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Suspense

How to craft a great mystery in a novel

February 21, 2022 by Nathan Bransford

One of the most important skills every writer has to master, no matter their genre, is crafting a great mystery. It’s also one of the most misunderstood elements of novel writing. Mysteries are the lures that keep us turning the pages and keep us glued to the book. They send us into a frenzy because […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice, Writing Novels Tagged With: How to Write a Novel, Jacob Wonderbar, Suspense

Cozy Mystery. What’s that?

October 17, 2010 by Nathan Bransford

By: Kay Elam When I was writing my first novel, I knew it was a mystery, but I wasn’t sure of its sub-genre. At a writing conference I was telling someone about my book and they said, “Oh, it’s a cozy.” I simply agreed instead of admitting I’d never heard of such a thing. Since […]

Filed Under: Genres Tagged With: guest blog, Suspense

Page Critique Monday: My Critique 8/16/10

August 16, 2010 by Nathan Bransford

Thanks very much to the intrepid WilliamJJones for offering his page for critique! Random.org has been very good to Mr. Jones lately as he was also randomly selected to be a participant in Be An Agent for a Day II. Now if he would just buy a lottery ticket for me we should be all […]

Filed Under: Critiques Tagged With: page critique, Suspense

What’s Your Favorite Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Novel of All Time?

June 2, 2010 by Nathan Bransford

Please continue to enter The Rock Paper Tiger Chase/Action Writing Contest Extravaganza if you have not already! Be sure to do so in the official contest thread. And as we continue in Rock Paper Tiger week (on sale now!), a very timely question: what is your favorite mystery/suspense/thriller novel of all time? I was drawn […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: book recommendations, Suspense, You Tell Me

The ROCK PAPER TIGER Chase/Action Writing Contest Extravaganza!!

June 1, 2010 by Nathan Bransford

Contest! Contest contest! This contest is honor of the fantastic and gripping suspense novel Rock Paper Tiger by Lisa Brackmann, now on sale and which you should definitely purchase for your suspense reading pleasure. BUT DON’T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called it an “electrifying debut,” and the Miami […]

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: contests, Suspense

This Week in Publishing 3/13/09

March 13, 2009 by Nathan Bransford

Lots of links this week, and they don’t all fit neatly into the theme of Negativity Week, so in lieu of an actual theme to the news I will instead be saying “Bah!” at the end of every paragraph regardless of my feeling about the news I’ve just relayed. Consider it negativity, old man style. […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: literary agents, Nonfiction, Suspense, This Week in Publishing

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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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