Wordle editor woke up and chose evil today.

I'm deeply skeptical of A.I. writing tools that supposedly help you focus on the "good stuff." Neglect the connective tissue in your storytelling at your peril. nathanbransford.com/blog/2024/10...

Connective tissue is wildly underrated in storytelling

One of the things that has always mystified me about using A.I. for fiction is that the services often promise to dispense with drudgery to help you focus on the “big stuff.” What, pray tell, is the “...

Writing sometimes feels like holding a candle in the dark. nathanbransford.com/blog/2024/10...

Candles in the dark

One of the earliest lessons we are taught as children is that two wrongs don’t make a right. Just because your sister hit you doesn’t mean you get to hit her back. Just because your brother overturned...

All about dedications in books, what's missing from diversity in publishing discourse, how authors feel about A.I., and more of the best writing and books links from the past week! nathanbransford.com/blog/2024/09...

All about dedications in books (This week in books)

This week! Books! First up, I’m taking an early fall blog break over the next few weeks and will be back posting in October. As always, I’ll still be answering emails and scheduling edits and coaching...

If I were an alien who wanted to make first contact with Earth but wanted it to be believable I’d pick RFK Jr. because everyone would just go “Yeah that makes sense.”

What was your worst bout of writer's block and how did you get past it? nathanbransford.com/blog/2024/09...

What was your worst bout of writers block?

With social media fragmenting, I’m bringing back my old “You Tell Me” Wednesday discussions to try to get good old fashioned blog conversations going. If you’re reading in a feed reader or via email, ...

Updated and expanded my post on how to craft a great villain: nathanbransford.com/blog/2024/09...

How to create a great villain

Bill Sikes. Lady MacBeth. Captain Ahab. The Wormwoods. Long John Silver. Sauron. Iago. The best villains in literature send a shiver down our spine and make our blood pressure rise. Why do some villai...

If you live in LA (or even if you don’t) you are seriously missing out if you haven’t tried Birria Master tacos in East Pasadena

I don't know how to explain it but nectarines sound like they belong in the orange family and not the peach family.

Have the kiddos rediscovered Deltron 3030 yet?