Nathan Bransford | Writing, Book Editing, Publishing

Helping authors achieve their dreams

The best of 2023

by

As the year winds down, I thought I’d do something lighter and compile some best-ofs for your holiday enjoyment! On Thursday we’ll have a critique as usual, and Friday will be the last post of the year, with some reflections on the year in books.

Thank you so much to everyone for reading and commenting in 2023!

The best of the blog 2023

Most viewed posts published in 2023

  1. How to write a killer one sentence pitch (or logline) for novels and memoirs
  2. What recent publishing controversies say about the industry
  3. Don’t start a chapter without these six essential elements
  4. The first draft is always the hardest (and why you shouldn’t fear starting over)
  5. It’s harder than ever to rise above the noise. It’s also a golden era for writers

Most viewed posts overall in 2023

  1. List of character strengths and weaknesses
  2. How to write a query letter
  3. My query letter for JACOB WONDERBAR
  4. Example of a good query letter
  5. Book editing you can trust

Nathan’s personal favorite posts of 2023

  1. Why do we read and write?
  2. Just write
  3. Do not worry about spoilers in a query letter
  4. Infuse a character’s desires into their observations
  5. Let characters’ emotions spill in unpredictable ways

The best books of 2023

I’m cheating a little bit because not all of these first hit bookstores in 2023, but here are my favorite recently published books that I read in 2023 (all links are affiliates to Bookshop.org):

  1. The Darling Killers by Sarah McCarry
  2. Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War by Howard W. French
  3. How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
  4. Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
  5. Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs

The best music of 2023

A few years ago I resolved to listen to an album every weekday to keep up with the great new music out there, and I kept that going in 2023!

The best albums of 2023

  1. V by Föllakzoid
  2. This Stupid World by Yo La Tengo
  3. Sun Arcs by Blue Lake
  4. everything is alive by Slowdive
  5. That! Feels Good! by Jessie Ware

The best songs of 2023

  1. Sinatra Drive Breakdown by Yo La Tengo
  2. Madres by Sofia Kourtesis
  3. pretty isn’t pretty by Olivia Rodrigo
  4. Freak Me Now by Jessie Ware
  5. Lovely Sewer by Yves Tumor

The best products of 2023

Here are some random things I enjoyed in the past year! All links are Amazon affiliates.

  1. Avacado and Spice journal – These are beautiful and very well-made journals. A great gift for the writer in your life!
  2. Tamanishiki rice – My parents are rice farmers so I know my rice–this is my favorite rice grown in California. If you haven’t tried Tamanishiki or another higher end brand, you may not even realize just how good rice can taste.
  3. Uniball Vision Rollerball Pens – These are by far my favorite pens for journaling, and if Uniball ever stopped making them I might have to give up writing entirely.
  4. Wildfish Cannery, Smoked Pink Salmon – Like many people, I got pretty into tinned fish during the pandemic, and the salmon from Wildfish Cannery became one of my go-tos. Pair it with Blank Slate Sichuan Chili Oil over some Tamanishiki rice if you’re into spicy food like me.
  5. How to Write a Novel by Nathan Bransford – Ahem. Yes, well. Every purchase helps keep this here blog going!

I think that’s all from Nathan Bransford Books HQ. I didn’t watch enough movies or TV shows in 2023 to create lists, but I’d love to hear your recommendations in the comments!

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

For my best advice, check out my online classes, my guide to writing a novel and my guide to publishing a book.

And if you like this post: subscribe to my newsletter!

Art: Winter scene from the streets of Stockholm by Wilhelm Smith

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Neil Larkins says

    I love year-end lists! Yours are great and…. I especially appreciate your listing of Tamanishiki rice. I’d heard of it but had pretty much forgotten about it. I think it’s grown here in South Carolina, but I don’t know where it’s available. Your having provided a link to where you get yours was a stroke of luck. I live with my daughter and her family and we eat a lot of rice. I just now ordered some and hope to get it by Christmas as my gift to us!
    Thanks and Merry Christmas!

      • Neil Larkins says

        I’m sure the one I was referring to is another variety. I found this interesting about the Amazon site you linked to: it says this same product may be found on other sites at a lower price. That doesn’t make any sense. They’re undercutting their own vender? I don’t think Amazon knows much about this rice. Nevertheless, I found $11.99 for 4.4 pounds to be very reasonable and I’m looking forward to digging in!.

  3. abc says

    I am never good about reading books that come out in the year they come out. And I’m terrible at keeping up with new music (unless it’s my old faves releasing a new album). That said, I did read and I did enjoy Emma Cline’s The Guest (and then I made my husband read it so I had someone to discuss the ending with). Of the new music I did get exposed to (usually by said husband), I enjoyed 10,000 Gecs from 100 Gecs and The Record from Boy Genius (love them!). Movies: Barbie, May December, Anatomy of a Fall, Asteroid City, Bottoms. TV: What We Do in the Shadows Season 5, Succession Season 4, The Bear Season 2, Barry Season 4. I feel like there’s a lot of television I missed, though. Probably some good stuff. Most of my life is spent watching seasons of Survivor because I have a problem.

    Thanks for asking!

    I will try the Taminishiki rice. We eat a lot of rice in our house.