Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 10

Starting a Year Long Writing Challenge

I love taking part in a wide variety of challenges. They can be a lot of fun and they are a great way to expand your horizons and try out something new. That’s why I decided to try my hand at the Webb Writing Challenge. My fellow Muffin blogger Jodi Webb created this challenge with … Continue reading Starting a Year Long Writing Challenge →

Nonfiction for Young Readers: Writing an Encyclopedia

Look at what is coming out this fall! This was my first experience writing an encyclopedia for young readers. The biggest adjustment for me was in thinking how the text is arranged. After the introduction, each line had a section of the book. So there is a section for Generation 1, Generation 2, Beast Wars, … Continue reading Nonfiction for Young Readers: Writing an Encyclopedia →

Breaking the Fourth Wall and Interactive Picture Books

The fourth wall is the barrier between the movie or book and the audience. When a movie character, such as Deadpool or Ferris Bueller, speaks to the audience, the fourth wall has been broken. More of a classics fan?  Mel Brooks and Monty Python both famously break the fourth wall.  When the narrator addresses the … Continue reading Breaking the Fourth Wall and Interactive Picture Books →

Writing a Play: Three Things to Keep in Mind

The other night I talked for a while with a friend about the play she is working on. I’ve written readers theater, but not a play for performance. Readers theater is not performed. It is a play that is read aloud in class. Stage direction exists not for the director, but so that the readers … Continue reading Writing a Play: Three Things to Keep in Mind →

When the Writing Is Easy

About three weeks ago, one of my editors, Angela Mackintosh, asked me to write an introduction for the monthly markets newsletter. I had a deadline. Then I had a requested rewrite. I needed to bounce a theme off her before writing the piece because it has to tie in with the rest of the newsletter. … Continue reading When the Writing Is Easy →

Publicists and Book Marketers: Scams or Sloppy Work?

Several times a week, I hear from someone who claims to be a publicist or book marketer. Some of them PM me on Facebook or on Twitter. Others emails me. I’m supposed to believe that these publicists and marketers are legit, but I don’t. The PMs or even public posts on Facebook or Twitter say … Continue reading Publicists and Book Marketers: Scams or Sloppy Work? →

A Fun Voice Exercise

A good friend posted this on Facebook. I had just had a spectacularly irritating conversation. You know the kind. You know just as much as the other person but they can’t see it through their condescension colored glasses. So I responded in the comments. Dearest Friend, Yet again I find myself in consultation with hostile … Continue reading A Fun Voice Exercise →

The Middle: Stupendous or Sagging?

Over the weekend I read a really interesting post by Janice Hardy, “5 Common Problems with Middles.” She explained that because so much of what happens in the story happens in the middle, it is hard to write. So often early drafts meander and roam and seem to get lost in the middle. Part of … Continue reading The Middle: Stupendous or Sagging? →

Revising and Trimming My Writing

A big part of revision is cutting anything that is redundant. That’s what is meant, at least in part, by “be willing to kill your darlings.” No matter how much you love a word, sentence, paragraph or chapter, if it doesn’t serve the larger story, it has to go. This could be a redundant word. … Continue reading Revising and Trimming My Writing →

When Learning Something New – Patience

At the beginning of the month, I signed up for a meditative painting practice at my local library. You can read about it here. As is so often the case with me, what I learned is probably what I was meant to learn. My lesson? Water color paper is much better than a sketch book … Continue reading When Learning Something New – Patience →