Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS Workshop & Challenge!

Thank you, Henckel, for your input. It is appreciated.

What I'm sure you really meant to say, (as Donald Maass IS the owner and CEO of a major literary agency which specializes in science-fiction, and who you, undoubtedly, will send your novel to) is that THE EMOTIONAL CRAFT OF FICTION was a stirring masterpiece of prose, a real page-turner, and that his suggestions were insightful and helped guide you along your writing career, lol.

As Captain Miller says in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, "I would tell him, 'thank you, sir, for the opportunity to lay my life down, and the lives of my men, especially you Reiben, to save this Private Ryan and bring him home to his mother for her comfort.'"

Best,

Retro

The Emotional Craft of Fiction might be the book I would recommend any new writer read first. It’s about how to make readers feel things, and whether we understand it or not, we all love reading because of how it makes us FEEL.

That said, I think the book does a tremendous job of recommending different spices you can use in your cooking to bring out the flavors more intensely. From reading the book, I think trying to add everything into one story would be like emptying everything in your spice cabinet into your soup.

I also think many of the concepts are geared towards novels, and novels, especially with many characters, it might be easier to touch upon most or even all of these. Maybe I’m wrong, but I doubt anyone is taking all of the suggestions in that book and trying to load them into a short story.

Ha ha. Thanks for your comments, Retro. I genuinely appreciate that.

But to be fair, I stand by my opinion. I just find some writing styles aggravating. In fact, I find Sara J Maass writing style aggervating too (nothing to do with the name). While I fully accept that Sara and Donald (and countless other authors) are excellent and acomplished writers, I just cant align the way I read to the way they write. Simple as that.

Assignment: Twelve Lines of Dialogue

Rick aimed the shotgun at Governor Manytides waddling amongst the ferns. “What’d you monsters do?”
“A misunderstanding. Thank you for meeting me before you resort to violence.”
“This ain’t no misunderstanding. It’s murder.”
“There was no murder, sir. Your Beezle is hibernating.”
“Got our man’s body in possession, and guess what? Beezle ain’t breathing.”
“That is part of the process. Return him to Forked and we will help him recover.”
“Way I heard it, Beezle’s chest was blood-soaked after we chased off your Forked fellow.”
“That is because shedding your old heart requires a certain amount of spillage.”
“Keep talking, politician. I’ll show you what spillage looks like.”
“Sir, your wife is at the door. I suggest you approve this with her first.”
“Sort’ve how you should’ve gotten my approval before killing my people?”
“Replacing Beezle’s heart was your wife’s idea.”

I have a quick question for Swift Potato so as not to inundate this thread, as I'm aware of the DIALOGUE ASSIGNMENT.

SWIFT POTATO, after you read the Maass book, did you apply EVERY SINGLE ONE of the EMOTIONAL MASTERY EXERCISES to your winning story, most of them, or only a few?

Thanks.

Best,

Retro

Retro, I did not use every single exercise. I kept many of the book's main concepts in mind, but I only used one of the exercises: the one about primary, secondary, and tertiary emotion. I've used this example elsewhere, but I'll use it again, because I feel it illustrates the concept well:

Picture a little boy who has just come out of his house to discover his dog has been hit by a car and killed. His primary emotion, for the sake of simplicity, would be sadness. That's his best friend, and now that friend is dead. They'll never play together again. Now, let's say his secondary emotion is anger. He's angry at the driver for not looking where they were going, for not seeing the dog and stopping. But why on earth was the dog running in the middle of the road in the first place? That's where you get to the tertiary emotion: guilt. The little boy forgot to close the front door. Now you have a more realistic, complex set of emotions to key on. Maybe after this he feels he has to *lock* the front door every time he goes in or out, because that's the only way he can confirm with himself that he really did close it. It'll piss his parents off because he'll lock them out a bunch, but every time he walks by the door he tears up.

With that, you've not only got a deeper tie to how this kid feels about the death of his dog, you've also set up an object that will stir those emotions for your character (and, hopefully, your reader) every time you mention it. If you can end that story with your kiddo firmly closing the front door but not locking it, that's a pretty good ending too. If you can imbue every scene with a deeper set of emotions, you'll have a pretty hard hitting story. You don't have to mention all three emotions. In fact, you probably shouldn't. The tertiary one is often enough. But if you can get that done all the way through your story, you might be able to crush some souls!

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled assignments! I'm planning to post mine later tonight.

Thank you, Swift Potato, for your succinct response and helpful analogy. Maass covers tertiary emotions in EMOTIONAL MASTERY 2: THIRD-LEVEL EMOTIONS.

Thanks, everyone, for their additional input.

As screenwriter, I'm no stranger to writing emotional scenes. Initially, I presumed the book's exercises were meant to put emotions on steroids, ratchet them up a notch. I remember, somewhere in the book, the author states, invariably, the reader most times will NOT feel the primary emotion you're aiming for.

Maass gets to the point on Page 88 of his book: "So how do we make that one-two punch? Plot books don't worry me. Most manuscripts have those. What many do not have are emotional hooks, meaning a simple reason to care about a character – which is to say apprehend something good about them – as soon as we meet. Readers almost instantaneously pick up cues and form their judgments, so it is literally true that we must accomplish this bonding on page one. Put more simply, readers know right away whether a character is worth their time.

"What then, do we perceive as a 'good' character? The answer varies by reader, but generally characters who are the most universally appealing are models for what we might call heart values. Compassion, insight, a commitment to justice, family, love, steadfastness, sacrifice, selflessness, and other virtues hook readers faster and harder than survival, striving for success, desiring fame, alienation, or aloneness...Heck, no matter what kind of fiction you write, everyone knows that you've got to hit your protagonist right away with a question or a need, if not an outright problem. How are you supposed to go all warm and fuzzy while you're slamming your protagonist in the face with a baseball bat? Well, this is exactly the kind of two-handed skill that great openings pull off."

Best,

Retro

Thanks for the excellent application you made from Don's book, Leah. And Retro, thank you for quoting some of the most important information in the book. Great stuff, both of you.

Now on to other business. As to that undetermined person that recommended Don Maass' book in here, it was me. There is important information in The Emotional Craft of Fiction, probably THE most important information a writer needs to figure out, whether or not one likes the writing style employed. It's deep stuff on the deepest subject of all--what makes people tick. We learn how to write that, we learn how to write stories people will care about.

In addition, Don Maass represented me on one novel, and has asked me to send him anything I'm working on, in any stage of development. He is not just a literary agent, he has built a prestigious agency that represents huge names in the industry, Jim Butcher being the first that comes to mind. Don Maass has the power to go to several publishing houses at once and start a bidding war on your novel. He is also a friend of mine. So after I won Writers of the Future, Kary English found out that I'd been represented by Don. Guess what I found in my mail a week later? Kary loves the book, and felt it was so important, I should have my own copy.

If that wasn't enough, there's this Super Secret I've been waiting for the right time to post, where it won't seem like I'm singling anyone out. At the Writers of the Future Workshop, Rebecca Moesta and Kevin J. Anderson stressed how important it is to NEVER say a bad word about another writer and their work. NEVER EVER. This is a very, very small community. Not only that, there are bots from all the major search engines sweeping through here every day, cataloging our words for posterity. Go type "Wulf Moon's Super Secrets" into a search engine if you don't believe it. If it's not wise to speak negatively about a writer's published work, how much more so one of the top agents in the industry.

And that is all I have to say.

Beastmaster Moon

Woah really? I know it’s a small community but I didn’t think it would be that serious...

I’m just curious about one thing. In that case, should writers never write negative reviews then?

Okay, here's my dialogue assignment:

"You ever gonna tune that thing?"
Min-ji grins at me over the top of her guitar, fingers plucking idly at its rusting strings. "This old thing? Nah, girl. Doesn't need tuning."
"Sounds like it to me. God himself couldn't make those strings sound good."
"Don't need God himself. You got me."
"There is no God. And if there was, it wouldn't be you."
"I could be. Do you think if I sacrifice the guitar to the miasma it'll go away?"
"Min-ji!"
"Do you think it'd give everyone back that jumped if I gave it my guitar?"
"The miasma doesn't think. Not like that."
"My dad said it did."
"Yeah? He teach you to tune that guitar, too?"
"This is how he left it before he jumped, Janny. It is tuned."

Nice dialogue, Swift Potato! I'm betting all my chips on the red slot at the roulette wheel named SWIFT POTATO.

Excellent subtext, nothing spot-on, a nicely-woven story past, present, and future encompassed within a few lines of dialogue. It speaks to characterization, and sensory details.

Again, thanks for your advice on implementation of the Maass code. I'm applying your suggestions to the 3rd Quarter WOTF. And don't forget to tinkle those ivories for me.

Best,

Retro

Thanks, Retro! When I finally get there (*side-eyes COVID) I'll video it and send it to you, if I'm allowed!

Woah really? I know it’s a small community but I didn’t think it would be that serious...

I’m just curious about one thing. In that case, should writers never write negative reviews then?

Yeah, I’ve always wondered about this. As writers we’re supposed to grow these massive suits of armor to shield us from even batting an eye when anyone says anything negative about our works in progress and whatnot, because otherwise we won’t be able to improve it and take feedback into account (very useful! My work has taken great strides as a result!), but then we’re not supposed to write negative comments or criticism. It seems a bit wonky. However, I will say this, this time I wrote a long, thorough, and very positive review on an author’s new book (it was an amazing book that I absolutely adore so it was totally deserved), the writer in question was very happy to give me enlightening pitch feedback, creation support, and advice on agent interaction, as well as other discussion, so if you can give good reviews with heart, the positive you put in will give back.

I think the message here is not to never say anything negative, but to think about how we word things and how that wording reflects on us. "This book/story/technique didn't work for me" is fine. "This is the worst book I've ever read" or "I don't like that author as a person" less so (unless, obviously, there's something truly egregious about that book or author. Did that book personally murder your grandmother? Fire away. Did that author turn out to be a mass murderer who also wrote books that committed murder? Impressive, but still fire away). Think of other authors (and agents, and editors, and publishers) as your co-workers in an office setting. There aren't many people, and therefore most of them talk to each other. If you tell me you think Sally is an awful so-and-so and you never want to speak to her again, well, you don't know me well, and maybe I like Sally because she just so happens to be a friend of my sister's. It's a matter of being professional and polite with your co-workers. Does that help clarify some? (I was there when Kevin and Rebecca were talking about this, which is why I feel comfortable elaborating, FTR.)

Did that author turn out to be a mass murderer who also wrote books that committed murder? Impressive, but still fire away). Think of other authors (and agents, and editors, and publishers) as your co-workers in an office setting.

This is great! I love the murdering example. Well, I hope books don't start murdering us, because that would be terrifying, but still, it would be some amazing horror. Basically, don't slam others because it doesn't serve our community that we're all a part of. Providing opinions that something doesn't work for you, or perhaps providing beneficial criticism that serves the community and values everyone is excellent. On the other hand, using dialogue to have characters slam each other would totally build some great tension...

I hope books don't start murdering us

Definitely horrifying, but might make an interesting story.

Sorry for being a lurker. Just getting back into writing and have enjoyed all your posts (There are so many!). Signed up for Wulf's Fyrelite class in July. Thanks for all the great examples and insight everyone.

Engage lurker mode >>>

Dialogue Assignment

“I'm Lucas, the pilot of this shuttle. Do you remember your name?”

“Where are we going?” The woman's glance bounces around the small cabin.

“Somewhere safe where you can continue to heal. You've been in a coma for two months.”

“I was trying to kill you.”

“Yes. Shall I call you Ms. Assassin? Or do you have a preferred alias?”

“Harper, if it makes a difference one way or another.”

Lucas gazes at the ceiling to avoid her eyes. “You weren't much to look at. Damaged beyond the skills of most humans. I did the best I could under the circumstances.”

“I don't understand.” Harper's hands explore the synthetic replacements. “You saved me? Were you programmed as a doctor?”

“Yes to the first question. No to the second.”

Harper looks perplexed. “So you didn't see me before the explosion?”

Lucas cocks his head to the side. “You mean while you were aiming a gun at me?”

“You run faster than I expected.”

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your opinions and advice.

Sorry for being a delinquent! Lots going on. Here we go...

Flow State Assignment:

Flow state occurs when we become fully engrossed in a specific task. I think that instead of "triggers" that activate it, it's more about removing/avoiding hindrances: eliminating distractions, working during your biological best time of day, listening to music, defining an appropriate task/goal, consuming caffeine, and staying hydrated. Then developing the habit of doing it regularly, with the help of a mental cue, can lead us to get into flow state every day. Any distraction--whether external, emotional, physical, etc.--can break our flow state.

I'd like to start meditating regularly and doing breathing exercises--not just for writing focus but for my general sanity. But frankly I need to allocate time for writing first and foremost, which has been difficult lately. I just consumed coffee now and am definitely very focused. I like to drink a Korean ginseng beverage before writing, which serves both to provide caffeine-like focus and as regular cue to get me in the mood.

Dialogue Assignment:

"Come out of retirement?" Michael scoffed and shook his head. "Are you mad?"
Scott took a deep breath. "We need you. The world needs you. Hell, I need you."
"Well, I need rest."
"I was with you every step of the way. I didn't give up."
"'Give up'? Please, you should have retired when I did, gotten out while you still could."
"Earth's reputation is at stake. I can't turn my back on everyone."
"The world turned its back on us when we lost to the Centauri Spiders, never even gave us a rematch. We're a planet of fair weather fans!"
"Those aliens invented the damn game. Anyone who expected us to win our first tournament there was insane. Who cares? We never played for recognition."
"You're right. We did it for personal glory. To prove to ourselves we could be the best."
"Then why not return and achieve that glory again, together? Don't do it for me; do it for yourself. The ship launches in the morning."
"Where are you headed?"
"Alpha Centauri."

I've been a silent lurker for a while. So far I've only had rejected stories of those I've submitted to wotf contest. I've only entered about three times and those times are far apart. I'm hoping to enter in Quarter 3 and 4 since it is summer and I'm a professor and am smart enough to NOT teach summer school. Anyway, I've been working on the WOTF free online course (about halfway now) and I've been intrigued by some of the stuff I've seen here in Moon's super secret workshop and challenge. I also took in an Uncle Orson Scott Card workshop about five years ago (just did the first two days, didn't find out about it soon enough to attempt to compete for his more exclusive workshop that tagged the course I sat through. He started off with his 1,001 story creation ideas, very similar to the video on the course). I'm working on a trapped in a box theme story and have picked the worst thing I can think of that could happen to a character and am going from there. I have a rough idea of what a satisfying ending that would make me cry could be. I thank all of you for the inspirational commentary. I'm super impressed at those who have managed to win, especially those who have been trying for years and years like Wulf Moon. The last two years have been crazy for me having to teach two professor's worth of upper level classes (and having to take this past semester online was just...). But, things are looking up on my end. We hired a new person in my department and I should be able to focus on writing this summer. Good luck to all of you! I've been getting into the habit of reading the WOTF magazine (has to be print for me). Recently finished reading Dave Farland's book about writing wonder. I love all of his books so far. Anyway... happy Sunday!

Guthington: I'm glad you've been enjoying my Super Secrets! And the WotF Online Workshop! You've got some great tools there to help you write a story that can win this contest, or sell to other professional markets. And it's good to know the formulas, but be sure what you write is close to your heart, if you wish to move the hearts of others. I wish you much success with your writing!

I am actually seeking blurb recommendations for my Super Secrets' book, and would love a reference by a professor if you were so inclined. You can send via the Forum's messaging system or ask any questions to me in a PM. Also, like I tell everyone, I do most of my social media through Facebook. Please friend me at wulf.moon.94. If you don't post a lot of politically divisive stuff, I'll be happy to add you to my friends! And that offer goes to all of you that read here.

Thank you for letting us know you've been reading along! Class is in session here, as you know, but we appreciate it when someone takes a moment to let us know they like what we do and cheer us on! We wish you much success in your writing!

All the beast,

Beastmaster Moon

Thanks for the kind greeting, Beastmaster Moon! I'm already a facebook friend of yours... My real name is Amy Wethington. I apologize for the long lapse in responding.

My dad died May 19 and I immediately rushed home to help my sister. I'm back in NC for the moment where I can concentrate and so I'm just now seeing this. It's weird, I'd been staying away from my home family for fear of the virus out there... inadvertently spreading it to loved ones unknowingly or myself being exposed. I had gone to SC to visit during my spring break and by the time I got back to where I currently live in NC, we were told the students had an extended spring break and then that the rest of the semester would be online. I remember that last family hug and thinking (because the virus news was beginning to increase and things were beginning to get really bad in New York) that this might be my last hug I shared with my parents. And when news came of my dad suddenly passing, I jumped in my car the next morning not caring if his covid19 test was positive or negative (it was negative, thank God). I drove the 7+ hours without a thought to my personal safety. I just had to get home to help my sister with my mother who has dementia. I had been safe and mostly away from people since the stay at home order came down.

I'd absolutely love to help you out regarding blurb recommendations for your Super Secrets' book. I probably should spend more time combing through the many pages you have here before crafting a blurb, but I love what I've seen so far and I love the free WOTF workshop which I'm at the 72% mark. I do my best to stay away from political posts on facebook. I can't bear to look at the news right now, anyway.

I'm hoping I can complete a short story to submit to quarter 3. I have the beginnings of a draft with an opening and an idea of an ending. I just need to nail the suspense and try fail cycles before I would want to submit it to see if I can do better than a rejection.

All the best,
Guthington

Good morning, beasties! Another Monday awaits us. Today's Monday prompt is: IRON FISTED RULE.

Dear Amy (Guthington):

Of course I know you...as soon as you said you were Amy Wethington. Please accept my condolences about your father, and about the additional stress of dealing with COVID-19 on top of that. I hope you and your sister can figure out a good plan to manage the care of your mother.

Here's the thing about writing stories. Use the WotF Online Course to finish a story--it's designed to help you do so. Then, review the Super Secrets--they're designed to help you avoid typical beginner mistakes, and to craft your story into something professional. Unless you are Leah Ning :), you probably won't create your winner on your second try. However, like Leah Ning, if you study them religiously and make accurate application, you will significantly speed up your progress. Don't forget there is a critique swap area on the main topics. I highly recommend you share in that, and look for those that have higher certificate honors in their signatures. Those certificates are an indication of the level a writer is at. The higher the level they've reached in WotF, and the more pro sales they have had, the more likely the advice they give will be accurate.

Finally, apply the edits, but don't spend your time rewriting. Move on to your next. Dedicating yourself to a fresh story every quarter means you will be pushing your writing skills. You will get better, because practice does make perfect.

And don't forget I want that professor's blurb for my Super Secrets book. I'll be doing a Kickstarter this year, and solid recommendations really help.

Stay healthy, stay safe.

Wulf Moon

I hope books don't start murdering us

Definitely horrifying, but might make an interesting story.

Sorry for being a lurker. Just getting back into writing and have enjoyed all your posts (There are so many!). Signed up for Wulf's Fyrelite class in July. Thanks for all the great examples and insight everyone.

Engage lurker mode >>>

Aryus,

Thank you for enrolling in my Super Secrets Master Class at Fyrelight Online on Saturday, July 18th. I think you're the thirteenth in a class of 20 max. It's filling up fast. Please do PM me with a name and email--I'd like to get attendees some advance handouts. Also, I ask each attendee to send me one specific item that you'd really like help with in the class, the most important thing you're hoping to have answered. I look forward to spending the afternoon with you and others. You'll meet some of the actual Super Secrets folk as well, members from this very workshop that have insights as to how they put the program into action, and what it did for them. And that's a heads up for those of you attending. I will ask you to relate your experience with the program and what it's done for your writing and results. No pressure, we're among friends.

Speaking of friends, there's still some openings, but it will sell out. If you wish to join us, this is another way to learn, network, and build stronger friendships through workshop camaraderie. If you can make it, I'd love to see you there!

https://www.fyrecon.com/master-classes/ ... -workshop/

On my Master Class page, push "Register Now." Under "Type of Registration" select "Fyrelite Master Workshop" and you'll see Wulf Moon: "How to Write Winning Stories that Take the Gold!" That's the one! See you there! And if you enroll, please do let me know, like Aryus just did, so I can get you advance materials for the class.

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Hi Guthington:

Welcome to our group. I just wanted to say your curriculum vitae is MOST impressive. Most likely, you're a modest person, but when anyone holds TWO
Master's Degrees - a Master of Arts, and a Master of Science, AND A DOCTORAL DEGREE, wow!

I have no doubt your expertise in biology when applied to your future stories, or works in progress, will win this contest one day. Of course, in conjunction with Wulf Moon's Super Secrets. 

I wish you the best.

Sincerely,

Retro

[Note from Wulf Moon: I didn't modify Retro's post, although the notations below might appear to say that. Moderator error while scrolling through. Sorry, Retro!] 

Good morning, beasties! Another Monday awaits us. Today's Monday prompt is: IRON FISTED RULE.

Rather appropriate prompt. Stay safe out there people. I’ll give this one a try right after I wrap up the molting one. Thanks for the prompt!

Last day for this year's registered challenge beasties to get their dialogue assignment in. For those that don't know, there is a roster of those in the workshop. They sign up at the start of the contest year, and then it closes so that I can keep the group to a reasonable size. We have seventeen in the workshop this year, and each one gets a line-by-line critique on a story by the Beastmaster. I'm set with Q3 stories, so if you haven't had a crit by me yet, and you've met the challenge reqs for all three quarters, start thinking of what you're going to send me for Q4!

Tomorrow, we discuss these dialogue exercises.

Less than a month away to create and polish your Q3 masterpiece! Tap into the power of this group and help one another win the gold!

All the beast!

Beastmaster Moon

Tomorrow, we discuss these dialogue exercises.

Ah, well that's frightening.

Tomorrow, we discuss these dialogue exercises.

Ah, well that's frightening.

But exciting. It's frixciting.

Last night, I rewatched the Dr. Who episode, 9th Doctor, FATHER'S DAY. In this classic episode, Rose asks the Doctor to take her back in time to November 7th, 1987, the day her father died as a result of a hit-and-run traffic accident. The writer is brilliant, the story character-driven, and the sci-fi never overpowers character and heart feelings. With the head writer at that time being Russell T. Davies, it explains a lot.

At any rate, I thought of the wonderful book by Donald Maass, and I immediately understood his points about why emotional stories resonate with us, whereas plot-driven thrillers excite us momentarily, and then they're forgotten.

To any fellow Whovian who hasn't seen this episode, it's wonderful and you can see the "soul-crushing" and "heart's desire."

Best,

Retro

Oh that sounds interesting, retro. I’ve never seen doctor who before, might give it a go!

Pumpkin, hard to believe you live in the United Kingdom and haven't heard of the Dr. Who series which has run from November 1963. If you give Dr. Who a go, I suggest you start with either the Ninth or the Tenth Doctor. The stories during those seasons are mostly POV from the companion, as if you live vicariously through the companion. Start out with FATHER'S DAY, then THE EMPTY CHILD. And you might want to check out the American English to British English paperback I referenced for you a while ago.

Best,

Retro