Freebie Mondays: The Evolution of Symphony of the Stars Freebie Mondays: The Evolution of Symphony of the Stars By Megan Cutler | April 25, 2022 | Comments 0 Comment I’ve been taking a look at the various iterations of my published novels to see how they change between drafts. I started by looking at Dreamers Do Lie which, because I took a significant break in between the first and second drafts, has a few less versions to look at. The Celestial Serenade, on the … Read More Read More
Freebie Mondays: Symphony of the Stars Deleted Scenes Freebie Mondays: Symphony of the Stars Deleted Scenes By Megan Cutler | February 28, 2022 | Comments 0 Comment A few weeks ago I shared a look at some older drafts of Dreamers Do Lie. It’s interesting to see just how much a story changes during the writing process. One thing I hear writers talk about a lot is deleted content. I keep separate draft files for all of my manuscripts in case I … Read More Read More
Freebie Mondays: the Phases of Dreamers Do Lie Freebie Mondays: the Phases of Dreamers Do Lie By Megan Cutler | January 31, 2022 | Comments 2 comments I decided to do something interesting (and a tiny bit dangerous). I opened an old draft of one of my novels and used Word’s comparison feature to examine how much it changed. For those that aren’t familiar with this particular feature, it essentially highlights in red every change made between the different versions of the … Read More Read More
How to Perfect Your Novel’s Pacing – A Powerful Guide How to Perfect Your Novel’s Pacing – A Powerful Guide By Megan Cutler | January 24, 2022 | Comments 0 Comment Pacing is one of the most discussed story structure elements. Everyone knows about it. (We learn about it in high school English class along with tone and atmosphere.) But even if we didn’t study it, it’s an intrinsic piece of storytelling we subconsciously recognize. How many times have you walked out of a movie and … Read More Read More
The Challenges of Writing Strong Female Characters The Challenges of Writing Strong Female Characters By Megan Cutler | November 8, 2021 | Comments 0 Comment People have been talking about strong female characters for a long time. It’s become something of a buzzword since I started reading as a teenager. But what does it mean? In the beginning, I believe the idea of a strong female character was any woman who wasn’t a damsel in distress, a character granted their … Read More Read More
Three Ways to Prevent a Story from Stagnating Three Ways to Prevent a Story from Stagnating By Megan Cutler | September 6, 2021 | Comments 2 comments It’s hard to let go of a story, especially a long one. You get attached to the characters and the world they live in. As a reader, putting down the final installment of a series feels like losing a friend. As a writer, it’s even harder since you eat, sleep and breathe the details of … Read More Read More
Comma, Comma, Comma Clarification Comma, Comma, Comma Clarification By Megan Cutler | June 1, 2020 | Comments 6 comments Writers have an interesting relationship with their old work. Some writers talk about novels shoved in boxes and pushed under the bed, or locked in desk drawers never to see the light of day again. That’s because writers don’t like to look back at where they came from. It allows them to see all the … 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 2 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
Writing is Editing So Editing is Writing Writing is Editing So Editing is Writing By Megan Cutler | June 10, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment Editing is an inescapable part of the writing process. People might try to debate it, but it can’t be denied. Lots of people think that editing just means going through your manuscript and looking for typos – or hiring someone to do it for you. But that’s only one small part of the editing process. … Read More Read More