Nathan Bransford - The Forums

The Silmarillion warnings make me laugh. Not that they're wrong. Quite the opposite, really. The Silmarillion comes as a surprise, I think, to most readers, because it's not what they expect: a novel. It's not even a collection of stories. Heck, it's not even modern narrative. It's an invented myth...

Man U! Though I can't believe they just tied Blackburn after losing to Chelsea. It's like they're trying to throw the title away. Though, admittedly, they can't seem to score a goal without Rooney. Ink, being an American mostly ignorant of European football history does it make me an idiot if I che...

As I said on Twitter, I recommend The Hobbit, but it's not necessary to start with. There's really only vague continuity between them, which gets some explanation in Fellowship and at this point most people are probably aware of it anyway. Plus, the Hobbit is a somewhat breezier read. Much as I love...

As tempted as I am to laugh at the thought of them censoring the word sperm, no. Just no. The blocking of the radiation app I most certainly do not agree with, but it's Apple's device, and thusly they should have the final say in what products do or do not make it onto it. But censorship just about ...

Count me on third for Gatsby. I didn't enjoy it particularly much, but the last two or three paragraphs were really fantastic.

Don't know that I could pick one show. For example, so far as I'm concerned, The Sweeney is easily the greatest cop show and could consider it level with great shows of other genres. And while I can think of other shows for other things, I'll hold off on all the others for now and come back with a l...

Wow, interesting question. I think for beginners it's so important to understand the Aristotelian arc - to understand that stories don't just happen at random, but there is an arc and order that leads to a climax. To build off of this, I would say we should teach them that said arc need not necessa...

Did pretty good round one, barely okay second round, and don't see myself gaining a lot this time. But considering I know very little about basketball and never really followed it (beyond a brief obsession with Michael Jordan early in elementary school), I'd say I haven't done too horribly, speaking...

1984 is probably the book I've re-read most often, though I haven't picked it up in a couple of years.

Ugh I remember those assignments. Not like it doesn't still happen but at least now I can kind of BS my way through it. 4th grade man...I wanted to play tag, not read books I had no interest in. That was the biggest problem. We were assigned dull tripe that was far, far below what I was reading in 4...

Flashman! Holy Hannah I just about forgot about that series. Now to browse my collection to find the last one I own... As to what I'm reading at present, The Grave Tattoo and flicking idly through some old Saint stories when I get bored. Presently contemplating re-reading Meet The Tiger, as it's bee...

Yes. Yes I am. Though to be fair my target audience is me for the time being. May be subject to change with subsequent drafts, though may not. I'd almost rather just write a first novel for me, and gauge what direction to take the next one based upon feedback of fans and detractors of that original ...

Personally I've found I usually have an under -reliance on gestures. I pretty much only include gestures if I feel it's incredibly important to drive that particular point home, or sometimes just as an eensty bit of padding. So far, there's one sigh that's just padding. Not wildly out of place, but ...

It depends how broad I'm being. Technically speaking, crime is a sub-genre of mystery. So if we want to be that broad, Query Tracker turns up 314 agents (and I'm sure I could find more). If we get more specific to crime novel/detective story/police procedural, QT lists 88 agents. So numbers wise, I'...