Nathan Bransford - The Forums

I think bcomet hit on it with the statement that a scene should simply be told well, with as many or as few words as necessary. Interestingly, I've read that it's a good idea to vary scene length, because too much consistency in that sense can lead to monotony. I've noticed this when I read, too - t...

I think Watcher makes a good point. I think questions of whether the class is a good one and whether you will get what you need out of it are good questions to ask, but as far as whether you should take a class or not for fear of interrupting your work on your WiP, why do they have to be mutually ex...

I think for a committed distance runner, "pale and tiny and bookish/scholastic looking" might be a competitive advantage; most of the best distance runners I knew back in my younger days tended to be on the small side, and very, very lean, I used to run every day, and I know from experien...

polymath wrote:

Ishta wrote:I think we need to coin a new term: "Plantser."

Good term plantser. Gave me a new term to contemplate for my own benefit that melds planner and plantser: Sower, as ye sow, so shall ye reap.

I like that chain of thought, Polymath! May we ALL reap what we sow here in the Bransforums!

Thanks, guys!

Nathan Bransford wrote:Here's my take: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2007/02 ... ke-ya.html

YES! When I talked about YA being more "plot-oriented" this is what I meant, but Nathan said it much, much better.

Thanks, Collectonian! Okay, so one last question: does it matter who I register the domain name with? In other words, if I register with GoDaddy, for example, do I have to use them to host my website? I guess that means I do... Which means I need to decide what I want out of a website now and pick m...

I've got a couple of contest and giveaway announcements this morning. Link in my signature, as usual.

Happy Monday!

This is fascinating! I wonder if there is something about showering that does the same thing - it's mindless, so your mind is free to wander through the problems you've been struggling with. Terri Farley does excellent workshops on Right-brain/Left-brain writing techniques. I had the privilege of at...

It seems like you're asking more than one question here. On the subject of how much an agent can influence the size of the advance, I think the answer depends on the agent, but from what I've heard, it's a lot. I know an author who was prepared to accept the first offer from the publisher, until his...

Does your contract with XOXO Publishing have anything in it that obliges you to offer them first-look at your subsequent books? If so, you should be careful, as you could be in breach of contract by offering them to a different publisher.

Look at your contract very carefully.

Groundwood is a Canadian publisher that publishes a selection of very good picture books, as well as literary MG and YA. Some of their books are: I KNOW HERE, by Laurel Croza and illustrated by Matt James, about a girl who faces her uncertainties about moving to a big city; The STELLA books, and oth...

To rent a domain name (you never really "own" them), you need a registrar. GoDaddy is popular, as is Register.com. I use GKG.net. Generally for regular domain, such as a .com or .net, you can expect to pay around $10-15 a year, with discounts for paying for multiple years in advance. Whic...

Yes, I agree that teens are generally morbid and interested in morbid topics. I also remember (and still have samples of) my writing from my teenaged (13-18) years, and I remember thinking that the darker it was, the deeper it plumbed into the tortured soul of the average American teenager, the bett...

Great point about "Firsts," Sommer. I think another important thing to think about is plot. YA books tend much more towards the plot-oriented, and much less toward the more wandering stuff that can get by in the adult market. A lot of crossover books are also very plot-oriented, and very p...