Nathan Bransford - The Forums

I take breaks from writing text, though not from research and plotting and other writing stuff, like these Bransforums. Coffee? Java and Sumatra.

Like Dios4vida, I sometimes play familiar fantasy movies in the background to encourage my imagination. AND I'm reading HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, for the first time. Fantasy guy all the way, here!

J. T. SHEA wrote:Like Dios4vida, I sometimes play familiar fantasy movies in the background to encourage my imagination. AND I'm reading HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, for the first time. Fantasy guy all the way, here!

We should compare notes on favorite books/movies sometime. There aren't a whole lot of hardcore, high fantasy people out there. Most of my favorite authors are virtually unheard of outside of the genre, so I never get to talk about the books I love. :(

Keeping myself accountable to a bunch of strangers...

Today in my edits and rewrites, I reached the 35,600 word mark in my now 78,000 word MS.

Tomorrow will be a slow day (or possibly a non-day) for edits and rewrites since it'll be homework heavy.

I'm finding myself pulled into my story, for the most part, sometimes missing minor edits because I want to keep reading what I wrote. I used to find it somewhat dull to read my own writing (since I knew how it ended), but this WIP seems to be different. I'm excited!

Hi, Craig. You can probably put in half an hour a day when you're busy. Most of us waste time on the internet or TV even with our jobs and school. Thirty minutes doesn't seem like much, but it's something, and will keep you connected to your WIP. Now, I have to get off the internet myself!

craig wrote:Keeping myself accountable to a bunch of strangers...

Pssh...we aren't strangers! We're faceless accountability partners, strategically distanced to provide accurate and varied criticism. :)

dios4vida wrote:

J. T. SHEA wrote:Like Dios4vida, I sometimes play familiar fantasy movies in the background to encourage my imagination. AND I'm reading HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, for the first time. Fantasy guy all the way, here!

We should compare notes on favorite books/movies sometime. There aren't a whole lot of hardcore, high fantasy people out there. Most of my favorite authors are virtually unheard of outside of the genre, so I never get to talk about the books I love. :(

You're only just reading Harry Potter now? You're going to love it.

And I agree dios4vida, it seems people regard fantasy as more of a joke/YA genre.

Heather B wrote:And I agree dios4vida, it seems people regard fantasy as more of a joke/YA genre.

When people find out I write books they're all like, "Oooh, really?! What kind of books?"

I say, "High fantasy. Think LOTR type books." (I have to say that because if I tell them the books that are really like what I write - R.A. Salvatore, Terry Goodkind, Dennis McKiernan - they don't have the faintest clue who I'm talking about.)

Inevitably, their eyes glaze over and all excitement leaves their voice. "Oh, that's nice." Like I'm a four-year-old child who says they're gonna fly to the moon with the paper wings they made in preschool. Come on, people! Just cause I like to use my imagination and write creative books with wizards and magic and creatures that exist only in my head doesn't mean I'm wasting my time on something ridiculous, stupid, or inane! Seriously!

<steps off soap box>

I'm not a fan of fantasy, but I totally respect it. I know exactly what y'all are talking about, though, cuz I often get the same reaction with sci-fi. They automatically think of the cheesiest thing they've seen on TV and assume that's what I write like.

I've had a busy week -- I had to do some homework as a follow-up to a job interview -- chances are pretty high I'm getting hired on Monday. So... I've had difficulty focusing on writing the past few days.

However, I've found it super helpful to keep track of my progress -- and I'm now 90% done my editing rewrites and have added 5,000 words to the MS in the progress. (So, it's currently sitting at 80,000.) I'm getting closer to the point where I'll be creating all new content and writing the end to the novel.

It's exciting! I hope to plow ahead and get a huge ton done next week -- cuz if I get that job, I'll be starting August 3 and my free time will really diminish.

craig wrote:I've had a busy week -- I had to do some homework as a follow-up to a job interview -- chances are pretty high I'm getting hired on Monday. So... I've had difficulty focusing on writing the past few days.

However, I've found it super helpful to keep track of my progress -- and I'm now 90% done my editing rewrites and have added 5,000 words to the MS in the progress. (So, it's currently sitting at 80,000.) I'm getting closer to the point where I'll be creating all new content and writing the end to the novel.

It's exciting! I hope to plow ahead and get a huge ton done next week -- cuz if I get that job, I'll be starting August 3 and my free time will really diminish.

Congrats, craig! I hope you get the job and that the writing, etc. continues to go well. :)

I just came off a long break. I haven't done anything in nearly two years. Basically, I let everyone and everything else take precedence. I finally decided to get off my arse, put my foot down, and I jumped right back in. Pulled a short piece from a couple of years ago out of its dusty file, cleaned it up, and subbed it to my editor. And I haven't looked back. Sure, I've had to go a few days without doing much, but I can't go back to doing nothing.

Don't get me wrong, even when I wasn't producing, I still wrote. But being an author is a business and if I want to continue to have a business, I have to work at it. It's uphill - two years without anything new is close to starting over in the e-world - but the writing and the business are worth it and so am I.

Whew... after a few weeks, I have completely edited / rewritten major portions of my WIP -- which is now 80,000.

Now, onwards and upwards! I gots ta finish the book! Let's see... a bad guy has to die, a neutral character has to die, one character has to have a breakdown, two guys need to get together in a hot love scene (the hot hetero love scene was earlier in the book), a bad guy has to escape and disappear, and a good guy has to sacrifice himself (and maybe die, maybe not, might be left ambiguous). Lots ta do!!!

(And in other news: The job I mentioned up-thread, I did not get. Eh, whatever.)

Congrats on grabbing the horse and jumping back on! Sorry to hear about the job, though.