Once Upon a Dream – Book One First Draft Complete Once Upon a Dream – Book One First Draft Complete By Megan Cutler | November 4, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment Back in April I announced a new project. Once Upon a Dream is a series that has been kicking around in my head since 2011, so it’s been great to finally get the words on the page. I devoted a month to planning earlier in the year, in hopes the time between outlining and starting … Read More Read More
Introducing the New Eternity’s Empire – Available Now! Introducing the New Eternity’s Empire – Available Now! By Megan Cutler | October 21, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment Back in May, I announced some changes for the Eternity’s Empire series. While I’ve always enjoyed letting the story grow and change according to what feels best, I can’t ignore that its original incarnation was a genre onion. To some extent, perhaps it always will be. But in this case, the inconsistencies in the early … Read More Read More
An Exciting Adventure in Pike Place Market An Exciting Adventure in Pike Place Market By Megan Cutler | October 7, 2019 | Comments 3 comments Back in March, we took a trip to visit friends and ended up spending an absolutely fantastic day in Seattle. We filled the morning with a food tour featuring Pike Place Market and the afternoon with segways, which turned out to be way more awesome than we anticipated. Since then, my husband and I have … Read More Read More
What Makes a Good Story? What Makes a Good Story? By Megan Cutler | September 23, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment What makes a good story? Ask twenty different readers and you might get twenty different answers. Patterns usually start to emerge, though. Certain elements tend to draw people to stories, though the most important element will vary among individuals. Readers like stories with interesting characters they can connect to and identify with. They like exciting … Read More Read More
How Studying Plot Structure Makes Editing Smoother How Studying Plot Structure Makes Editing Smoother By Megan Cutler | August 26, 2019 | Comments 3 comments I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the nitty gritty, dirty nitpicking involved with the editing process. One of the first things people think of when they sit down to edit something they’ve written is proofreading and line editing. And it’s true that choosing the right words and making sure you have them in … Read More Read More
The Difference Between Narrative Style and Writing Method The Difference Between Narrative Style and Writing Method By Megan Cutler | May 27, 2019 | Comments 1 comment In the wake of Game of Thrones Season 8 there have been a number of well-reasoned discussions about the differences between plotting and pantsing. And how switching between the two mid-narrative might be a source of trouble. I highly recommend this Twitter thread by Daniel Silvermint. Also this video by Jesse Cox. Both delve into … Read More Read More
Announcing a New and Improved Eternity’s Empire Saga Announcing a New and Improved Eternity’s Empire Saga By Megan Cutler | May 20, 2019 | Comments 3 comments I like to start every year with a list of things I’d like to accomplish. It gives me something to focus on and keeps me on track. I started 2019 with big ambitions. I even included stretch goals in case I knocked it out of the park. Within a month I realized many of those … Read More Read More
Empower Your Writing with these Simple Tricks Empower Your Writing with these Simple Tricks By Megan Cutler | May 6, 2019 | Comments 1 comment Since I started these editing guides, we’ve covered a lot. We started with the basics of grammar and punctuation. We also spent some time on passive voice, character perspective, and how to enhance character voice. Of course, none of this advice can replace having an editor or betas to help pinpoint your mistakes, but the … Read More Read More
Making The Most Of Character Perspective Making The Most Of Character Perspective By Megan Cutler | March 11, 2019 | Comments 2 comments Last week I talked about the different perspectives, or points of view, available to writers. I covered my personal pros and cons for each and touched on the fact that they balance out pretty well, depending on the purpose of your project. But since the chosen point of view often sets the tone and atmosphere … Read More Read More
A Perspective Primer – Which is Best? A Perspective Primer – Which is Best? By Megan Cutler | March 4, 2019 | Comments 1 comment So far my editing guides have covered grammar rules like punctuation and passive voice. Aside from those, my most frequent notes center around perspective. But unlike the other guides I’ve written, perspective can’t be handled with a short paragraph of guidelines. Perspective, or point of view, is a stylistic choice every writer must make in … Read More Read More