Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Flaws. More than one. And actual flaws, not "sometimes he dresses badly". You can also give someone heart by three types of pain - past pain (expressed subtley, eg there's a photo of his dad on the wall but not his mum), present pain/tension (usually via a plot, eg he likes a girl/he hates...

All the Harry Potter books are good, but there are problems: 1. The characters are stereotypes - Harry is so classically heroic (mistreated orphan turns out selfless, brave, and vital to world safety - while also being annoyingly angsty), Ron is such a sidekick/comic relief, and Hermione is such a &...

I heart steampunk :-) Leviathan & Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld Boneshaker and Dreadnought by Cherie Priest Steampunk by Ann VanderMeer (I haven't read this yet, my husband bought it for me for christmas) The Difference Engine by William Gibson The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt Clockwork Ange...

*jumping in too, coz the one thing I know about is rejections - I have 74 just for novels* There are degrees of rejection - is this twenty rejections of your query letter? Twenty rejections of your opening pages? Or did one or two request more? If anyone requested more, you're doing better than 95% ...

I reckon teleportation is physical, because it's the equivalent (in deeply oversimplifed terms) of physically walking from one place to another - just really really fast.

I'm part of a weekly discussion group (theoretically a Bible study, but not everyone who attends is even Christian - we just like arguing, preferably over moral things) and last night we talked about morals/messages in fiction. I ran and fetched four well-written examples - "The Monstrous Regim...

I'm dead-set against editing (including adding scenes/whatever) during the first draft - especially if it's a first book. I think the only thing that can sustain the madness of a first draft is to stay in the madness until it's done (part of why naNowrimo produces so many first-time full manscripts)...

Most YA or kids' books have a very short time span - like a year or less (think of Harry Potter). This is mostly because there's a huge difference between a 5 and a 7 year old, or a 13 and a 15 year old - so which age are you writing for? (The rule of thumb is a couple of years older than your targe...

I can sort of answer the last question - readers like white space - the kind created by dialogue. It feels like there's less of that tiresome book-lairnin'.

I dunno how much dialogue is a good amount - try scanning through someone else's novel (one that has a pace that suits what you're going for).

Hi I'm an Australian writer of kids' and YA adventure fantasy. In Australia, many authors get an offer for publication and THEN get an agent, which is what I plan to do. It's quite possible I'll get an offer from a large Australian publisher in early 2011. I know where to find long lists of Australi...

Impatience = YES. Here's my cunning plan for you: Enter your book in a contest when you feel it's ready. This year, if you like. I'm entering http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/news/termsandconditions.html which is free, but has restrictions on genre and length. Why this strategy works: Because you can...

I tend to throw away whole books rather than rewriting them (I've thrown away three). I've rewritten one book (with enormous success) and I have plans to rewrite two more (books 2 and 3 in a trilogy, so I'll wait until I sell the first one so I don't end up doing multiple rewrites. . . ouch).

[quote="J. T. SHEA"]

I lick the walls wherever I go[quote]

Thanks for making me laugh. It just sounded so much like a signature.

I once went on a tour of limestone caves in New Zealand, and when we got to a point where we were allowed to touch the walls I asked and received permission to also lick them.

Since I was travelling alone, that was a peculiar moment.

I suck at this, and I know it. I try to show visuals, character, and movement all at once, eg showing someone towering over another person - it shows they're both tall and unpleasant, and it's an action. I do tend to name hair and eye colour a lot, but I try to vary it with distinctive mannerisms, e...