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Marilynne Robinson

Why it works: “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson

June 20, 2019 by Nathan Bransford 9 Comments

So much writing advice out there, including my own, starts from the premise of what not to do. Honestly, it’s often easier to articulate the things that don’t work in a novel than to pinpoint what does. In order to change that up, I’m going to introduce an occasional new feature on the blog where […]

Filed Under: Books, Writing Advice Tagged With: Marilynne Robinson, Why It Works, writing advice

The one question writers should never ask themselves when reading

July 27, 2010 by Nathan Bransford 201 Comments

Over the course of writing and maintaining this blog, I’ve found that there is one sure-fire way a commenter can set my teeth on edge and make me bring out the snide comment gun. (Well, I suppose it would work for someone to write an ode to queries beginning with rhetorical questions, but so far […]

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: Dan Brown, Marilynne Robinson, Reading Like a Writer, The Bachelor, writing advice

Themes Schmemes Part II

October 27, 2009 by Nathan Bransford 169 Comments

I have reached some sort of blog milestone in that I was halfway through writing a blog post about some writers focusing too much on the themes of their book in queries before I realized….. something felt a little familiar. Then I realized: I’d written the exact same post before. Right down to the blog […]

Filed Under: Query Letters Tagged With: How to Find a Literary Agent, How to Write a Query Letter, Ian McEwan, Junot Diaz, Marilynne Robinson, writing advice

Does your novel have a plot?

June 19, 2008 by Nathan Bransford 117 Comments

Do You Have a Plot?

It’s really difficult to start a novel. Where do you begin? How many pages should be in a chapter? Should you outline? Should you just go for it? What about chapter titles? Chapter titles or numbers, which should it be? Eventually these questions turn into extreme procrastinatory measures (if procrastinatory is not a word, consider […]

Filed Under: Writing Novels Tagged With: How to Write a Novel, Marilynne Robinson, writing advice

This Week in Publishing 5/18/07

May 18, 2007 by Nathan Bransford 22 Comments

BIG week in publishing. First, some background information. Typically in publishing contracts, when an author’s work goes out of print there is a mechanism in place for the author to ask for those rights back so they can try and place the rights elsewhere. Which makes a lot of sense. If a publisher isn’t actively […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: book recommendations, literary agents, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Chabon, Oprah, publishing industry

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About Nathan

Hi, I’m Nathan. I’m the author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series, which was published by Penguin. I used to be a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and I’m dedicated to helping authors achieve their dreams. Let me help you with your book!

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My Books

How to Write A Novel
Cover of How to Publish a Book by Nathan Bransford
Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapo
Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe
Jacob Wonderbar and the Interstellar Time Warp

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