Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Interesting that there's more college students here than high school students, though I expected as much. I know that I only started to seriously consider writing to be published eventually last year, and that I have a long way to go, but I thought there might have been one or two other writers here...

I have the sneaking feeling that I'm among very few teenage writers here, though I was wondering if there were any others that I'm not aware of. I'm about to start my junior year at a private girls' prep school, and I'm torn between excitement and trepidation. This is definitely the hardest year in ...

Recently finished Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis and How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. I'm halfway through The Awakening by Kate Chopin and I'll hopefully finish that one tomorrow, when I plan on starting War by Sebastian Junger and diving into White Fang by Jack Lon...

Is December really referred to as National Query Rejection Month by agents/editors/powerful people in the publishing world?

I write because I always have. I don't think the "aim" of my stories has changed very much, though the stories themselves have. I don't write to get published. I edit and rewrite to get published, yeah, but the initial process is for the joy of it. No matter how much I complain about it, i...

Same here, which is strange, as I was able to access it at midnight last night.

Just in response to what Cheekychook (sorry, don't know your name) said, the only modern book I can think of to surpass 1000 pages (or even reach it) is Stephen King's Under the Dome. It comes in at 1,088 pages. Even with Stephen King's reputation, it's amazing to me that it was published at that wo...

Devin Briar seems You should avoid using the word "seem" as much as possible. It does nothing for description and makes the sentence weaker. Instead of saying that he seems to ask to get kicked in the shins , say how he asks for it or what he does. to ask s to get kicked in the shins ever...

steve wrote:You should know Latin if you're to have any command of the English language.

I agree with this as well. You don't need to know Latin to write well, but I learn most of the wacky grammar rules and how to correctly apply them to my writing in my Latin class

Thank you all so much for your help on this. Here is a revised query. I hope it makes Bryan a little more likable and erases some of the confusion. There is still the jump from knowing Bryan has HIV to finding out they have a baby together, but I didn't think it would be wise to weigh down the quer...

Okay, first there was the synopsis-ish version, then the book-blurb attempt...now there's a really short one, weighing in at only 143 words---which is usually about how long it takes me to begin a message board post ;) Hmm...first try 350 words, second try 250 words, third try 143 words...a few mor...

I have a few favorite aspects of writing, but if I had to choose one it's the initial days of plotting and brainstorming when you're so in love with your idea it's the only thing you can think of. When you first come up with an idea, it doesn't matter if it's any good or not, just that it's yours . ...

From my first WiP:

There’s a man yelling at me in a language I don’t understand.

And from the second:

It was dark.

I think titles are extremely important to brainstorm around: first, because they need to describe the book and secondly, because they can draw a reader in (or the reverse). I would rather play here than comment, and try to brainstorm rather than judge. Gunmetal Gray - literary fiction: okay, probab...

It's frustrating, because I want to talk it over. But I think it's best for me to wait until the later drafts. Then it's time to get audience reaction and weigh it. But even then, it's risky, and I've found it's important to pick your beta readers carefully. This. I only let three people read my wr...