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Reading Like a Writer

Do you read multiple books simultaneously or one at a time?

April 30, 2014 by Nathan Bransford 60 Comments

There are two types of readers and two types of readers only. One type has several different books going. They might have one on their nightstand and one in their backpack, another stashed at work for lunchtime reading and who knows where else. I don’t understand these people. They have a wild book love life. […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Reading Like a Writer, You Tell Me

When Classics Leave You Cold

June 4, 2013 by Nathan Bransford 57 Comments

I saw Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby last weekend and… not my favorite movie. Partly I think the problem is that I love the book so extremely much. I’ve posted previously about how much the book moved me when I re-read it as an adult, and I don’t know if it’s quite possible for a movie to […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: book recommendations, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Reading Like a Writer

Do You Read Books Straight Through?

October 5, 2011 by Nathan Bransford 142 Comments

“Lesendes Mädchen” – Gustav Adolph Hennig It has come to my attention that not everyone reads books chronologically. You know, starting on page one and finishing at The End. Reader Sabrina wrote me to say that she starts at the beginning, then skims and checks out the end to see if she wants to read […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Reading Like a Writer, You Tell Me

How “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” uses contradictions to develop character

September 27, 2011 by Nathan Bransford 67 Comments

As I was (finally) starting to read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which I had been warned gets off to a notoriously slow start, I was pondering whether I would have agreed to represent it if I had read it as a manuscript. And, you know, if I were actually still an agent. Which […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: How to Write a Novel, Reading Like a Writer, writing advice

Writing Time vs. Reading Time?

June 1, 2011 by Nathan Bransford 94 Comments

Sandro Botticelli, “Madonna del Magnifcat” Do you ever have that creeping feeling that if you added up all the hours people in the world spend writing books and all the hours people spend reading books that writing time might win? Are there more people out there writing right now than reading? What do you think? […]

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: Life of a Writer, Reading Like a Writer, You Tell Me

Do Typos Annoy You?

May 25, 2011 by Nathan Bransford 188 Comments

Photo by Jeff Deck Let’s get this part out of the way: I’m a terrible copyeditor. I can’t spot typos for the life of me, my comma usage is suspect, and I wouldn’t know a dangling modifier from a split infinitive. As a result, I really don’t get very exercised when I spot typos online […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Reading Like a Writer, You Tell Me

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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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