From NaNoWriMo to Published Author: How Megan Acuna Wrote Her Cozy Romantasy with Motif

We're thrilled to introduce Megan Acuna, one of Motif's earliest users and now our first published author! Megan used Motif to write her debut cozy romantasy novel, The Crown Prophecy, which she published on October 28, 2024.

A content creator, mom, and lover of all things cottagecore, Megan creates videos and writes blog posts about pregnancy and motherhood, thrifting, home decor, and style. Now she's adding "published author" to that impressive list with the release of her first novel.

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We sat down with Megan to learn how she went from her first NaNoWriMo draft to self-published author in just one year—and to get a peek into how she's approaching the next novel in her duology:

Megan's Story

Simone: Let’s start with what inspired you to write your novel. I know it's a cozy romantasy, but how did you develop your initial ideas?

Megan: I've been writing fantasy novels since I was eight or nine years old. I have a stack in my room that I bound myself with cardboard and painter's tape. I went to college for English Lit and I kind of fell off the train a little bit because I was writing and reading so much stuff that I didn't in college.

So I took a big long break and then like everyone else in 2020, I read ACOTAR and got bit by the bug again. I just really found a lot of identity outside of being a new mom in a pandemic in writing and I knew that I wanted to write something a little bit different than what I was reading because the world was so scary at the time I joined the reading community. I wanted to write something really comforting. I am a big cottagecore / granny hobbies kind of person, and I was like “how can I bring that into my writing?” So the spark of inspiration for me was the main character is a baker.

A lot of the story is centered around her in the kitchen making croissants, making cardamom buns, making tarts, working with all the other bakers and the relationships developed there. And then I, of course, wanted to make it a romance, so it's the prince and the baker who works in the palace kitchens.

Simone: That’s so cute! Can you tell me a little more about how you approach writing— do you plan or outline? 

Megan: So this is where I love Motif. I absolutely love that you guys have different story structures built into the program.

I'm writing my second in the series right now and I clicked on the 27 Chapter Outline. That's what I use. I used four acts for the first novel and I'm doing the 27 Chapters for book number two. I just opened the outline and use the little sidebar to write all of my beats out. 

Then—and I don't know if this is how it's intended to be used—but I actually kept all of the documents and I just deleted the body of them and kept the summary. So I still have all of the original template stuff as well as my beats in the sidebar, so that I can remember what's supposed to be happening because often my characters get away from me. 

Simone: I do the same. I take the 27 Chapter Outline and then I split it into four acts.

Megan: Exactly. I tweak it a little bit based on what I need. But I loved just having that all baked in so that I didn't have to go and pull out my “Plot: the Art of Story” book.

I think one of the things the templates helped me with was figuring out where the tension needed to build, and where it needed to be relieved. I actually moved around some of my secret reveals and plot points based on the outline I was given, and I think the story is going to be a lot stronger for it.

Simone: That’s really cool. So what does a typical writing day look like for you? Do you have any routines or habits?

Megan: I love to light a candle. So I have a little Free People Lodge candle that I took the label off of and I made my own little label and it says “writing retreat”. So I light my little writing retreat candle. 

I like to have my book next to me for motivation, like, ‘look, you can do the thing.’ I'm usually waiting for my kids to go to sleep because otherwise I don't have two thoughts to rub together.

And I like to use Pomodoro timers. So I'll throw on a Pomodoro timer and write until it goes off. My little breaks usually look like some kind of writing motivation, like adding to my Pinterest board, mocking up covers in Adobe Illustrator, making TikToks for my BookTok to promote it. I try to keep it book related, so my brain is still in that space. Then when that timer goes off, I go back to writing.

Simone: Do you set goals for word counts? I know you started your last novel during NaNoWriMo.

Megan: I started with the NaNo word goal just to kind of kick me off. But I find that by the time I'm done with NaNo, I'm maybe only 50 or 60 percent into my story because mine tend to be just under 100,000 words.

So once NaNo is over, I take a little detox break, let it marinate, go back and read what I've written, and then I typically, depending on where I am in the story, will try to do a chapter every time I sit down.

I live by the advice that the only job of the first draft is to exist. And then in the second draft you make it work, and then in the third draft you make it engaging.

My novel was six drafts. So after that it's just fine tuning and tweaking. I did so many beta readers, I was so nervous to publish. I also worked with a developmental editor and then I had it line and copy edited. And since the main character is a baker, I had a professional baker read through it for consistency and accuracy. So yeah, it's quite the process.

I feel like writing is the fast part and then revising is the part you gotta slog through.

Simone: I think revising is five times as long as writing. Were there any moments that you got stuck and when you did, how did you work through them?

Megan: Maybe a week into writing, I had gotten far enough that I realized I had plot holes. There was a lot of laying in bed staring up at the ceiling unable to shut my brain off because I was trying to work them out. For me, auditory processing is huge, so my poor husband has heard so much about this book series. It was a lot of talking it out loud with him.

This was during NaNo last year, so I marked those places—I used the Notes feature—and I marked where I needed to go back and edit, but I kept writing. I didn't go back to fix it until after I was done because I needed to keep the momentum going. I needed to keep getting words on the page, and then I tackled the plot holes in my first revision.

Simone: Like you said, the first draft just needs to exist.

Megan: I really like the writing advice of: ‘title your first chapter “Bad First Draft”.’ That just takes the pressure off. For some reason, psychologically, it helps you to not feel like it has to be perfect. I really struggle with not going back and revising as I write.

I have to just keep getting words on the page and then revisions will happen. I just have to trust that I'll get it eventually.

Simone: I actually think that’s one of the things that takes a writer who won’t ever finish their novel to becoming a person that does. People get stuck in those first few chapters, and never move on. I say that as someone who did that for a decade.

Megan: So much changes in your story, too. Any revisions you do on those first couple chapters, you're just going to have to revise again because stuff is going to change as you write the later chapters. So I think honestly in this instance being neurodivergent helped because I got hyper-fixated on my own book. I just had to get the story out of my head. I just barrelled through it.

Simone: I love that. So I know you use the notes and some of the templates in Motif, but how else did Motif fit into your overall writing process? 

Megan: My favorite feature by far is the Story Elements section. I think that the first thing I did before I even started writing is add all of my characters. I used the protagonist and antagonist tabs to really flesh them out. I really love the specific cards that give you prompts and I like that the prompts are more than ‘What is their hair and eye color?’ 

I like prompts to summarize your characters' past experiences that have shaped their personality, goals, relationships, including any trauma, achievements, or life-changing moments. It's those thought starters. I think the first part of a good book is knowing your characters really, really well. So before I even started writing, my Preptober is getting all of my characters in there. Anytime I was stuck on something for a character, I would go back to that tab. 

I would go back to that little therapy card, like ‘what's their trauma? What are their past experiences?’ That was really nice to just have right alongside. I actually keep Motif open in two tabs at all times.

Simone: I'm gonna take the name ‘therapy card’ and put that in Motif now.

Megan: It’s like, ‘these are all the things my therapist asked me.’

Simone: Exactly, what’s their damage?

Megan: Yeah, psychic trauma!

Simone: That’s hilarious. I love that. So what other tools are you using alongside Motif at different points in your writing process?

Megan: I love, love, love Autocrit. When I boot up my Google Chrome, I have a series of tabs that will automatically pop up. WordHippo. I feel like it's the best thesaurus.

I use FightWrite blog. Anytime I've got action scenes or need to figure out how long it would take for a character to die from an arrow in the back. I'm using FightWrite blog for that. 

When I was finished writing and it was time for formatting, I loved Atticus for putting my book together. I used MiblArt for my cover. Pinterest is a must. I do a lot of stuff on Pinterest.

Simone: I'd love to hear a bit about your experience with self-publishing and if there were any moments for you that felt especially rewarding or surprising.

Megan: I think the biggest thing that I learned is that it is so much more detail work than you think it's going to be. You think you write the story and you're 90% of the way there and you just have to make a cover and put it on Barnes and Noble or whatever, but it’s so much more.

It’s a lot of behind the scenes work that nobody knows about, and it can be hard to keep motivated when the finish line is so far away. But it was completely worth it because I put my pre-order link up and within two days it had tripled my initial goal.

And I think one of the really cool things about self-publishing is that you can get the story out so much faster than you can through trad publishing. Which as an ADHD person is great for me because I'm not the most patient human being.

I liked, too, that I didn't have to fit a very specific market like I would have with trad publishing because I'm not trying to be a career author. I just wanted to tell the story and I wanted it to find the people that it was meant for. I knew my existing core audience from my YouTube channel would love it.

Simone: Yeah, with self-publishing, you get to do what you want. I think that's one of the biggest benefits that I hear people say over and over when they're talking about it. You have all the control.

Megan: And it's so fun as an author, too, when it comes time to market. I feel like all authors have to be obsessed with their own books to some degree, and so it's been so fun getting to be obsessed with my own book and making all this content about my own book and like my own little trope TikToks. It's very rewarding in a way that is unique because you get to celebrate it every single time you go to market when you're the one doing it. So I think that's really special.

Simone: I agree. So do you have any advice that you would give to other writers, especially those who might be thinking about self-publishing?

Megan: Write your book for you. You're going to end up with a better piece of work if you are writing what you want to read and what you're passionate about rather than if you are chasing somebody's manuscript wishlist.

Pretend when you’re writing your first draft that you're never going to show it to another human being. Even if your goal is to publish it, pretend you're never going to because that releases a lot of the pressure and it allows you to just write for the joy of it and to do it for yourself.

And then you get a revision in and then maybe you start thinking about an audience. But before that, it just has to exist for you and it has to exist without pressure.

Simone: That is so smart. I’m just over the moon that someone has completed a full novel in Motif to the point where they’ve published it. It really is amazing. Thank you so much for using Motif and chatting with me.

Megan: Thank you guys for building a tool that kept me organized and helped hold my hand along the process!

(This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Learn More About Megan

Enjoyed learning about Megan and her novel? You can follow her writing journey on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. And if you’re ready for a fun cozy romantasy read, you can purchase the first novel in her duology, The Crown Prophecy, on Barnes & Noble.