Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

Check out Henckel's book, So You Wanna Be a Desperado Demon Slayer, currently free on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/You-Wanna-Desper ... 01N5J6O1J/

I just grabbed my copy. Looking forward to reading it!

Check out Henckel's book, So You Wanna Be a Desperado Demon Slayer, currently free on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/You-Wanna-Desper ... 01N5J6O1J/

I just grabbed my copy. Looking forward to reading it!

Thank you CCrawford!!!! Hens forth, when your name is spoken, it shall be accompanied by a chorus of angels chanting omens of good will and free pony rides for kids at least this tall.

Check out Henckel's book, So You Wanna Be a Desperado Demon Slayer, currently free on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/You-Wanna-Desper ... 01N5J6O1J/

I just grabbed my copy. Looking forward to reading it!

Uh Oh! I'm late to the party.
*runs to get a copy*

Posted this to my FB wall today about the WotF Q4 official announcement. We had a LOT of members from the current or past challenge that were members of SUPER SECRETS that got honors. Q4 was an incredible quarter for challenge beasties! (Congrats on your indie novel as well, Henckel. Got a copy!) Here's the post, and if you love what we do here, Critters has a Best Writing Workshop for 2019 category to vote in. Just sayin'. : )

I'm sure I've missed someone. Please let me know, it's a huge list that WotF posts, and it's single spaced. Okay, back to my Facebook post. DRUMROLL....

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners and honors winners in the 4th Quarter of the Writers of the Future Contest! Many of these are from Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRET Writing Challenge, a small online workshop I run for free to promote professional writing. Well done, challenge beasties! I'll give a shout out to those I see. I spy with my naked eye...

THIRD PLACE: Leah Ning, our first winner from the workshop! Gotta say, "Well done!" for that! "WELL DONE, LEAH!"

FINALIST: M. Elizabeth Ticknor, gotta say, "Well done!" for that! She was told she placed fourth. Alas, no award for that, but SO CLOSE! "WELL DONE, LIZ!" (She was also awarded a Superstars scholarship!)

SILVER HONORABLE MENTIONS:

AV Dutson
Christopher Henckel
KD Julicher (She earned many Finalist certificates before joining.)
Charles "Chuck" Thompson
Rebecca E. Treasure (She also got her first pro sale in this quarter, and was also awarded a WotF Superstars scholarship!)

"Well done, challenge beasties!"

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Brittany Rainsdon (who has been Finalist twice before!)
Peter Glenn
Michael Quicho
Anike Kirsten
Ari Officer
Don Sweeney
Barry
AJ Zach
ZT Bright
Angela Kayd

"Well done, challenge beasties!"

When you consider that thousands enter this contest from around the world every quarter, this itsy bitsy writing group has had marvelous accomplishments in this contest and elsewhere. Congratulations, challenge beasties! You did the work! You wrote fresh stories to make this happen! Keep writing! Keep sending!

Cheers!

Wulf Moon

Woot woot! Thanks Wulf. I'm proud of us.

Huzzahs all around! Congratulations to everyone.

Thank you Wulf for teaching us non-challenge members as well as for challenging your Challenge Beasties. You are the beast!

Thanks for the shout-out, Moon! And congratulations, everyone! You're a fantastic bunch of writers!

You missed one more beastie Wulf. Don Sweeney I had an HM.
What a successful group, I am very proud to be among you.

It's on to the next quarter.

Great work everyone!

Hey, folks! The deadline for the quarter has officially passed. There are still a few that I don't have down as having submitted their non-WotF story. This is not a shame post! Rather, I would ask that you look at the roster HERE and let me know if I've missed your second submission (or an exception that's been made for you). If I have missed your second submission, I apologize in advance and beg your patience!

You missed one more beastie Wulf. Don Sweeney I had an HM.
What a successful group, I am very proud to be among you.

Sorry, Don! I missed Ari as well, not intentionally! Fixed. Well done and keep up the good work!

New assignment about to be posted. Stay tuned!

Hi Wulf,

I received an HM for 4th Quarter as well.

As a general rule, I don't announce any wins or certificates. But if you're keeping tabs, lol.

Best,

Retro

Hi Wulf,

I received an HM for 4th Quarter as well.

As a general rule, I don't announce any wins or certificates. But if you're keeping tabs, lol.

Best,

Retro

You're going to have to give me permission to use your name so I can put up in lights, Retro.
You should be on the list. REVEAL YOURSELF!

Moon

LOL.

That's okay, you can say Barry.

You're talking to the one person ever who refused a retirement party after 35 years as I did not wish to incur any costs to my fellow employees.

The only time I ever come out of the shadows is when I play piano and then all conversation ceases and harmony begins, lol.

Best,

Retro

Missed me too, although I think all the HM's are a bit hard to keep track of!

Missed me too, although I think all the HM's are a bit hard to keep track of!

Sorry. Again, REVEAL YOURSELF! What name are you listed under, AJ?

Welcome home from Spring Break! Now that you’re back from Cancun all oiled, tanned, and rested, IT’S BACK TO THE ICY TRENCHES, CHALLENGE BEASTIES!

This ASSIGNMENT is going to be hell, uh, I mean a helluva fun one. We’re going to listen to Writers of the Future winner Brad Torgersen, who recently shared his writing history in The Writers of the Future Podcast #55. Thirty-one minutes. You will go in mostly human and come out...changed. More...tentacled, with cold kraken eyes. Are you ready? It’s a good idea to print the questions below, or have them up to answer as you listen to his interview.

There’s a lot of questions, but they’re designed to reinforce our objectives, so do post your answers. Brad and I don’t know one another, have never met. And yet, when you listen to his interview, you’ll hear the same beat I’ve been helping you to dance to. Cue the Twilight Zone theme song! Are you ready? Begin! And a one-two-three, and a one-two-three, and a...

https://soundcloud.com/writersofthefutu ... ing-career

Questions to Answer:

1. At eighteen years old Brad decided to be a writer. Yippee! How many years did it take to make his first pro sale? How many rejections did he deal with?

2. As all seemed lost for our hero, what question did his wife ask him that’s a good one for each of us to ask ourselves?

3. When Brad discovered Writers of the Future (he finds a magic sword!), what homework did he do before he entered the contest?

4. Brad said he entered for two years or more getting HMs before his first Finalist. Did he win? Did Brad let that stop him? What did his wife say?

5. Because he didn’t give up, what happened?

6. And what happened with his rejected Finalist?

7. And ten years later, what award did he win? (Hint: He’s holding it in the podcast picture.)

8. How did the WotF Contest prepare Brad for the next step in his career--writing novels?

9. What is Brad’s opinion on writing new stories vs. “endlessly polishing the same old piece?”

10. What trap did he say many aspiring writers fall into?

11. Have you heard anyone else say this?

12. At the 10:15 mark in the podcast, what other problem did he say aspiring writers have?

13. When it comes to becoming a successful writer, what wins?

14. Before writing a novel, why might mastering the craft of short stories benefit you?

15. Where did Brad say his novel career and winning prestigious awards all start from?

16. He gives great tips for aspiring writers, but what’s the key thing for success? And how many words does he say one likely needs to write before seeing steady success?

17. What pitfall does Brad see all the time in aspiring writers? What do they need to do to climb out of this trap?

18. What kind of workshops and conventions can help aspiring writers? What is the best workshop Brad discovered? Have you heard this anywhere before?

19. At 25:35 into the podcast, what can hold a writer back from advancing? If you read my last Super Secret, ahem. : )

20. Brad speaks of learning two skillsets: 1. learning to write, 2. being able to tell a story. What system did Brad implement to teach himself how to write winning stories?

21. After listening to his interview, do you think you’re on the right path here? What one idea do you plan to take from Brad’s program and implement in your own? (May I suggest the one you are bucking most against?)

Class dismissed. Back to writing. But I’m leaving the Twilight Zone theme song on. It’s so soothing...

I’m just checking in here to say congrats to everyone that got an HM or other bigger successes. Keep going everyone! Now on to the 21-question assignment.

Wasn’t officially part of the challenge for Q4, but if we’re tallying results of current Wulf pack members, I received an HM (writing under the name Z.T. Bright).

Questions to Answer:

1. At eighteen years old Brad decided to be a writer. Yippee! How many years did it take to make his first pro sale? How many rejections did he deal with?

2. As all seemed lost for our hero, what question did his wife ask him that’s a good one for each of us to ask ourselves?

3. When Brad discovered Writers of the Future (he finds a magic sword!), what homework did he do before he entered the contest?

4. Brad said he entered for two years or more getting HMs before his first Finalist. Did he win? Did Brad let that stop him? What did his wife say?

5. Because he didn’t give up, what happened?

6. And what happened with his rejected Finalist?

7. And ten years later, what award did he win? (Hint: He’s holding it in the podcast picture.)

8. How did the WotF Contest prepare Brad for the next step in his career--writing novels?

9. What is Brad’s opinion on writing new stories vs. “endlessly polishing the same old piece?”

10. What trap did he say many aspiring writers fall into?

11. Have you heard anyone else say this?

12. At the 10:15 mark in the podcast, what other problem did he say aspiring writers have?

13. When it comes to becoming a successful writer, what wins?

14. Before writing a novel, why might mastering the craft of short stories benefit you?

15. Where did Brad say his novel career and winning prestigious awards all start from?

16. He gives great tips for aspiring writers, but what’s the key thing for success? And how many words does he say one likely needs to write before seeing steady success?

17. What pitfall does Brad see all the time in aspiring writers? What do they need to do to climb out of this trap?

18. What kind of workshops and conventions can help aspiring writers? What is the best workshop Brad discovered? Have you heard this anywhere before?

19. At 25:35 into the podcast, what can hold a writer back from advancing? If you read my last Super Secret, ahem. : )

20. Brad speaks of learning two skillsets: 1. learning to write, 2. being able to tell a story. What system did Brad implement to teach himself how to write winning stories?

21. After listening to his interview, do you think you’re on the right path here? What one idea do you plan to take from Brad’s program and implement in your own? (May I suggest the one you are bucking most against?)

Class dismissed. Back to writing. But I’m leaving the Twilight Zone theme song on. It’s so soothing...

1. Brad was an unpaid radio show script writer for KRCL-FM; he received 17 years worth of rejections after he wanted to emulate Larry Niven and be a writer.

2. "What more can you do that you haven't tried yet, or you haven't done?" From his friends, "Why don't you enter Writers Of the Future contest?"

3. He read Star Trek fan fiction anthologies, and other Strange New Worlds anthologies by Dean Wesley Smith.

4. From 2007, he collected two to two-and-a-half years of HMs; He attained FINALIST IN 2009, but didn't win contest; this crushed him; his wife said, "Well, you gotta keep tryin'."

5. In 2009, he wrote a fresh story which became FINALIST and he won the contest.

6. He sent it to Stan Schmidt at Analag, and in January 2010, he received a letter with a publishing promise on his FINALIST which did not win; that story later won Readers Choice Award.

7. He won the Dragon Award given to him by Larry Niven.

8. He learned to meet deadlines; not to sit on the same story; learned more from producing new works.

9. He's vehemently opposed to endlessly polishing the same old piece.

10. Instead of making the same story better, try "3 passes and I'm done." He urges writers to disengage from old work, produce something new, fight stage fright and send out fresh stories.

11. Wulf Moon.

12. Aspiring writers have stage fright of sending out their stories.

13. Work ethic, persistence and courage win.

14. You learn the skill set of economy of words (brevity) and study book blurbs.

15. Writers Of the Future; he patterned his skill set after Larry Niven.

16. Decide what your ultimate ambition is. Pay attention to writers you admire and adapt their templates. You need to write a lot. Start heading toward a million words.

17. Don't keep polishing as it becomes a project of diminishing returns. Write something new.

18. WOTF workshop is the paramount one. Other workshops are Kevin Anderson and Dean Wesley Smith. He suggests going to conventions. He started going to workshops in 2005.

19. Too much input from non-published writers and/or their friends.

20. In Fall of 2008, he discovered those stories which influenced him most, what about that story worked for him, adapted their templates, and his story became FINALIST.

21. I'm on the right path. I plan to write frequently to attain the 500,000-word plus goal.

Best,

Retro

Wasn’t officially part of the challenge for Q4, but if we’re tallying results of current Wulf pack members, I received an HM (writing under the name Z.T. Bright).

Yeah, the FB post was regarding the whole group, first and second year. I added you.

Angela Kayd below? I added you.

And Retro? Johnny on the Spot! Great answers.

Cheers!

Posted this to my FB wall today about the WotF Q4 official announcement. We had a LOT of members from the current or past challenge that were members of SUPER SECRETS that got honors. Q4 was an incredible quarter for challenge beasties! (Congrats on your indie novel as well, Henckel. Got a copy!) Here's the post, and if you love what we do here, Critters has a Best Writing Workshop for 2019 category to vote in. Just sayin'. : )

I'm sure I've missed someone. Please let me know, it's a huge list that WotF posts, and it's single spaced. Okay, back to my Facebook post. DRUMROLL....

Giving my permission to list my name: (I've started adding my first on posts here already)

Angela Kayd. This is my pen name for SF&F. I got an HM for 4th Qtr.

Thanks!

Brad Torgersen Assignment:

Questions to Answer:

1. At eighteen years old Brad decided to be a writer. Yippee! How many years did it take to make his first pro sale? How many rejections did he deal with? 17 years for any publication

2. As all seemed lost for our hero, what question did his wife ask him that’s a good one for each of us to ask ourselves? “What more can you do that you haven’t tried before?”

3. When Brad discovered Writers of the Future (he finds a magic sword!), what homework did he do before he entered the contest? He read all the anthologies. He had already been reading short stories by Larry Nevins prior to entering. He had also submitted work (and been encouraged by) Dean Wesley Smith via “Strange New Worlds.”

4. Brad said he entered for two years or more getting HMs before his first Finalist. Did he win? Did Brad let that stop him? What did his wife say? When his first finalist story didn’t win, Brad was crushed. But his wife told him (after he moped for a day) to “keep trying!”

5. Because he didn’t give up, what happened? the next finalist (same year – v. 26) did win at WoTF

6. And what happened with his rejected Finalist? first finalist got published and won Reader’s Choice Award at Analog Magazine.

7. And ten years later, what award did he win? (Hint: He’s holding it in the podcast picture.)
Dragon Award

8. How did the WotF Contest prepare Brad for the next step in his career--writing novels?
The contest forces you to meet quarterly deadlines and produce new work on a regular basis.

9. What is Brad’s opinion on writing new stories vs. “endlessly polishing the same old piece?”
You learn more when you are working on a new piece.

10. What trap did he say many aspiring writers fall into?
not being able to disengage from old pieces and constantly trying to make a work better

11. Have you heard anyone else say this? LOL, a certain Wulf Moon’s ears must be burning every time someone gets to this question.

12. At the 10:15 mark in the podcast, what other problem did he say aspiring writers have? They are afraid to send out work because they don’t think it is good enough. This one really resonates with me!!

13. When it comes to becoming a successful writer, what wins?
Persistence and work ethic is what makes you successful. And then having courage to submit.

14. Before writing a novel, why might mastering the craft of short stories benefit you?
The skillset of being able to use economy of words and brevity helps pull a writer in quickly, even in a novel. Helps also when you can come up with a great back blurb that draws your reader in and gets them to purchase your book. You can also use your short stories to hone your craft. Plus, lots of readers enjoy and want to read more books in series.

15. Where did Brad say his novel career and winning prestigious awards all start from?
winning WoTF

16. He gives great tips for aspiring writers, but what’s the key thing for success? And how many words does he say one likely needs to write before seeing steady success? You must write a lot! He mentions one million words (not all need this many) and says that he wrote about 850,000 unpublishable words in the beginning.

17. What pitfall does Brad see all the time in aspiring writers? What do they need to do to climb out of this trap? Aspiring writers often want to keep polishing the same book or manuscript. Set that one aside and start something new.

18. What kind of workshops and conventions can help aspiring writers? What is the best workshop Brad discovered? Have you heard this anywhere before? Do a workshop with contest judges if you can. Go to workshops (like Superstars) and conventions where you can meet professionals and get out of your own head.

19. At 25:35 into the podcast, what can hold a writer back from advancing? If you read my last Super Secret, ahem. : ) Writers can get stuck only listening to those in critique groups, etc. and not getting access to professionals who can give them better sense of what is possible.

20. Brad speaks of learning two skillsets: 1. learning to write, 2. being able to tell a story. What system did Brad implement to teach himself how to write winning stories? Being able to tell a great story is what really makes authors successful. The “writing” piece is part of a subset skill that you use in doing so. Practice helps. Most important: “Can you tell a story?”

21. After listening to his interview, do you think you’re on the right path here? What one idea do you plan to take from Brad’s program and implement in your own? (May I suggest the one you are bucking most against?) I am on the right track with my writing, particularly in making sure I keep submitting each quarter. I submitted to 9 out of the last 10 quarters (I missed 3rd Qtr 2018). I especially like Brad’s idea to study FAVORITE stories from the anthologies to see what it is that resonates with us on a personal level. So I will go back and start reading those again.

Great success all around! Congrats to everyone for submitting last quarter - we can't sell stories if we don't send them out.

1. At eighteen years old Brad decided to be a writer. Yippee! How many years did it take to make his first pro sale? How many rejections did he deal with?
Seventeen years with many, many rejection slips.

2. As all seemed lost for our hero, what question did his wife ask him that’s a good one for each of us to ask ourselves?
What more can you do that you haven't tried yet or haven't done?

3. When Brad discovered Writers of the Future (he finds a magic sword!), what homework did he do before he entered the contest?
Reading the anthologies.

4. Brad said he entered for two years or more getting HMs before his first Finalist. Did he win? Did Brad let that stop him? What did his wife say?
He didn't win on his first Finalist. His wife said he had to keep trying.

5. Because he didn’t give up, what happened?
He won with a second finalist!

6. And what happened with his rejected Finalist?
He sold it to Analog! Then it won the readers' choice award.

7. And ten years later, what award did he win? (Hint: He’s holding it in the podcast picture.)
Dragon award

8. How did the WotF Contest prepare Brad for the next step in his career--writing novels?
Meeting deadlines, producing new work.

9. What is Brad’s opinion on writing new stories vs. “endlessly polishing the same old piece?”
Writers learn more by writing fresh stories.

10. What trap did he say many aspiring writers fall into?
Endlessly revising.

11. Have you heard anyone else say this?
Rings a bell, *wink wink*

12. At the 10:15 mark in the podcast, what other problem did he say aspiring writers have?
Not sending out your work.

13. When it comes to becoming a successful writer, what wins?
Persistence and courage. Everyone has some amount of talent, but not everyone has work ethic, especially in the face of adversity (e.g., rejections).

14. Before writing a novel, why might mastering the craft of short stories benefit you?
You need economy of words and brevity; to catch and keep your reader's attention (also getting good at writing back blurbs can help novel sales); and overall using it as a proving ground for skills and ideas. Generating new ideas with deadlines in mind (as with short stories) can also help you meet expectations from readers/publishers.

15. Where did Brad say his novel career and winning prestigious awards all start from?
Cracking WotF

16. He gives great tips for aspiring writers, but what’s the key thing for success? And how many words does he say one likely needs to write before seeing steady success?
Decide what you want to do with it. Pay attention to the writers you admire most. A million (fresh) words for most.

17. What pitfall does Brad see all the time in aspiring writers? What do they need to do to climb out of this trap?
Don't be a polisher. Set that manuscript aside, and work on something completely new.

18. What kind of workshops and conventions can help aspiring writers? What is the best workshop Brad discovered? Have you heard this anywhere before?
WotF and Superstars.

19. At 25:35 into the podcast, what can hold a writer back from advancing? If you read my last Super Secret, ahem. : )
Getting locked in your head and not talking to professionals enough to understand what's possible/successful.

20. Brad speaks of learning two skillsets: 1. learning to write, 2. being able to tell a story. What system did Brad implement to teach himself how to write winning stories?
Practice makes perfect. Telling a story is a different skillset than the writing. He studied his favorite stories in the anthologies. Storytelling is the rarer skill.

21. After listening to his interview, do you think you’re on the right path here? What one idea do you plan to take from Brad’s program and implement in your own? (May I suggest the one you are bucking most against?)  
As well as I'm able. I'm happy with my writing habits but not with my short story reading (I mostly read novels, though I read a lot of short stories last year to prepare for the contest). I should spend more time studying my favorite stories to better understand what makes them work on a storytelling level.

1. At eighteen years old Brad decided to be a writer. Yippee! How many years did it take to make his first pro sale? How many rejections did he deal with?
It took 17 years of constant effort to begin to succeed.

2. As all seemed lost for our hero, what question did his wife ask him that’s a good one for each of us to ask ourselves?
What can you do next to further your ambitions?
Why don't you enter writers of the future contest.

3. When Brad discovered Writers of the Future (he finds a magic sword!), what homework did he do before he entered the contest?
Read volumes and got familiar with what wins.

4. Brad said he entered for two years or more getting HMs before his first Finalist. Did he win? Did Brad let that stop him? What did his wife say?
It did not stop him. Keep trying.

5. Because he didn’t give up, what happened?
Joni called while was in a drive-through letting him know he won.

6. And what happened with his rejected Finalist?
He sold it at Analog.

7. And ten years later, what award did he win? (Hint: He’s holding it in the podcast picture.)
He won the Dragon Award.

8. How did the WotF Contest prepare Brad for the next step in his career--writing novels?
He learned to write fresh stories instead of constantly polishing finished works.

9. What is Brad’s opinion on writing new stories vs. “endlessly polishing the same old piece?”
It's a waste of time.

10. What trap did he say many aspiring writers fall into?
Polishing the old stuff instead of writing something new.

11. Have you heard anyone else say this?
It does ring a bell, hmm, wait for it, Wulf Moon.

12. At the 10:15 mark in the podcast, what other problem did he say aspiring writers have?
They get stage fright.

13. When it comes to becoming a successful writer, what wins?
Hard work and persistence.

14. Before writing a novel, why might mastering the craft of short stories benefit you?
Learning to write using an economy of words.

15. Where did Brad say his novel career and winning prestigious awards all start from?
From talking to Larry Niven at writer's of the future.

16. He gives great tips for aspiring writers, but what’s the key thing for success? And how many words does he say one likely needs to write before seeing steady success?
One finds success on the way to one million words.

17. What pitfall does Brad see all the time in aspiring writers? What do they need to do to climb out of this trap?
Write new material.

18. What kind of workshops and conventions can help aspiring writers? What is the best workshop Brad discovered? Have you heard this anywhere before?
Kevin J Anderson and Dean Wesley Smith are two good ones. Winning WotF is always the best.

19. At 25:35 into the podcast, what can hold a writer back from advancing? If you read my last Super Secret, ahem. : )
Too many critters can hold you back.

20. Brad speaks of learning two skillsets: 1. learning to write, 2. being able to tell a story. What system did Brad implement to teach himself how to write winning stories?
Find the stories you like the most and learn from them.

21. After listening to his interview, do you think you’re on the right path here? What one idea do you plan to take from Brad’s program and implement in your own? (May I suggest the one you are bucking most against?)
I know I'm on the right path. My goal is to do as many Monday prompts as I can, along with the other requirements. Send my krakens out to new markets with regularity.
By doing this I will surpass 500,000 before the end of the year.

Questions to Answer:

1. At eighteen years old Brad decided to be a writer. Yippee! How many years did it take to make his first pro sale? How many rejections did he deal with? 17 years. He received many rejections.

2. As all seemed lost for our hero, what question did his wife ask him that’s a good one for each of us to ask ourselves? She asked if there was something else you can try.

3. When Brad discovered Writers of the Future (he finds a magic sword!), what homework did he do before he entered the contest?
He read the anthologies, he learned about the contest and the judges.

4. Brad said he entered for two years or more getting HMs before his first Finalist. Did he win? Did Brad let that stop him? What did his wife say?
He did not win, his wife said to keep trying and he did.

5. Because he didn’t give up, what happened? ]He got another finalist.

6. And what happened with his rejected Finalist? He sent it out to another market, which published it. It went on to win the Reader's choice award.

7. And ten years later, what award did he win? (Hint: He’s holding it in the podcast picture.) The Dragon award.

8. How did the WotF Contest prepare Brad for the next step in his career--writing novels? It teaches you deadlines, to write new regularly.

9. What is Brad’s opinion on writing new stories vs. “endlessly polishing the same old piece?” You learn more from writing a new story.

10. What trap did he say many aspiring writers fall into? Trying to rework and over edit a story to make it better.

11. Have you heard anyone else say this? Wolf Moon

12. At the 10:15 mark in the podcast, what other problem did he say aspiring writers have? Writers are afraid to send work out to markets.

13. When it comes to becoming a successful writer, what wins? Persistence wins. (Work ethic, sending it out, and then keeping going as long as it takes).

14. Before writing a novel, why might mastering the craft of short stories benefit you? You learn economy of words. You learn to hook your reader quickly.

15. Where did Brad say his novel career and winning prestigious awards all start from? He won writers of the future.

16. He gives great tips for aspiring writers, but what’s the key thing for success? And how many words does he say one likely needs to write before seeing steady success? The key to success is to write a lot. He says a million, it took him 850 000.

17. What pitfall does Brad see all the time in aspiring writers? What do they need to do to climb out of this trap? Polishing of the same story. You need to write new.

18. What kind of workshops and conventions can help aspiring writers? What is the best workshop Brad discovered? Have you heard this anywhere before?
Writers of the future, conventions. His favourite was superstars.

19. At 25:35 into the podcast, what can hold a writer back from advancing? If you read my last Super Secret, ahem. : ) You need to listen to some professionals for advice.

20. Brad speaks of learning two skillsets: 1. learning to write, 2. being able to tell a story. What system did Brad implement to teach himself how to write winning stories? Reading stories that you like. You figure out what worked for that story and learn from them.

21. After listening to his interview, do you think you’re on the right path here? What one idea do you plan to take from Brad’s program and implement in your own? (May I suggest the one you are bucking most against?) I am still learning to develop a story, and with that, keep upping my word total.

Class dismissed. Back to writing. But I’m leaving the Twilight Zone theme song on. It’s so soothing...

Brad Torgersen questions:

1. At eighteen years old Brad decided to be a writer. Yippee! How many years did it take to make his first pro sale? How many rejections did he deal with? 17 years, and "many, many rejection slips"

2. As all seemed lost for our hero, what question did his wife ask him that’s a good one for each of us to ask ourselves? What more can you do that you haven't tried yet?

3. When Brad discovered Writers of the Future (he finds a magic sword!), what homework did he do before he entered the contest?
read the anthologies

4. Brad said he entered for two years or more getting HMs before his first Finalist. Did he win? Did Brad let that stop him? What did his wife say?
No, he didn't win. He was crushed and moped around. His wife said, "You gotta keep trying."

5. Because he didn’t give up, what happened?
He got Finalist a 2nd time and won!

6. And what happened with his rejected Finalist?
It went on to be published by Analog Magazine and then won the Reader's Choice Award

7. And ten years later, what award did he win? (Hint: He’s holding it in the podcast picture.)
Dragon Award for best scifi novel of the year

8. How did the WotF Contest prepare Brad for the next step in his career--writing novels?
helped him get used to deadlines and producing new content regularly

9. What is Brad’s opinion on writing new stories vs. “endlessly polishing the same old piece?”
people learn way more from producing new work

10. What trap did he say many aspiring writers fall into?
trying to "make the story better" and endlessly polishing an old story rather than producing something new

11. Have you heard anyone else say this?
Yes! Wulf Moon.

12. At the 10:15 mark in the podcast, what other problem did he say aspiring writers have?
"stagefright"... they don't send their writing out. Also, he mentioned Wulf Moon as an example of what happens when you continue to write and submit!

13. When it comes to becoming a successful writer, what wins?
"Persistence wins." Also, work ethic, and the courage to keep sending work out and not give up

14. Before writing a novel, why might mastering the craft of short stories benefit you?
Have to have economy of words, brevity, the ability to snag readers and bring them into the story quickly -- this can even translate into an ability to write strong blurbs for longer works

15. Where did Brad say his novel career and winning prestigious awards all start from? It all started with Writers of the Future

16. He gives great tips for aspiring writers, but what’s the key thing for success? And how many words does he say one likely needs to write before seeing steady success? The key is to "write a lot." He mentions the million-word threshold... his personal word count when he started winning/getting published was around 850,000 words.

17. What pitfall does Brad see all the time in aspiring writers? What do they need to do to climb out of this trap? being a "polisher"... endlessly polishing old stories rather than writing new. He says this is "a project of diminishing returns." Instead, the writer should set it aside and work on something new.

18. What kind of workshops and conventions can help aspiring writers? What is the best workshop Brad discovered? Have you heard this anywhere before? Writers of the Future workshop is the best! He also mentions Superstars and suggests taking workshops offered by the contest judges and going to conventions where you can meet pros.

19. At 25:35 into the podcast, what can hold a writer back from advancing? If you read my last Super Secret, ahem. : ) Only talking to friends, not talking to pros, or getting stuck in their heads and just writing without doing the work to learn from professionals

20. Brad speaks of learning two skillsets: 1. learning to write, 2. being able to tell a story. What system did Brad implement to teach himself how to write winning stories? He read the latest contest anthology volumes and picked 2-3 stories from each that really resonated with him, then asked WHY they resonated, and let them percolate for a while and inspire his next piece (He also did this with some other stories he'd really liked from other publications).

21. After listening to his interview, do you think you’re on the right path here? What one idea do you plan to take from Brad’s program and implement in your own? (May I suggest the one you are bucking most against?) Yes, I think I'm on the right path. I need to take more risk in sending out my writing more consistently (I'm already working on continually writing new things!), and also in connecting with more pros in whatever way I can, to learn from them. The biggest thing I've resisted is actually going to conventions, conferences, and workshops... with small kiddos and our super-busy life and small budget it's just seemed out of reach, but I need to make this a goal to purposefully save up and plan for.

This is where Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRET online workshop all began . . .
Are you in?

~Moon~

Wulfy - Your list reminds me of Jethro Gibbs's list of rules for his NCIS subordinates.

Great answers, guys. Keep 'em coming. Brad's interview is reinforcing that what we've been doing here is actually a real path to success in professional writing--if you didn't gather that already from this group's first year's results.

Much of becoming a professional writer is actually unlearning what you've learned, and giving up bad habits. We all have them. The sooner we can cast off the weight of false knowledge and ineffective systems and habits and implement the true, the sooner we can soar. Change is not comfortable. But without change, we will never grow.

Crystal (CCrawford) quoted a bit in Brad's interview that bears repeating (others did too!). Crystal's answer said: "Have to have economy of words, brevity, the ability to snag readers and bring them into the story quickly -- this can even translate into an ability to write strong blurbs for longer works."

"Economy of words." Where else have you heard that term? How about in the "Kill Your Darlings" exercises? I'm teaching two things in that exercises: 1. Writing with economy of words, and 2. Getting to the true heart of your story. If you are doing even one prompt a month and doing the full KYD exercise on it, you are learning economy of words. You will improve. Your stories will become lean and mean.

And if you're telling good stories, that have a vibrant and meaningful beating heart, you'll start selling.

Doing the work is hard. But the rewards, over time, are great.

It becomes obvious who is doing the work over time. The ones doing the work will get results.

All the beast,

Beastmaster Moon