S.A. Etter | The Official Website

Value of a Good Critique Group

Submitted by Stuart on Thu, 01/07/2010 - 9:53am

I may have blogged about this in the past, but as I’m poring over comments I’ve gathered from my critique over the years, I’m reminded how crucial a good critique group is to making a novel a success.

What is a good critique group?

Let me first describe what I consider a poor critique group: a gathering of people who want to write but are more interested in building themselves up than helping the others. Even one selfish member can poison the entire group.

writing

Happy New York!

Submitted by Stuart on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 10:20am

A late Happy New York, everyone!

Well, that's what my mother-in-law said while attending a New Year's party in the States a long time ago. Her English wasn't very good and she spent the whole night wishing people a Happy New York. :) Now it's a popular family joke.

2009 came and went faster than I expected, but I did get a lot accomplished, writing-wise. I finished the first draft of my book (something I thought would never happen), I finished revising the first two sections and have sent them to fresh beta readers, and I've started researching and plotting out my next series.

Which leads me to 2010 goals:

Waiting for Movies

Submitted by Stuart on Thu, 12/17/2009 - 10:30am

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a movie nut. Back in high school, certain movies were dubbed “Stuart movies” because they were certain to appeal to me. Many movies could carry that label, but most of the culprits were fantasy movies or historical epics.

This coming year looks to be a good year for Stuart movies.

Here’s a selection of movies I’m waiting to see.

Versionitis

Submitted by Stuart on Sun, 12/06/2009 - 3:24pm

Have you ever written so many version of a letter or an email that you later forget which version you finalized to send out?

That’s what I’m feeling now in the middle of my revision process with Echoes. When I read some passages, I remember them differently. In almost all cases, I like the current version better (the latest final version), but my brain has latched onto a previous iteration and sees that as the way it is.

I suddenly wondered today if I’m ever doing a reading, whether a fan will ask me a question that I’ll give the wrong answer.

Sending the Baby into the World

Submitted by Stuart on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 1:04pm

The other day, I finally sent Part 1 to a number of brave volunteers to beta read. It only happened about 3 months later than I'd hoped... Bah. I'm still getting a handle on estimating the time required pump out revisions. This first part consisted of the prologue and the first fifteen chapters, four of which I rewrote from scratch as part of he revision process.

July, 22 2010

Echoes of Truth is revised and polished. I'm ready to start querying agents, the next step in seeing this novel published. In the meantime, work on the Condotierre is underway. I'm as excited to start this new book as I am to have finished my last.

September, 2 2008

SAEtter.com version 2.0, the Professional Edition is now live! Feel free to explore the new site and features.

While reading The Fellowship of the Ring at the age of twelve, Stuart A. Etter was told by his teacher that he should be reading shorter books. Undaunted, he finished the trilogy and promptly moved on to other novels ranging from fantasy/sci-fi to historical fiction to horror to thrillers.

Prologue: The Prisoner

Damion rubbed the dull ache of age from his hands. Countless years wielding a sword had strengthened his tendons and muscles, but time had worn them down, replacing power with chronic pain. Closing his eyes, Damion dreamed of his youth. Battle and victory marked most of his memories, but darker images tainted his successes, reminding him of his one great...