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writing advice

How to craft a reversal in a novel

October 21, 2024 by Nathan Bransford

This image from the Telegraph inadvertently illustrates one of the most important writing concepts every write should master: The reversal. Storytelling is all about reversals, and readers are drawn to them like crazies to the Bachelor house. Still, as with many concepts in writing, I don’t believe there is a universal definition of what exactly […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: How to Write a Novel, Star Wars, writing advice

Your novel is not a screenplay

October 10, 2023 by Nathan Bransford

One of my favorite jokes on The Office is when Dwight Schrute boasts, “I know everything about film. I’ve seen over 240 of them.” It’s funny because it sounds reasonable at first, but then you realize 240 is a pittance. You’ve surely seen thousands of movies, not to mention thousands of hours of scripted TV shows. […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: writing advice

How to utilize feedback to improve your manuscript

July 17, 2023 by Nathan Bransford

How to respond to an editorial letter or manuscript critique

I’ve dished out plenty of edits as a former literary agent and current freelance book editor, and been on the receiving end as the author of a middle grade trilogy and several guides to writing and publishing. When I receive an edit, I know that the (usually brilliant) suggestions my editors make are nothing personal. […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: Jacob Wonderbar, revising, Staying Sane While Writing, writing advice

How to write a killer one sentence pitch (or logline) for novels and memoirs

May 22, 2023 by Nathan Bransford

A while back I outlined the general necessity of whittling down your plot to one sentence, one paragraph, and two paragraph pitches in order to give yourself a head start on the literally thousands of times you are going to need to summarize your work over the course of a book’s lifetime. Today I want […]

Filed Under: Book Marketing, Query Letters Tagged With: How to Find a Literary Agent, Jacob Wonderbar, writing advice

How to write good dialogue in a novel

October 31, 2022 by Nathan Bransford

Few storytelling elements in a novel are as powerful as dialogue. Writing good dialogue is a crucial way of letting characters speak for themselves outside of the narrative voice, and it’s one of the best ways of conveying personality and flavor. And, as with any powerful device, it can be abused. Over-use of dialogue has […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: Dialogue, How to Write a Novel, writing advice

Novel revision checklist

June 20, 2022 by Nathan Bransford

Revision Checklist

Whether you’re pursuing traditional or self-publishing, self-editing is one of the most crucial skills any writer can possess. It’s not an exaggeration to say that novels are made or broken by the revision process. But it’s very difficult to see your work objectively, and novels are wondrously complex. I find it helpful to be systematic […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: revising, writing advice

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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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