple of years, ever since taking one of my webinars. It would be remiss of me not to congratulate her on a job well done. What did she win with? A FRESH, ORIGINAL STORY! Anyone ever hear me say THAT before? It's been the foundation principle of this workshop. WELL DONE, STEPHANNIE TALLENT!

Next is John Eric Schleicher, who won THIRD PLACE. John Eric is an alumnus from Year Two of this SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge! This will also be John Eric's first sale! John Eric stated he had great assistance in winning Writers of the Future by studying the Super Secrets and sticking with that year's challenge requirement for this group: Writing TWO fresh stories every quarter, sending one to WotF, the other to a respectable market. Hmm. Fresh, original story wins again. Anyone ever heard me say THAT before?

Congratulations, Stephannie and John Eric. They did the work. They deserve the praise.

ALL THE BEAST!!!

Beastmaster Moon

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Congratulations Stephannie and John Eric!! More proof that the Super Secrets work. Well done on 1st and 3rd!

@wulfmoon - congratulations Stephanie and Eric! That's just awesome. Really happy for you both and look forward to reading your stories 

Congrats to Stephannie and Eric who employed @wulfmoon's super secrets to great effect! Congrats also to Galen who I suspect did some studying of the super secrets as well!

It's a great challenge to write a fresh story for each quarter. It's good to grow as a writer. And it's smart to include winning elements in each story: an opening hook, a strong main character who has a heart's desire that is at odds with the story's challenge plus a secret sword to discover how to wield later in the climax to engage the reader, get going on the story right away, have a satisfying ending that answers the opening promise, etc.

May we all learn and benefit from the super secrets so we can write stories readers love.

Congratulations Stephanie & Eric! A howl of a showing for the Wulf Pack

Congratulations Stephanie and John Eric for the wins and also everyone else for their HM, SHM, SF and F! What an incredible achievement!

@wulfmoon There stands the portal to God, deep in the mist await your demons for the midnight ambush against your dreams. A man wagers his soul to cross this sea of demiurges. Misery is life. Yet through the portal will be revealed the divine Mystery of the Universe.

Back from the Writers of the Future Workshop and Gala. I hope you did the livestream or plan on watching the recording, it was excellent! And there was a smoke-breathing DRAGON! So fun to encourage the winners to reach out for the professional careers before them! What a great class!

It’s time for your Monday writing prompt!

Wayfinders of the stars.

Get writing that fresh story! The best story isn’t the one you’ve written, it’s the one you’re about to write!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

It’s Monday, and that means it’s time for your KYD writing prompt!

Blocking out the sun.

Believe it or not, you can play this in many genres.

Have fun!

Beastmaster Moon

Another Monday, another Super Secrets of Writing prompt!

This time, I want you to work on character. People have depth; your characters should, too. Here’s your prompt:

What you reveal, what you conceal.

Keep writing fresh stories. Prompts help you to do that. Fresh original stories are where we grow our writing skills. 

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

I like these last two prompts @Wulf Moon.

I'm going with the 'block sun' option, but I'm gonna tie in your extra instruction to focus on characters. I need me some more practice at that.

@scott_m_sands 

Glad you are focusing on character, Scott. Stories are about people, and people and their motivations are complex. When readers see depth to our protagonist, they view them as real. It's part of the Reader/Hero Bond principle I teach--we just had forty-seven taking that online masterclass,  a record, so you know writers view it as an important skill to master.

To help everyone with that, here's another very human prompt. Sorry I missed Monday--I was on the road.

A stranger asks if they can sit with you at a resort's breakfast buffet.

Where you set that resort is up to you. The stranger the better, and that includes the stranger. Stranger strangers make for  interesting reading.

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

It’s Monday, happy campers, and that means it's time for your writing prompt! Here it is:

You kneel to help someone in distress. “I’ve been poisoned,” they say, foam and blood bubbling on their lips. They press something into your hand. “Take this to [fill in]. It means the life of many people.” As their body convulses, they manage last words. “Trust no one.”

Change it up as you wish. You’ll want your story to look different from others.

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

It’s Monday, and the WotF quarter is running out! Let’s get you a prompt to spark a fresh story, hopefully your winner!

Washed ashore.

You can play that in multiple genres. Don’t underestimate the challenge of writing to a prompt. Our own Zeet—Z.T. Bright from the Super Secrets Workshop right here—wrote his Mike Resnick Memorial Award grand prize winner based on one of these prompts. They work!

Go for it! It’s great mental exercise to transform the spark into a blazing bonfire that others can gather around and enjoy the warmth.

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

I really like that one Wulf. I've had a story idea for a while now and when I saw the prompt Washed ashore a new adventure started.

I wrote the first part of the kyd exercise yesterday and will do the 500 & 250 today. From there the beating heart of the story will become a full-fledged, contest worthy tale.

@storysinger Prompts work. They can spark an idea that builds into a roaring flame. Go for it!