Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Over the last few years, I’ve come to realize what a huge impact my old gran had on my writing. With that in mind, I thought I’d share some of her quaint little sayings with you, and explain how they influenced my work. 1. ‘ You only get one chance to make a first impression, so don’t bugger it up, ...

julipagemorgan wrote:Jimi Hendrix had a lot of explaining to do.

Nice one! I'd give it an 8.

Here's the opening line from my current WIP:

Nobody likes getting stabbed first thing in the morning.

The gap between the time I have and the amount of "stuff" I have to do would be terrifying if I stopped to look at it, so I just keep plugging. I feel my but getting skinnier all the time. rose Good for you, Rose. It's the writer's variation of 'Whatever you do, don't look down.' Thanks f...

I've used all of those "buts" and so many more in the past. This is a great post. My New Year's Resolution is to not let anything get in the way of my writing and to fall in love with it again. For me, that's the only cure for the "but" syndrome. Love. Love what you do and do it...

Thank you for bringing this up. I've been reducing my 'but'-size lately and boy, I've noticed the difference. Ever since I tried the 'but'-reduction program, I've gained a whopping 100,000 words! Isn't it funny how a teeny tiny word like 'but' can have such an impact on our lives? Congrats on that ...

Interesting post. I don't mind admitting that I'd love to be the next J. K. Rowling, but I'll take the fifth on that Playboy Mansion thing ;)

I wish you luck in the contest.

Very good post. I really enjoyed it. I remember someone being told "But you will be 50 before you finish med school" and her response was "I will still be 50 even if I don't go to med school." Their but didn't hinder them in their chosen career. Thanks for the kind words, Thena....

Great post! I have actually been having to deal with this lately and your post helped me feel reassure that I am making the right choice putting my work out there because even if I never get published at least I tried. Something I was recently taught to do is look in the mirror in the morning and h...

a_r_williams wrote:Glad to see you posted. Good Luck!

Thanks, Aaron. You too :)

Yet another very motivating piece telling me I'm doing the right thing with this writing thing. I don't have a lot of "buts" or "should haves" in my life right now. Being 37, I do find myself using the term, "I used to be able to__________" a lot more! But that's anoth...

Excellent post! Aw i've a 'But' the size of a double decker bus (actually something my own gran says ;) ) Definitely i think 'failure' is a big But in writing or in my case; "I'd love to write But it won't ever be good enough" Ironic considering you can only get good by actually writing :...

Never shy about giving people the benefit of her opinion (whether it was asked for or not) my old gran was always telling someone their ‘but’ was too big. On the face of it, that seems a little rude, even for my old gran, but she wasn’t talking about pants’ sizes. She was referring to those built-in...