Jack Will Hate Them All Jack Will Hate Them All By Megan Cutler | August 27, 2012 | Comments 5 comments Most of the favorites I’ve mentioned so far have to do with books. It’s true, I started this exercise to help me hone in on the things I really love in the craftsmanship of other’s work to help improve my own. But there’s a whole world of other story expressions out there and studying TV … Read More Read More
Addicted to Love Addicted to Love By Megan Cutler | August 13, 2012 | Comments 1 comment I’ve mentioned before I’m a stickler for a good love story. I’d call it my guilty pleasure, but I don’t feel at all guilty about it. Give me a good, heart-rending power ballad any day. And to go with it, give me a book that’s going to make me cry. The eye-rolling may have already … Read More Read More
A Time to Say Goodbye A Time to Say Goodbye By Megan Cutler | August 6, 2012 | Comments 4 comments After the post I wrote recently about my favorite books, I started thinking about a post for long-running book series. A series is a different beast from an individual book, after all. They require long-term plans from the beginning. Sometimes a long string of loosely related stories in the same world works (Xanthe and Discworld … Read More Read More
Alive in Your Dreams Alive in Your Dreams By Megan Cutler | July 30, 2012 | Comments 0 Comment Fantasy is by far my favorite genre. Anything which transports me to another world. Anything which takes me out of the ordinary and shows me something extraordinary. The thing I love most about the fantasy genre are the strange, wonderful and interesting creatures which often inhabit the different magical worlds I read about. Writing magical … Read More Read More
Soul Songs; the Books I Love Most Soul Songs; the Books I Love Most By Megan Cutler | July 16, 2012 | Comments 2 comments Books have been a part of my life as far back as I can remember. I always had a book in my hand. I never feel quite right unless I’ve got a bookmark shoved in a book somewhere waiting for me to return. It was reading that made me want to be a writer. I … Read More Read More
Ladies in Waiting Ladies in Waiting By Megan Cutler | July 2, 2012 | Comments 7 comments Continuing my exploration of why I love my favorite characters (men can be found here), I have to say, this post was much harder than the first. There are many female characters I like but very few which I love. Many writers’ attempts to write strong female characters ends in an endless parade of cookie-cutter … Read More Read More
Men of the Hour Men of the Hour By Megan Cutler | June 18, 2012 | Comments 3 comments On the never-ending quest to create the perfect character, my favorite exercises is examining the characters I’ve grown to love over the years. By looking at the things that attach you to a character, you can pick out traits or themes which make a character interesting. After all, if you don’t care about a character, … Read More Read More
Writing Process; Getting it All Out Writing Process; Getting it All Out By Megan Cutler | April 9, 2012 | Comments 1 comment A friend recently asked me about the process I use when writing my novels. As promised, here’s the second half (first post here). Step 4: Outlining Once you have all the pieces of your puzzle, it’s time to start putting them together. This will be the first, rudimentary draft of your story. When you put … Read More Read More
Writing Process; The Whys and Wherefores Writing Process; The Whys and Wherefores By Megan Cutler | April 1, 2012 | Comments 4 comments I was asked recently about my writing process. I’ve decided to break it into two posts. The first will cover the planning stages. I should note that I write primarily Fantasy and Science-Fiction, so the steps I describe are to prepare stories for those genres. (If a story took place in the real world, you … Read More Read More
Writing to Live Writing to Live By Megan Cutler | February 27, 2012 | Comments 1 comment My love affair with books began at a young age. In my earliest memories, I always had a book with me. I recall being particularly fond of Monster at the End of this Book, There’s a Wocket in my Pocket, The Lorax and the ever wonderful Oh the Thinks you can Think. I’m told that … Read More Read More