Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Thanks for the link. That was pretty fun. I think I'm a chronological reader. It usually takes me longer than my friends to read a book, and I almost always finish what I start, even if I only half-way like it.

For the record, my fav teacher said he was eager to read me again, especially "on paper" (and he mimicked flipping pages in a book) and repeated that if I ever needed help of any kind, he'd be glad to answer questions, etc. This one could qualify for the "Squee Good News" thread...

Yeah, what Matt and Wilderness said. Especially for the magic, you can "expose" as you go. Whenever a character pops off with a bit magic, you could explain how and why it works through some internal dialogue from the character or by simply laying it out there from the POV of the character...

I completely agree. This is just a great place to hang out! There have been disagreements, but never any animosity. And that's really saying something, considering we all communicate here through writing. It's so easy to misinterpret what someone is trying to say because you can't "hear" t...

Mark.W.Carson wrote: but the BIG fantasy is seeing a kid come to my door dressed as one of my characters on Halloween.

Yes! This!

Captain Picard (Star Trek TNG) His character is duty, honor, and integrity, even in the face of death. He's private to a fault, but once someone gets in he gives his all to the relationship.

Whew! That was really exciting! I don't know anything about gambling, but this really held my atrention. Your pacing was great - started out walking, introducing characters and setting. Then ramping it up with the roulette wheel, and at the end, with all eyes on the ball game... It was excellent. Th...

My particular wish is to be cruising through a bookstore and see someone carrying my book. I strike up a conversation with them, ask about the book, then casually take it from them, sign it, and walk away. I just hope that if that day comes, I'll have the guts to actually do it. You are going to be...

Thanks for the feedback. I haven't yet sent the query to Query Shark - still writing and rewriting, but I intend to. Don't wait until you are ready to submit before visiting the Query Shark. In fact, do NOT submit anything until you do visit. She has some VERY stiff regulations for submissions. You...

What does not kill us makes us stronger. Glad you're back.

MattLarkin wrote:I also recommend the full six Dune series books by Frank Herbert.

I thought I was the only one who liked all six! They really are good.
I recommend Anne McCaffrey's PERN and CRYSTAL SINGER series. I cut my reader teeth on these.

Since I missed the actual day, and you are celebrating (in an awesome way!) on Saturday, I wish you a very rowdy, mosh pit, carry-you across-the-audience birthday WEEK!

Wow, great post! This will be very helpful for a scene in my novel. Thank you!

Awesome! I'm in.

OK, it's getting there. But it sounds a little "this is this and that is that," like a list of events. Don't think of a query as an extemely shortened version of your story. Instead, it's means of capturing an agent's attention. Make that agent want to read more by clearly stating what th...