Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

I just wanted to share with all my challenge friends that I received a totally unexpected scholarship to Superstars! Writers of the Future contributed to allow two additional people to attend the seminar and my application was selected! I still can't quite believe it's real! Work hard, never give up, and believe!

Congrats to you and Liz. That's awesome.

I just wanted to share with all my challenge friends that I received a totally unexpected scholarship to Superstars! Writers of the Future contributed to allow two additional people to attend the seminar and my application was selected! I still can't quite believe it's real! Work hard, never give up, and believe!

Congratulations Becky! That's wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not quite sure I understand the Fail/Succeed 3 times teaching. In Super-Duper Moongirl I think the first failure was having a panic attack when the new plants were in the way, the second was losing at the trial, then she succeeded by downloading Dwadler's program into her earring but, this was a failure too because the program would be erased.

Did I get this right Forumites?

These are called Try/Fail cycles. Your protagonist must TRY to solve her problem, she must FAIL to solve her problem, AND THINGS GET WORSE. Algis Budrys, the first judge of WotF, said three Try/Fails satisfies a need in readers. One attempt seems halfhearted, two seems mediocre, but three times? You gave it the ol' college try. Think baseball--you get three tries or you're out.

As for "Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler," I'm going to pass on dissecting my story--it feels too much like a magician revealing his magic tricks--but I'll give you a little help. Dixie faces the invasion of her peaceful moonbase world with the first appearance of astrobotanist Mr. Franco. He comes into the atrium, spoiling her tranquil moment on the treadmill. Dixie TRIES to reason with him, pointing out she has every right to be there, take a look at the schedule, and Franco pushes back, saying he's going to open these stinky packages of waste anyhow, he's the boss here, and she better beat it. He trumps her with his authority. Dixie FAILS because she has no power to stop Mr. Franco, and she loses the thing she holds dear, her magical time in the sun with Moonie. So that's the first TRY/FAIL. From there, THINGS GET WORSE.

Through each TRY/FAIL cycle, you ratchet up the tension through THINGS GET WORSE, until you get to your do or die climax. The best climax, in my opinion, is when you back your protagonist into a corner and give her an impossible choice--damned if you do, damned if you don't, and yet somehow, she must find a way to triumph within such an impossible situation. That is, if you are writing a comedy instead of a tragedy.

I hope that helps.

Thanks for understanding about the enrollment period. We respect you all the more for that. And thank you for your kind words as well.
All the beast,

Beastmaster Moon

Through each TRY/FAIL cycle, you ratchet up the tension through THINGS GET WORSE, until you get to your do or die climax. The best climax, in my opinion, is when you back your protagonist into a corner and give her an impossible choice--damned if you do, damned if you don't, and yet somehow, she must find a way to triumph within such an impossible situation.

Thank you, I understand. This is very helpful.

A shout out to Chuckt for his first sale and publication in the anthology CLASSICS REMIXED II. Chuck is a challenge beastie from our Volume 36 challenge. Well done, Chuck! I am certain there are more to come!

Cheers!

Beastmaster Moon

A shout out to Chuckt for his first sale and publication in the anthology CLASSICS REMIXED II. Chuck is a challenge beastie from our Volume 36 challenge. Well done, Chuck! I am certain there are more to come!

Cheers!

Beastmaster Moon

Woohoo! Congratulations! That’s awesome!!!

Nice job, Chuck!!!

Good job Chuck

A shout out to Chuckt for his first sale and publication in the anthology CLASSICS REMIXED II. Chuck is a challenge beastie from our Volume 36 challenge. Well done, Chuck! I am certain there are more to come!

Cheers!

Beastmaster Moon

Thanks Wulf and everyone. This thread, and my fellow beasties, certainly helped me up my writing.

Moon’s SUPER SECRET #39: Protect Your Voice!
Copyright 2019 by Wulf Moon

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”--Dr. Seuss
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Writers talk a lot about Voice. It’s often spoken of in hushed tones, a magical force that radiates from the words of only the most elite writers. Nobody can quite define it, so they tell you, “You just know it when you see it.” Voice is the mark of authentic writing, so we had better be able to define it. What is more, we wants it, we do, because it’s precioussss. Singers that have Voice become world-renowned. Writers that master Voice become bestselling authors.

So what is Voice? Take a look at that Dr. Seuss quote. Simple statement, but that’s what Voice is all about. Voice is YOU, your heart, mind, and soul, on the page, in a style so authentic and unique, no one else on earth can duplicate it. Just as our own physical voices have signatures in pitch pace and power that make us stand out from everyone else in a crowd, our writing voices have that same singularity--IF we have protected our Voice.

Voice is YOU, the writer, powerful and unfiltered, shining up from your words transcribed to the page with masterful delivery. It’s not simply that you are in the hands of a master, you are in the hands of someone that has mastered powerful life truths, and can incorporate that power into the words they code on a page. Greg Bear was once asked by an aspiring writer, “What makes great writers?” His answer? “Great souls.” When those great souls master the craft of writing, powerful Voice radiates off the page, and they are the only source of their particular Voice, so if you want to drink more from that well, you can only go back to their works to get it. Think Ray Bradbury. Think Neil Gaiman. Think Tim Powers. Think Frank Herbert. Think J.R.R. Tolkien. Think Terry Pratchett. There is no one alive that can duplicate their works, although many try. That’s because these writers never allowed their Voice to become homogenized. They protected their Voice. They stayed true to who they are, true to the fire in their gut that made them tell their stories, and true to the way they wanted to tell them. They didn’t run off chasing other greats, they made themselves and what they did great, trusting in their unique vision. The result? One-of-a-kind unique works. One-of-a-kind Voice.

So now you know one of the greatest Moon's Super Secrets of all. Just like a singer, you can develop your Voice. You can make it powerful. You can make your writing radiate with knowledge and skill and personality that is unique to YOU, and you alone. This is the one thing no one else can duplicate when you master getting your uniqueness onto the page. You are a singularity, and putting that kind of power and individuality into your writing is going to ATTRACT. Protected and developed, there will be a signature to your style that people will know is you, even without looking at the name on the cover. That is your true gold. Refine it, and there will be readers that crave it. You will not only have a career, you will have a following, even rabid fans. Because they’re hungry. For YOU. Well, unless they’re your mate or close circle of friends, they can’t have YOU, so they’ll do the next best thing: they’ll buy your books, every book you write, and beg you to write more. You’ll have to get restraining orders on some of them, they will be that enthralled by your creations. : )

And yet, most aspiring writers fail to understand this one most important fact: No one can do YOU, but YOU. They race around chasing the latest fads in writing. Wizard prep schools are a hit? Let’s copy THAT! Teenage angst displayed through secret shapeshifter societies? Let’s copy THAT! Zombie apocalypse? Let’s copy THAT! And then they study the writers that actually were first and made these ideas into subgenres because they unlocked what was then a fresh idea with powerful VOICE. This is like a competent singer that fails to write their own songs, but sings karaoke instead. We clap, we cheer, but deep down inside, we know it’s never going to be as good as the original, because it’s not their song. They cannot make it their own, because they’re chasing after someone else. It’s always going to be an imitation, because we know the Voice in the original. We know the authentic original.

So how do we develop our own powerful Voice? How do we create writing so unique, an editor reading it will spit their coffee out and shout, “My god, it’s alive! I’ve never seen anything like this!” I hate to break it to you, but we’re talking about writing that million words again, without a lot of outside influence over that writing. You have to develop your Voice, artfully getting that thing that is you onto the page. When a musician or band comes out with a new sound that creates its own subgenre--often that can only be described by stating the name of the band--they have normally spent years of practice, not copying others, but blazing their own trail by perfecting that sound until it finally catches on. And when it does, no one can stop them.

What I’m now about to say will fly in the face of what many writers believe. They’ll quote certain authors that utilize large groups of readers to perfect their work. They’ll forget that these writers are compiling complex novels that require a massive amount of fact checking. And they’ll use it to justify the system they have come to employ to help them “fix” their stories. They believe if they can just “get more eyes” on their manuscripts, they’ll make the perfect story, the more, the better. And so they seek reader after reader, critique after critique, carefully watching for majority statements that say the direction they took must be wrong, because they, the majority, said so. The writer then cuts these sections out and cobbles them back together, certain they’ve created a stronger story. Sometimes they do. But in the end, they become writers by committee. What happens to their original Voice? Like milk, it becomes homogenized. The same taste as every other jug of 2% on the dairy shelf.

I know I’ve set more than a few writers’ hair on fire with such statements. Perhaps yours is smoldering right now. Like me, you know plenty of writers that say they’ve improved their writing through large scale critique swaps. They say they know the pitfalls, but they’ve got a system in place to avoid the misdirects. They can sift through all the gravel and find the nuggets of gold. No homogenizing here!

The problem is, even when you find those rare chunks of gold, they are *someone else’s* gold. They aren’t yours; you didn’t create them. But they are shiny, and so you pull out your torch and fuse them in. Ooh, and there’s another good chunk, and that one would be interesting, let’s weld that in as well. Ta da! Lookie lookie! Pure gold! Maybe, but it’s no longer your gold. It’s got bits and pieces from everyone else, and more often than not, you can see the weld points. It lost some of its unique look, which would have made it special. Because we wrote by committee, instead of trusting our gut and writing with our own Voice.

Don’t get me wrong. New writers do need some guidance to help them see what they can improve in. Besides attending seminars to learn from professionals, getting a critique from a professional or someone that knows good writing can be eye opening. Alas, professional friends willing to offer a critique can be very hard to come by for new writers. So they seek out writing groups and online critique groups, hoping somebody with some skills will be able to help them. Again, many will swear by these critique groups, saying their stories are stronger and even sold because they repeatedly ran the story through critique gauntlets. It can work. I won’t deny that. I’ve been in some powerful critique groups myself, and they can and do produce good results if the caliber of the writers is high. The problem is that critique groups and weekly writing workshops can become like a crutch where, if we’re not extremely careful, we can crave group approval, changing our unique style to better conform to the majority conception of what makes up good writing. In fact, there can be a lot of peer pressure to write in a certain stylistic way, and if we’re not careful, our writing will change.

Instead, I suggest we need just a little guidance on our stories, from someone with a keen and professional eye, and then we need a lot more practice. On our own. Writing our 500,000 or one million words and beyond. This protects our Voice.

As I've mentioned here in Super Secrets, aspiring writers will benefit from a critique from a writer that has your best interests at heart, and has the credentials to prove they know what they’re doing. However, as I’ve also said, it's really hard to get someone ahead of us on the path to critique for us. It’s hard because the normal commodity for critiques is a swap, but an aspiring writer's critique is not going to be viewed as an equal exchange by an established pro writer. It's going to be viewed as much work with little to no return. This is because new writers are still learning some of the basics--sometimes ALL of the basics--it's why their stories are not selling yet. Established writers get asked all the time for critiques by new writers, and they simply don't have the time to do many of them, because to truly help, it's going to be a labor-intensive experience that will take many hours. Between creating their own work, taking care of their own families, and subsidizing their writing by keeping a day job, they don’t have much extra time.

So how does one not get homogenized by running through the everlasting critique mill, and yet get a critique that will truly be beneficial? You could hire the professional services of an editor that actually is one of those writers ahead of you on the path. Now we have an exchange professional writers that hire out to edit understand--if they devote all the time this manuscript needs to become market ready, they’ll get paid for it. This is content editing, the most expensive in editing services. But the editors working in that domain often have impressive credentials, and that means they know how to create a manuscript that is professional and sells. Honestly, I always find it odd to see content editors advertising their services, and they have never sold a story to a pro market. Why would I pay them money to help me figure out how to fix my manuscript or novel if they have no proof they can do it for themselves? But if someone has credits in the genre I'm pursuing? They have bona fide proof they have the kind of knowledge I am seeking, and if they can list clients that got results using them, this proves they also have the ability to transfer that knowledge to someone else (trust me, this is a gift as great as writing and editing skills, and very few have it).

Problem: such services are costly, and the higher up the food chain that editor is, the costlier their services get, and most aspiring writers are dirt poor.

So what to do? You know you aren't selling, but you think your writing is as good as anything out there that's being published. Obviously, you're missing something, or the editors that have read thousands of publishable stories are missing something. A humble person looks at that equation and recognizes what side of that coin they are on. But they still can't recognize WHY they are on that side of the coin. So they admit they need help, and seek anyone that might offer some constructive criticism.

And there's the danger. That's like building your own house with the help of anyone that might put in a few hours. You stick up a sign with your blueprint in the front of your construction site that says: GOT AN HOUR? HAMMER AWAY. Some kids show up. WHAM WHAM WHAM. The mailman walks by. WHAM WHAM WHAM. A homeless man walks by. SLEEP. SLEEP. SLEEP. And yes, maybe a contractor by some wonder of the universe walks by and says he'll go late to his job today and give this crazy project a little direction. He loses money to do that, by the way, but life isn't always about making money to pay the bills. It's about doing good deeds to help others, too.

So you drive back to that building site of yours after that sign has been up for awhile, and what do you find? No quality control. No real experience that could honestly see where your vision was going with that blueprint. And, yes, you found one guy that got it right, but you're going to have to wade through so much wrong to see the right. If you were smart and had the money, you'd go find that contractor and hire him on the spot. Why? BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING.

However, like I said, that's simply out of reach for most writers. I still say if you can find a way to pay for one of David Farland’s advanced classes, that's your best bet for getting that experienced contractor to help with your work. Obviously not with your entry to WotF, but he will offer critiques on something else, and he will know what you're doing wrong, and how to fix it. I suggested this to my writing partner, Shean Pao, when she told me she wanted to write a novel. She got a critique from Dave with the class she took, and he loved her writing so much he created the David Farland Discovery Program, promoted her through it, and she not only got a novel contract with Kevin Anderson’s WordFire Press, she had a wonderful introduction from David Farland to open her novel with.

But if writers can't find a way to get professional help, then they either have to keep hammering away until they figure it out, or they have to get people to offer opinions to the question: Does that look right to you? Most likely from friends and family that may have read next to nothing, to writing groups both online and off that quite likely are filled with people that have sold next to nothing. It really is the case of the blind leading the blind. Thus, the pitfalls. You have to be very careful with such advice. I will argue that you will get far more misdirection than solid intel that will put you on the path to success. And some will vehemently tell me I am dead wrong. I get that. We all have opinions. We all have our own beliefs. This one is mine.

"But wait!" you say. "If I get a dozen critiques, I don't have to worry about that. If ten guys and gals all say the same thing, then I know they must be right!"

Maybe. Maybe not. But I'll argue if that were true, then every person in large writing groups would already be bestselling authors. Because that's what they're doing, they’re polling a focus group in the hope of manipulating their stories to make them marketable.

Hollywood does this all the time. Why? The big studios get nervous, they’ve invested millions and they don’t trust the screenwriter and director, so they demand a review by a focus group. Sometimes their carefully selected focus group hits the mark, and sometimes, they don’t. Ever see the ending on the original theatrical release of Blade Runner? You watch this fascinating dystopian P.K. Dick story, dark world, dark choices, certain death ahead...and then have it ruined at the end by a totally discordant happy ending with Decker driving off through lush green landscapes with his robot girlfriend. How could such a thing happen? I’ll tell you how. The producers ran it by a focus group, and they didn’t understand the director’s vision. The director had the right Voice for this movie, certainly the right ending, but because of polling, the producers ruined the ending of what would have been a perfect SF movie. Thankfully, you can watch the director’s cut today. Don’t bother with the other. The Voice cracks at the end of the theatrical version so badly, you’ll be looking for a brick to throw through your TV screen.

Here’s another. It was covered in an article by Tiffany White in Distractify.com. “13 Times Test Audiences Almost Ruined Your Fave Films and TV Shows.” Note the type of stories focus groups really screw up on: “But not all test screenings have good outcomes, especially for movies or shows that are edgy, offbeat, or a little quirky. Test audiences prefer the status quo, and so when something like Seven or even Seinfeld comes across their plate, test audiences don't know what to do but try to ruin things by cutting out important scenes and choosing crappier endings.”

Take a look at Ms. White’s first example, the movie Dirty Dancing. “No one was more surprised about the success of Dirty Dancing than the cast itself. The movie scored so badly with test audiences, the studio was thinking of releasing it straight to video. Test audiences found the sexually suggestive dancing "uncomfortable" and didn't like the abortion subplot either. Writer Eleanor Bergstein refused to edit the film and the movie was released anyway. Although the studio was certain the movie would be a flop, the film was a runaway success.”

I love this example because the studio tried to force a change, based on polling, down Eleanor Bergstein’s throat. She knew these elements were critical to her story, and she had the guts to stand her ground and stay true to her Voice. Because of this, audiences had something unique they had never seen before. This was an edgier romance, and stories that can tactfully skirt the edge of delicate subjects have much power. Bergstein didn’t let her Voice get watered down, she trusted her gut, and the rest is history. She protected her Voice, and the box office rewarded her because she gave them something fresh and unique.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t get a critique, nor am I saying you shouldn’t be a member of a good writing group. Writing groups, among other things, provide the opportunity to be part of a tribe, a circle of friends that will encourage and support you in your writing endeavors. Let’s face it, Wulf Moon's Super Secrets Challenge is an online writing group, and the results prove it is helping many of you to advance your skills. But there can be pitfalls in writing groups, and there are inherent dangers in seeking many critiques to perfect our work. The greatest danger being we can become homogenized. We can lose our Voice.

And that would be a shame, because as Dr. Seuss said, “There is no one alive that is Youer than You!”

So how do we get the proper amount of help on a story, without losing our Voice? That’s our next Super Secret!

Questions to consider. Please post answers to the following:

1. What is Voice?
2. Why is it so important for writers to protect it?
3. Name a few of your favorite writers.
4. Now ask yourself: What makes their storytelling style unique? What do you admire that makes you keep going back to the well for more?
5. How can a writer get their writing style homogenized?
6. If our writing sounds like everyone else’s, or simply mimics that of another famous writer, we might sell, but what happens to our chances of breaking out ahead of the pack?
7. What happened to some movies that sought too much input from focus groups?
8. What type of stories did focus groups fail the most at?
9. What happened when some writers and directors stood their ground?
10. How do we get more of our individuality onto the page? What can happen if we succeed?

1. What is Voice? Voice is the unique way you tell your story.
2. Why is it so important for writers to protect it? Voice is what makes our stories uniquely ours. If we dilute our voice with the voices of other writers, we run the risk of fading into the background of reader memories.
3. Name a few of your favorite writers. Raymond E. Feist, Spider Robinson, Heinlein, Niven and Pournelle, Lawrence Watt Evans, Robert Aspirin... is that too many to be a few?
4. Now ask yourself: What makes their storytelling style unique? What do you admire that makes you keep going back to the well for more? My very favorite author is Raymond Feist. I love his storytelling because I always found it surprising and fresh. His stories took unexpected turns, his characters did unexpected things, but never out of character, just not what my brain anticipated. It made reading his books delightful. He also has a unique style of pacing and structure, with an omniscient 3rd POV similar to Tom Clancy, and a simple but straightforward descriptive voice.
5. How can a writer get their writing style homogenized? By allowing too many other writers to comment on their work, and more importantly, by taking all of their advice.
6. If our writing sounds like everyone else’s, or simply mimics that of another famous writer, we might sell, but what happens to our chances of breaking out ahead of the pack? It's harder to break out, break through, stand out, if you look like everyone else. J.K. Rowling wasn't the first person to write about magic schools and worlds, but her humor and insights made her story unique.
7. What happened to some movies that sought too much input from focus groups? They diluted what made the story/film unique and damaged their story.
8. What type of stories did focus groups fail the most at? Quirky, edgy, or offbeat films. More simply - those doing something new.
9. What happened when some writers and directors stood their ground? Great success.
10. How do we get more of our individuality onto the page? What can happen if we succeed? Limit the feedback on your stories, especially as a beginning writer. Work to distinguish audience reactions from critiques that need to be addressed.

Nice comments, Becky. Robert Asprin is a great example of pure uniqueness in storytelling, a writer with Voice, creating his own humorous fantasy subgenre you could only get from him. I was flying back to Minneapolis from New Orleans once, and asked the guy with an obvious hangover sitting next to me what he did for a living. "I write fantasy novels," he said, his body slumped against the curve of the bulkhead. My pulse quickened. "I love fantasy! What is the name you write under?" He turned his bloodshot gaze upon me. "Robert Asprin." We talked writing the rest of the flight. Turned out he kept a place in the French Quarter to blow off steam after long writing sessions. He had been a Xerox executive or salesman, I can't recall which now. And he had read a fantasy novel that ticked him off and he said, "I can write a novel better than this." And instead of talking about being a writer, he did the work. The rest is history.

Even tired and worn out from a long weekend, he was enthused to meet an aspiring writer and spent the rest of the flight telling me his story and encouraging me to keep at it. I have a nice letter from him I keep in my Phule's Company book where he said it was great to meet me--one of my cherished possessions. But the thing I remember most about him? Even drained and fighting a throbbing headache, he was still a force of nature. I sensed he had something powerful within as soon as I sat next to him, it's why I asked him some questions even though he looked like the last guy in the world that felt like talking to anyone. He had personality in spades, and spoke with power. I could never imagine him polling twelve different writers to tell him if one of his scenes worked. I know business owners. He was an entrepreneur, a trailblazer. And he knew how to put that power onto the page, with his own quirks of personality that made his works special. He was one-of-a-kind.

And so are his stories.

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

1. What is Voice?
Your voice is you, it is how you put your personality into your story. It is how you can tell the same story as someone else, and you would have to tell it differently simply because you aren't them.

2. Why is it so important for writers to protect it?
You need to protect your world view and what makes you, you. If you get bogged down with someone else's voice, you are telling their story, not your own.

3. Name a few of your favorite writers.
Jane Austen, Kurt Vonnegut, Shirley Jackson and Daphne du Maurier.

4. Now ask yourself: What makes their storytelling style unique? What do you admire that makes you keep going back to the well for more?
Jane Austen has strong relatable characters, I always enjoy how she writes characters 200 years ago, that are similar to people you see today. Kurt Vonnegut for sure has a strong voice. He sees the world in his own way, and you know when you pick up one of his books that you are in for a wild ride.

5. How can a writer get their writing style homogenized?
A writer can get homogenized when they take advice from too many people. When a critiquing partner gives advice, they might end up telling you how they would tell the story. If you follow their advice, you are putting their voice into your story. You have to think about what the core of their advice is getting to, and not just blindly follow their suggestions. Take the advice and find a way to make it your own.

6. If our writing sounds like everyone else’s, or simply mimics that of another famous writer, we might sell, but what happens to our chances of breaking out ahead of the pack?
You are writing as an author that writes under another author's brand. You need to create your own brand with your own voice and characteristics that people will learn to look for in your writing.

7. What happened to some movies that sought too much input from focus groups?
The audience did not like characteristics that were unique to that director, so they wanted the story changed to reflect the status quo. Those films suffered as a result, because there was nothing to make them stand out from every other movie.

8. What type of stories did focus groups fail the most at?
Stories that were trying to break out of the mold and tell a story in a different light.
9. What happened when some writers and directors stood their ground?
Those films often were successful when they went to theatres.

10. How do we get more of our individuality onto the page? What can happen if we succeed?
Keep feedback to a minimum as a new writer. Learn to interpret advice for what it is, you have to take what they say, and think about how you can mold it to your story, if at all. Keep on writing and learning. If we succeed, we might develop our own voice!

1. What is Voice?
The way you, as an individual, tell a story.
2. Why is it so important for writers to protect it?
It's the thing that will keep readers coming back for more of your stories and books.
3. Name a few of your favorite writers.
Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Brent Weeks
4. Now ask yourself: What makes their storytelling style unique? What do you admire that makes you keep going back to the well for more?
King is an absolute master at creating believable and relatable characters and situations in simple, easily readable prose. Rowling has a knack for building interesting, magical worlds. Weeks does well with creating intricate worlds and plot twists.
5. How can a writer get their writing style homogenized?
By getting lots of feedback from multiple people, mainly inexperienced ones, and trying to stitch all the pieces together into your story.
6. If our writing sounds like everyone else’s, or simply mimics that of another famous writer, we might sell, but what happens to our chances of breaking out ahead of the pack?
They diminish.
7. What happened to some movies that sought too much input from focus groups?
They were homogenized.
8. What type of stories did focus groups fail the most at?
The weird, quirky ones.
9. What happened when some writers and directors stood their ground?
The freshness and originality of their stories were preserved.
10. How do we get more of our individuality onto the page? What can happen if we succeed?
Write more. Get to your 500,000-1,000,000 words to allow your voice to develop. If you get there, you'll have an individual flavor to your writing that readers can recognize.

I finished the first draft of my second story for the quarter. I don't love it, so I'm hoping my first story gets a response soon from the market it's been held at for the last six weeks. Then I can submit the story I'm most passionate about to WotF (unless it's accepted, which would be even better!). On the other hand, I did write something at a shorter, more salable length. It was good practice, at the very least.

The reason I don't like the new story is - appropriately - voice. I wrote something "fun" and "interesting" that has little bearing on our own world. I certainly love reading such stories, but I'm not good at writing them. The setting is original, which initially inspired me, but I wrote the wrong story in it. My strength is in distilling complex ideas from our world into common sense examples, whether real or fictitious (it's why I got paid to write in the past).

1. What is Voice?
Voice is what makes your writing unique. It's not just your use of language or style - it's also content, theme, treatment, etc.

2. Why is it so important for writers to protect it?
What's the point of writing like everyone else? It's exciting for us as writers to discover our own process, and for readers to discover an author unlike any other.

3. Name a few of your favorite writers.
In no particular order, I've read most novels written by Robert Silverberg, Kurt Vonnegut, Gene Wolfe, Philip Jose Farmer, Brandon Sanderson, and Guy Gavriel Kay.

4. Now ask yourself: What makes their storytelling style unique? What do you admire that makes you keep going back to the well for more?
Silverberg - His prose is beautiful. He evolved a lot with the genre, so it's tough to pinpoint anything universal.
Vonnegut - His satirical tone and criticism of our world.
Wolfe - It's all about the puzzles and allusions. Plus the unreliable narrators.
Farmer - He combines interesting ideas with a fun, adventure/pulp writing style.
Sanderson - It's all about the world-building.
Kay - The emotional climaxes.

5. How can a writer get their writing style homogenized?
By building habits based on other people's opinions.

6. If our writing sounds like everyone else’s, or simply mimics that of another famous writer, we might sell, but what happens to our chances of breaking out ahead of the pack?
It's unlikely readers will see the same value in reading more of our stories. They might think "that story was good," but they probably won't immediately seek out our other works.

7. What happened to some movies that sought too much input from focus groups?
They didn't work. The changes destroyed the artistry of the films.

8. What type of stories did focus groups fail the most at?
Original stories. Specifically, "edgy, offbeat...quirky" movies. Originality makes art great.

9. What happened when some writers and directors stood their ground?
Commercial success, despite failing with test audiences. Test audience know they're providing feedback, so they watch with a "critical" eye: in most cases, this means comparing the work to other objective greats and missing the whole point of the story.

Similarly, critiquers are comparing your work to their idea of what's best. They aren't objective or judging your work on its own. A reader, though, approaches with less bias.

10. How do we get more of our individuality onto the page? What can happen if we succeed?
Most importantly, practice. The more we write, the more we will get into our own "groove" and produce stories uniquely ours.

Critiques are useful, but we should focus on what people didn't like - not how they suggest we change things. That way we address their concerns with our own solution, and we can better decide if a change is even needed. If we can make our story better in our own way and also potentially address some criticism, that's a win. I personally tell my beta readers to just highlight what bothers them, and I'll figure out what to do, if anything.

If we succeed, we might develop a voice so unique that readers want more from us.

MOON'S SUPER SECRET BONUS CHALLENGE VOL. 36 CONTEST YEAR END RESULTS
(Reposting due to updated results from original post)

The Q4 results just in were from our Volume 36 challenge, but many of you were in that as well. We still don't have the final results, because the semifinalists and winners are yet to be announced for Q4. (Update! They have now been announced! Details added!)

We can conclude a few facts. Out of around a dozen challenge beasties for the Vol. 36 Super Secrets Challenge, THREE of our challenge beasties made Finalist. Kate Julicher. The Girl in the Glasses (Brittany). And Disgruntled Peony (Liz), who actually placed fourth in Q4! WELL DONE CHALLENGE BEASTIES! And we also have a FOURTH FINALIST! Swift Potato (Leah Ning) wrote that she had been lurking behind the scenes, following all of Moon's SUPER SECRETS and applying the exercises. Her Q4 submission was the direct result--she told us so--and she was first to join the Vol. 37 Super Secrets Challenge. She is a challenge beastie, as we call our members, she just had to wait for the open call to happen again.

As for Silver HMs, we watched some of our challenge beasties level up, achieving TOP 50 or so out of thousands in the quarter for the very first time! Here we have ChuckT and RSchibler and Henckel. (Tony Dutson got one as well in Q3 & Q4--nicely done!--a new challenge beastie for Vol. 37). As far as I know, these were the first Silvers these challenge beasties received from this contest. We watched them level up by writing fresh stories each quarter and applying Moon's Super Secrets. WELL DONE CHALLENGE BEASTIES! (Update: Kate Julicher posted she got a Silver HM in Q4, and she was in the Vol. 36 Challenge.)

We had abundant HMs throughout the quarters in our Vol. 36 challenge--I can't even count them all. As Kevin J. Anderson once told me, "Getting even one HM in Writers of the Future is a BIG DEAL, they don't give those things out lightly." And even if we didn't place, we still wrote fresh stories. That is a win for each and every one. Feel good about that. It's how we grow as writers. WELL DONE CHALLENGE BEASTIES!

RSchibbler (Rebecca) achieved her FIRST PRO SALE to an anthology, and posted it was directly related to the help she received from Moon's Super Secrets. Chuckt achieved his FIRST SALE to an anthology, and said the same. Congratulations to our NEW PUBLISHED WRITERS!

Finally, I predicted at the start of the year one of our challenge members would be a winner for the Writers of the Future Volume 36 year. We had our first WINNER! Surprise! It was from a secret pony riding along with us that zoomed up to the finish line in the final Q4 sprint! SwiftPotato (Leah Ning) won THIRD PLACE!!! She will be our challenge beastie to carry our banner to the Writers of the Future stage in victory! Well done, Leah! I hope to be there to cheer you on!

CONGRATULATIONS TO EACH AND EVERY MEMBER OF THE WULF PACK! YOU ARE WRITERS! NOW FORWARD, CHALLENGE BEASTIES! ANOTHER YEAR AWAITS!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Questions to consider. Please post answers to the following:

1. What is Voice?
2. Why is it so important for writers to protect it?
3. Name a few of your favorite writers.
4. Now ask yourself: What makes their storytelling style unique? What do you admire that makes you keep going back to the well for more?
5. How can a writer get their writing style homogenized?
6. If our writing sounds like everyone else’s, or simply mimics that of another famous writer, we might sell, but what happens to our chances of breaking out ahead of the pack?
7. What happened to some movies that sought too much input from focus groups?
8. What type of stories did focus groups fail the most at?
9. What happened when some writers and directors stood their ground?
10. How do we get more of our individuality onto the page? What can happen if we succeed?

1. Voice is your soul. It's your life's experience, joys, sorrows, hopes and dreams fused together. It will change in each decade of your life just as fine wine and cheese. It encompasses your upbringing, background and world view.

2. Nothing can compare to the original. There can be several James Bond, but Sean Connery's original version is the best.
3. Ray Bradbury, Robert Silverberg, the teleplay writers of both the original series THE OUTER LIMITS and the 90's version, Ken Follet (Pillars of the Earth; Winter of the World); Alistair MacLean (The Guns Of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, Ice Station Zebra). The writer of the Amazon Prime version of THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (the only time a film has surpassed the original book by Philip K. Dick.
4. Show me the first pages of several authors and provide me a list of names. I'll know who wrote what just by style. You can easily tell Diana Gabaldon from plot-first authors.
5. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
6. Our chances of being lead sled dog become slim if we mimic others.
7. The movies tanked. However, since Hollywood's mantra is "if it makes us millions, keep doing retreads." Therefore, we might see Jaws 47, Star Trek:
We're Old and Tired and Out of Dilithium Crystals, Frozen 12: Anna's Granddaughter Let's It Go At Her Sweet Sixteen Party, et cetera.
8. Hybrids. Stories that break genre tropes. The types of stories literary agents ask for on their websites. Those that break tradition.
9. It is rare a writer will stand their ground today. In 1988, with Dirty Dancing, fortunately, she was able to. In today's environment, after you sign over your subsidiary rights, if you want a script green-lit, the high-powered entertainment attorneys of Hollywood pretty much rule the waves. That said, a clear exception is Diana Gabaldon who has the clout to say what goes into Outlander series, and what doesn't. (She's also written I think 10 or more Outlander books)
10. Tell a story through YOUR life experience. If we succeed, we'll be noticed, published, and hopefully someone at a production company reads your story and says it would make a great movie.

Best,

Retro

P.S. I still think the ending to LOST was a huge disappointment.

1. What is Voice?
- Voice is yourself, through your writing.

2. Why is it so important for writers to protect it?
- As a business decision, it seems wise to distinguish yourself to give people a reason to pick your new flavor instead of all the chocolates and vanillas. More importantly, it's more intrinsically rewarding to say the things you want to say, in the way you want to say them.

3. Name a few of your favorite writers.
- Sanderson, Rothfuss, Gaiman, Card

4. Now ask yourself: What makes their storytelling style unique? What do you admire that makes you keep going back to the well for more?
- At risk of being too on the nose here, I would say it's their voices that set them apart. I would immediately know which one of them I'm reading after only a page (or less). I think this is because they are putting THEMSELVES on the page. I've always felt that my favorite authors seem to share a piece of their souls through their writing. That's not always the case. I feel like I know them, that I understand their beliefs, through the words they write. That's both why I wanted to write but also what scares me most about writing.

5. How can a writer get their writing style homogenized?
- By trying to please everyone. Like a game of telephone, the more people your story goes through, the farther away it is from what you intended.

6. If our writing sounds like everyone else’s, or simply mimics that of another famous writer, we might sell, but what happens to our chances of breaking out ahead of the pack?
- We blend in, just another wolf in the pack, nothing to distinguish our gray coat from all the others around us.

7. What happened to some movies that sought too much input from focus groups?
- They drifted away from the original focus of the story.

8. What type of stories did focus groups fail the most at?
- Anything unique. Anything outside of the status quo.

9. What happened when some writers and directors stood their ground?
- Smashing success, to the surprise of others who thought they knew better.

10. How do we get more of our individuality onto the page? What can happen if we succeed?
- Write, write, write. Don't over-edit. Don't seek to please everyone.

Thanks for the great write up, Wulf

ASSIGNMENT: Protect Your Voice!

What is Voice?
It is you.
Why is it so important for writers to protect it?
Your individuality is your key weapon.
Name a few of your favorite writers.
Harlan Ellison, Colleen McCullough, Charles Bukowski
Now ask yourself: What makes their storytelling style unique? What do you admire that makes you keep going back to the well for more?
Attitude. Ellison's snappy, confident style; McCullough wrote with authority but conveyed an natural sense of place with characters that were so believable that they could have been living today (thinking Rome series, Troy); Bukowski's melancholy, able to evoke feeling (I would argue that Bukowski's voice was so strong that anyone who would 'go there' would be seen as an impostor).
How can a writer get their writing style homogenized?
Stick to a formula, even when your gut says not to.
If our writing sounds like everyone else’s, or simply mimics that of another famous writer, we might sell, but what happens to our chances of breaking out ahead of the pack?
You are the pack.
What happened to some movies that sought too much input from focus groups?
Ah, Star Wars E7+
What type of stories did focus groups fail the most at?
Unique ideas that go against convention.
What happened when some writers and directors stood their ground?
Stand out successes. Dark Crystal was another with a similar story.
How do we get more of our individuality onto the page? What can happen if we succeed?
Write that magic million! Our voice enters the page.

I'm enjoying everyone's comments, right on the money, just trying not to clutter up the thread by responding to each. But Peter, I told my wife you like Colleen McCullough. She loves Thornbirds, has read it three times. She says every time she finishes it, she thinks what will I do without these people in my life? They are that real to her.

You can't pull that off without powerful Voice.

Looking forward to the rest of your comments!

Beastmaster Moon

Good morning, all! Today's Monday prompt is: ALIEN ARTIFACT.

1. What is Voice?
It is the constant dialogue running through your head that you transfer to the written word. It is the you the world is waiting to meet.
2. Why is it so important for writers to protect it?
As you become successful it will set you apart from the rest.
3. Name a few of your favorite writers.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Anne McCaffrey, Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson are just a few, I read a lot.
4. Now ask yourself: What makes their storytelling style unique? What do you admire that makes you keep going back to the well for more?
Burroughs kept you reading and turning pages.
Anne McCaffrey was a top notch world builder with a unique voice that made you want the next volume in a series.
Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time is a lot like the Tolkien world. He proved you can write a new story in an existing or similar world.
Brandon showed his talent when he finished WoT from notes and outlines. He has many excellent stories out and many on the way.
5. How can a writer get their writing style homogenized?
Too many crits can dilute the quality of the original story, can alter the authors voice to something completely different.
6. If our writing sounds like everyone else’s, or simply mimics that of another famous writer, we might sell, but what happens to our chances of breaking out ahead of the pack?
It will be harder to get name recognition if you're writing like the crowd, find your voice and lead your fans on an unforgettable journey.
7. What happened to some movies that sought too much input from focus groups?
Some were altered too much and struggled to succeed.
8. What type of stories did focus groups fail the most at?
Stories with fresh unheard of ideas.
9. What happened when some writers and directors stood their ground?
An unexpected level of success.
10. How do we get more of our individuality onto the page? What can happen if we succeed?
Write every chance you get. Make it a daily habit to contribute to your portfolio. Set those krakens free and reap the rewards.

Anyone read Dave Farland's writing tip for today? He outlines some things that bore or frustrate him in stories he's been reading for WotF. Highly recommend reading the whole post if you haven't, but briefly, he says some things that bore him are:

1. Tedious details, as in examining how a character feels or what they're seeing under a microscope (especially in an opening)
2. Going to a meeting - to get an assignment or a message, etc., again especially as an opening.
3. Senseless banter, as in senseless bragging/lame jokes between two fighting characters or from a bully, or thinly veiled maid-and-butler dialogue.
4. Starting a story with a character who's bored, and describing how bored they are and why they're bored and what they're doing and thinking while they're bored.

Some of this looks familiar to us challenge beasties (#2 could be loosely translated to "don't drive to the story"), but I know I've been guilty of writing bad banter before, and earlier in my writing days of starting a story with a bored character who's just real interested in why they're so bored and what they wish they were doing. Good stuff to know, and straight from the judge's mouth. Know thy judge!

Here's the link to the article for those who are interested in reading the whole thing: https://mystorydoctor.com/how-to-bore-a ... o-death-2/

I think the problem lies when writers try to write like their favorite movie. Some movies start in the middle of the action (Lord of War), but most have pretty scenery and music (Fried Green Tomatoes). Then during the movie, the characters are preparing to go somewhere or are going to somewhere like an audition (Hannah and Her Sisters) or to work (Office Space). There is senseless banter in almost all movies.

I don't think the movie example is valid for the bored character, but it seems to fit the rest pretty well.

Thank you for sharing!

Thanks Swift.

As I was perusing Dave’s site I noticed the World Fantasy Con is in Salt Lake next year and Dave is doing a fantasy workshop. Guess I know what I’m saving up for.

She loves Thornbirds, has read it three times. She says every time she finishes it, she thinks what will I do without these people in my life? They are that real to her.

Based on that recommendation, I just put that book on my to-read list! I must admit, my love of McCullough is via her Rome series
Also, Thanks Leah for the summary and link!

As for today's prompt, I asked Leah to bump that up because Dave has spoken of seeking alien artifact stories. He must like them. Just another case of targeting your judge--if you know he likes something, write something to fit the bill. Have a run at it!

Cheers!

Our challenge beastie Becky (RSchibler) invited me to do an Ask Me Anything for the Reddit writing group. Since I'll be talking about Writers of the Future, this Forum, and the success of "Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler," it's fitting to post the info here. I hope some of you can join in the fun! Cheers!

UPCOMING AMA ANNOUNCEMENT: Wulf Moon, Writers of the Future Winner and Podcast Director for Future Science Fiction Digest. Monday, December 16, 6-8pm PST

Wulf Moon is an Olympic Peninsula award-winning writer and podcast director for Future Science Fiction Digest. Moon wrote his first science fiction story when he was fifteen. It won the national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards—the same contest that first discovered Stephen King, Peter S. Beagle, Truman Capote, Joyce Carol Oates and a host of iconic names in the arts. The story became his first professional sale at Science World.

Moon’s stories have been published in Third Flatiron anthologies, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2, Writers of the Future Vol. 35, Future Science Fiction Digest, and in Deep Magic. He has won over thirty awards in writing, winning a contest sponsored by Nora Roberts where he wrote the conclusion to her novella “Riley Slade’s Return,” and more recently winning the Critters Annual Readers’ Choice Award for Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Story of 2018, and in 2019, he was a winner in the international Writers of the Future Contest.

His award-winning story “Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler” is on the current Nebula Recommended Reading List. LOCUS magazine recently published a glowing review on this story about a disabled girl seeking a new life on the moon with her protector--a rapper robodog that serves as her life-support unit. Author Tim Powers said about the tale: “This is the kind of story I hope gets reprinted again and again for years and years to come.” Moon invites you to experience this story for yourself by reading or by listening to his narration at Future-SF for free:

Podcast: http://future-sf.com/podcasts/super-dup ... l-podcast/

Print: http://future-sf.com/fiction/super-dupe ... n-dawdler/

You can enjoy more of Moon’s work at: amazon.com/author/wulfmoon. Follow him on Facebook and sign up for his blog and podcasts at driftweave.com. He looks forward to chatting with you about how to write and narrate captivating stories that will activate powerful emotions within the hearts of your readers. See you soon! Wulf Moon

AMA will be posted on Sunday, December 15, at noon to allow for questions to be posted ahead of the AMA time. http://www.reddit.com/r/writing

Answers to Super Secret 39: Protect Your Voice

1.What is Voice?
It is the unique spirit of the writer expressed on the page, a signature that marks that writing as uniquely theirs.

2. Why is it so important for writers to protect it?
Because it makes your work stand out. It impresses readers with its strength.

3. Name a few of your favorite writers.
Kelly Link
Mary Robinette Kowal
Guy Gavriel Kay

4. Now ask yourself: What makes their storytelling style unique? What do you admire that makes you keep going back to the well for more?

Link: The strange and amusing ways in which magic or the unbelievable intermingles sensibly with the natural state of the story world and the deep issues of the characters.

Kowal: How the emotions of the characters are laid bare so vibrantly and yet the story isn‘t dragged down into petty sadness.

Kay: The viewpoints of characters possess such truth and their relationships seem so sharp and poignant that I want to be close to these lives the stories paint, I want to step in and lend them a hand.

5. How can a writer get their writing style homogenized?
By listening to too many opinions on their work and adjusting their writing to fit the common crowd. Cutting out their voice to match the bland stylistic expectations of others.

6. If our writing sounds like everyone else’s, or simply mimics that of another famous writer, we might sell, but what happens to our chances of breaking out ahead of the pack?
Close to zero chance of breaking out.

7. What happened to some movies that sought too much input from focus groups?
Their endings were vomit-worthy. As important scenes or elements were cut, they lost their power since the voice was cut out or wounded.

8. What type of stories did focus groups fail the most at?
Quirky or edgy. The ones with all the voice.

9. What happened when some writers and directors stood their ground?
The creative work was a shocking success. Shocking!

10. How do we get more of our individuality onto the page? What can happen if we succeed?
Writing more. Putting in the hard work to develop our unique writing. Getting a limited amount of critiques and support, and being careful to safeguard your own style.

CRLISLE, I think I found something in The Screenwriter's Bible which might address what you wrote about opening scenes in cinema.

"Somewhere in the first 10 or 15 pages of your script (or earlier), something should happen to give your central character a goal, a desire, a mission, a need, or a problem. I like to call this event the Catalyst, although it's referred to by others as the Inciting Incident. Yes, it is a turning point. No, it's not usually the same as the Big Event, although it can be. This term and many other terms are used in a variety of ways by industry people. One person's Catalyst is another person's First Major Turning Point. For example, many writers and writing gurus think of the Big Event as the Inciting Incident. Defining the terms is less important than understanding the principle. I use terms that I believe will be the most helpful and least confusing to understand.

"Here's the principle: When a story begins, life is in b balance. Yes, your hero may have a problem, but it's a problem he's always had – his status quo. Then the Catalyst kicks things out of balance and gives the central character a new problem, need, goal, desire or mission. The central character spends the rest of the movie trying to get things back into balance."

"A good Catalyst and/or Big Event, besides giving the central character a new problem or desire, will often reveal something of the main conflict or story premise. It may raise the central dramatic question (or obligatory question) for that film."

"Because Act 1 is primarily devoted to setting up the story situation, foreshadowing becomes a vital tool......Here's a partial list of foreshadowing elements in Titanic. Most are introduced early in the story....The sunken ship, rooms, fireplace, safe, Rose's comb, the nude drawing; The automobile where they later make love; how the Titanic would sink; Heart of the Ocean necklace; How freezing the water is (Jack points this out in the 'suicide' scene); Spitting lessons pay off later when Rose hocks one up on her fiancé; The number of lifeboats; The gun; Jack: 'You jump, I jump'; Jack 'You'll die warm in your bed.' This foreshadowing comes late; The whistle. This is also introduced appropriately late, and its payoff is powerful."

Whenever I take my family to a movie at the local theater, I have to visibly restrain myself from staring at my watch at the 10 minutes mark, and saying, "Such and such is going to happen now," again a half hour into the feature; another at Plot Point 2, 45 minutes in; as the tension ratchets up at Midpoint an hour into the feature, lol.

We recently saw The Good Liar. Excellent movie. Unfortunately, I predicted every plot twist, the climax, and the ending.

Wulf, I play the love theme from The Thorn Birds on piano sans music sheets. I saw it when it came out about 1985 with Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward.

Best,

Retro