Nathan Bransford - The Forums

There is nothing I cringe at more than an intense scene where the characters are caught in exclamation, and instead of swearing (like people would do) they say the "polite" swear words like "Heck! Darn! Gosh darn!" That is so darn true! Oh heck. Whoops. No seriously, that is suc...

Leila - Her actions definately show it. She's not human, but glamours her form to be anything they wish to get into their lives, eat their energy, and make them ill with diseases. It's one of those demon things that runs in her 'family'. She hates people and hates having to act as one of them to ge...

Chocolate is the healthiest sweet in the world. Ok, so I made that one up. It doesn't stop me from wishing it were true. Who invented chocolate? (for real this time) It depends on who you trust to answer that one. Seriously. Some say the Aztecs and Mayans, that answer seems the most reliable anyway.

That's amazing! On an unrelated note, do you mind me asking how you are travelling with your query journey? I think a while ago you were about to start sending out queries. I just wondered how it was all going? If you prefer not to respond that's totally fine, I shall just say I hope it has been a p...

Good question. I'm sure I'll get shot down in flames for saying this but hey, what's a forum without a wide range of opinions right? (Gulp) I really don't think much is needed. I think this is one of those areas which has lighter and darker shades, and a number of factors come into play about how de...

Does that make sense? Yes, it does, and in perfect accord with my more enjoyable reading experiences, though I'm becoming more conscious of and alert to subtext in literature and in life. Recent civil rights events opposing tyrranies for example. I was finally able to read and fully appreciate Will...

Congratulations, Nathan! It's a cool cover. Do you mind if I ask how the experience of writing book two has been compared to book one? Did the story flow as easily? Were there more/less/similar challenges? I've never written a series so I'm just interested in how you're experiencing the process thus...

The Johari Window and its several quadrants are most on point for the thread's several related topics and writing in general. Where does cognitive bias end and self-aware enlightenment begin, eh? A great paradigm for creating subtext meaning for a narrative. Thank you, Leila, something new to explo...

Well, indeed! And then there's the flipside, our own fragile ego's. Mine no less fragile than any one other. The lessons I learned in that regard came from putting myself in the other's shoes and appreciating the underlying contributions of the other's concealed nature. Why does he find me offensiv...

Blogging about etiquette and decorum might be an inspirational pasttime. The challenges and risks I see are; it might come across as preaching to the choir no matter how much of a minority the choir is, it might raise a maelstrom of unpleasantness from opposition malefactors who take it as an invit...

Human nature easily finds fault. Well, indeed! And then there's the flipside, our own fragile ego's. On a public level, it must be much harder to fight the urge to instantly counter criticism, regardless of how professional one is. We're all human after all. And we all want to be liked. Nobody want...

Polymath that is just masterful. Wonderful. How do you find this stuff? I'm a firm believer that any approach based on the foundations of ethics, integrity, respect and courtesy will succeed in all ways human that matter. Thanks for that. Thank you, Leila, and you're welcome. I find this kind of st...

A Hippocratic Oath for Practitioners of the Prosaic Arts; By way of guidance in decorum for writing activities. ------ Paraphrased from a modern-day physicians' Hippocratic Oath, original by Dr. Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, 1964, retrieved from http://...

This is the advice I've been given and what I personally feel is appropriate and that's this: If it's a good review or a bad review, don't comment. Read if you want (though it's not a good idea because EVERYONE'S opinion is going to be different and subjective and if you might take any of it person...

Wow, that's, um, staggering. To say the least. I've never seen anything quite that dramatic before. And of course it's gone viral. Naturally. Just out of curiosity, how have, or how would people handle receiving challenging reviews? Is there an etiquette out there in this regard? I ran through a few...