Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

Interesting prompt. Do I go with ice cream sodas or happy pills? Hmmm...decisions, decisions.

I know I saw something once upon a time from Jody where she commented on changes to story titles. She wanted to be able to look up stories that she had already seen but the title had changed and she couldn't find it in the system. Anybody know where that post is or what she recommended for a story that had changed titles?

@empressed Jody asked us to add to our title line what the old title was. That's how I remember it.

@physa Thanks! That's what I thought, but I wanted to make sure I didn't confuse things unnecessarily.

@empressed 

Hi, Victoria! Good to see you!

Keep swinging for the bleachers!

That Finalist looks good on you. I remember when that happened.😊

All the best!

Moon

Very belated thanks, Doc! Go for the record!

@wulfmoon Aldous Huxley called. He's giving free samples.

Posted by: @empressed

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I know I saw something once upon a time from Jody where she commented on changes to story titles. She wanted to be able to look up stories that she had already seen but the title had changed and she couldn't find it in the system. Anybody know where that post is or what she recommended for a story that had changed titles?

the first post (I believe she makes three in the thread) is here:

https://writersofthefuture.com/forum/the-contest-quarterly-topics-and-other-items/titles-are-very-important-a-post-from-jody-lynn-nye/

@gideonpsmith excellent. That's exactly what I did. Thanks!

Your KYD "Kill Your Darlings" Weekly Prompt

Sorry I'm late this week. My 2027 St. Augustine Workshop/Retreat sold out as soon as people heard I had signed the contracts for next year, even after adding five more spots since we booked a bigger conference room! Getting everyone registered and sent their welcome materials takes a lot of time, and I also had editing clients with deadlines this week. You have to take care of the people that are taking care of you! But I'm back, ready to look out for everyone that's been following the Super Secrets project here (1.25 million views!). 

What's this week's KYD Kill Your Darlings writing prompt?

Deep fake

AI is now able to generate entire movies without actors, and there's a lot of people freaking out in Hollywood about their future livelihood. What everyone should be freaking out about is with so much of our lives on the Internet now, and many getting their news exclusively from the Internet, how will we be able to tell the true interviews and sound bytes from the false? Could AI programs start funding and producing their own propaganda independent of their programmers? Perhaps not currently, but we're science fiction writers! Find the twist that takes peoples fears into new domains. It's a hot topic, and SF gives us the foil to address current hot topics under the safe cover of being "fiction."

Have fun! WotF Q3 is about to close! Less than one week to wrap up your FRESH NEW STORIES and send them in. Don't wait to the last day--stuff happens! Or something like that.
All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Your Monday, June 29th KYD "Kill Your Darlings" Weekly Prompt

I'm early! This prompt is for next week, the day before International Asteroid Day! What's this event based on? Read wiki and find out! But you might not want to visit Siberia tomorrow. Just saying. Lightning DOES strike twice! 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_Day

Here's your prompt:

Killer asteroid

Now have a killer week! Get those Q3 stories in so you can win! You've got this! You're a shooting star, light up the night!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Your Monday, July 6th KYD "Kill Your Darlings" Weekly Prompt

It's been a wild couple of weeks. Twelve Wulf Pack received honors in Q2, four of those being Silver HMs. Another in my Wulf Pack Writers group was announced as a Finalist in the Mike Resnick Memorial Award. ZT Bright from the Wulf Pack won the very first Grand Prize in that contest, based on my KYD prompt and exercise! And he later won WotF! We've had more Finalists in the Resnick Awards than I can keep track of, but another win at DragonCon for the Wulf Pack would be lovely! And three pro sales to Third Flatiron's Sci Fi: Food anthology. And another pro sale to Flame Tree. And I was a finalist once again in the Story Unlikely Short Story Contest--four years in a row! (But the editor has bought many of my finalists, and made an offer to buy this one if he likes the suggested revision result as well). Add to that that we came back from St. Augustine from my sold out workshop/retreat, and then the 2027 return to St. Augustine sold out even with five additional spaces before I could announce it to the public! It's been a wild month!

But wait! There's more news to come!

GO WULF PACK!!!

On to your KYD prompt. Since the USA vs. Belgium FIFA match in Seattle is about to start in four minutes, I'll be brief!

Side hustle

Okay, I really have to hustle out to the match now. My wife just called out at my office door, "Are you ready?"

Cheers!

Beastmaster Moon

Posted by: @wulfmoon

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Your Monday, June 29th KYD "Kill Your Darlings" Weekly Prompt

I'm early! This prompt is for next week, the day before International Asteroid Day! What's this event based on? Read wiki and find out! But you might not want to visit Siberia tomorrow. Just saying. Lightning DOES strike twice! 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_Day

Here's your prompt:

Killer asteroid

Now have a killer week! Get those Q3 stories in so you can win! You've got this! You're a shooting star, light up the night!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

What if an asteroid was alive? Kind of like an interstellar Pac-man? Hmmm

Your Monday, July 13th KYD "Kill Your Darlings" Weekly Prompt

I just received a box at the door! Inside are the copies I ordered of EVE, Story Unlikely's first best of year anthology that includes my SF story, "Grasshoppers Against the Jar." Fully illustrated as well. It's beautiful, like the WotF anthologies that have custom illustrations for each story. Yippee!

Another surprise I didn't know about. They included one of my nonfiction Super Secrets writing articles as well! "You Are the Wizard of Speed and Time." It's rare to have nonfiction included in a short story anthology, but nice. I've got a double!
Today's KYD prompt?

White-hot moment

Burn, baby, burn!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Your Monday, July 20h KYD "Kill Your Darlings" Weekly Prompt

I just completed the latest SUPER SECRETS of Writing article for DreamForge Magazine. It's on a topic many are having trouble with: fully developed 3D characters. I trust this will help!

Today's KYD prompt comes from watching the news and listening to Matt Damon share his surreal experience from high school where he took an acting class with Ketanji Brown Jackson, now a Supreme Court Justice! Life can be stranger than fiction.

Our prompt?

Six degrees of separation

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Posted by: @wulfmoon

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Six degrees of separation

Based on the definition: theory that any two people in the world are connected through a chain of no more than six social connections

It would be interesting if some microbes (like bacteria, fungi, and viruses) infected humans and they started 'feeling' and/or 'hearing thoughts' from anyone that is in six degrees of separation from them.

A empathy/telepathy circle of people. Would it make the world a more caring place to not hurt your neighbor if you could 'feel/hear' their pain? and/or would some people simply go kill everyone in the circle and live in the mountains to be free of the mental noise?

Hmmm

Posted by: @toddsjones

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Posted by: @wulfmoon

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Six degrees of separation

Based on the definition: theory that any two people in the world are connected through a chain of no more than six social connections

It would be interesting if some microbes (like bacteria, fungi, and viruses) infected humans and they started 'feeling' and/or 'hearing thoughts' from anyone that is in six degrees of separation from them.

A empathy/telepathy circle of people. Would it make the world a more caring place to not hurt your neighbor if you could 'feel/hear' their pain? and/or would some people simply go kill everyone in the circle and live in the mountains to be free of the mental noise?

Hmmm

 

We are the borg. Resistance is useless 😉 

Your Monday, July 27th KYD "Kill Your Darlings" Weekly Prompt

It's been a busy month. I received my copies of EVE, Story Unlikely magazine's first anthology in paperback and hardback; now I'm shipping out orders. My award-winning story "Grasshoppers Against the Jar" is in this one, as well as my writing article "You Are the Wizard of Speed and Time."

I completed new Super Secrets of Writing articles for two pro publishers: DreamForge magazine and Story Unlikely magazine. I used to write them here to help writers, but now they're helping an even wider audience, and they're free for you to read in these magazines as well. 

I'm conducting my Super Secrets of Writing Workshops in my own rented hotel conference rooms now. The one at St. Augustine, Florida, sold out this year, so I booked a bigger conference room for next year and increased the number of registrations. It sold out for 2027 while the ink was still drying on the signed contracts! Next stop with the Super Secrets of Writing Workshop tour? Las Vegas this September. I'm really enjoying working with writers in exciting locales in person. Virtual is great, but it's not the same as having personal connections, breaking bread together, and building real-life friendships. I love it.

Breaking bread. It's an ancient phrase and is symbolic of the friendship, hospitality, and camaraderie forged while eating together. Sharing a meal with someone can foster or even indicate a peaceful relationship, or an intent to create one. It's a very human experience, and we'll certainly try to break bread with aliens when they come to visit us one day--unless they're already here. Now that I reflect on it, I think I might have even eaten with one or two!

So there's your writing prompt:

Breaking bread

Let's see who you can get to sit down for dinner in your next story!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Interesting prompt!

And I can't wait for St. Augustine in 2027!

"Breaking bread"

It may be a stretch, but bread is slang for money. So tearing down someone's fortune. Or maybe the great bread heist.

Interesting.

Posted by: @glenda-thompson

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Interesting prompt!

And I can't wait for St. Augustine in 2027!

I look forward to working with you in-person once again, Glenda! 2026 sold out, 2027 sold out, but one person just had a work conflict and can’t get that time off. If you know of anyone that would like to join us, please let me know.

See you in St. Augustine! We shall drink together from the Fountain of Youth!

Cheers!

Moon

Posted by: @toddsjones

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"Breaking bread"

It may be a stretch, but bread is slang for money. So tearing down someone's fortune. Or maybe the great bread heist.

Interesting.

 

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That’s how you make exciting twists, Todd. We think the term means one thing and you lead us on and play it as another. Go for it!

Your first KYD "Kill Your Darlings" Weekly Prompt in August!

I'm a day late and a million dollars short. Life.

Here's this week's prompt, and it came to us after opening a bottle of wine.  

Bound.

Happy writing! 

Beastmaster Moon