Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 109

Pinterest: 3 Ways to Use This Took if You are a Writer

Yesterday someone on Twitter stated that he just didn’t get Pinterest. Why would a writer care? It is stupid. It makes no sense. I use Pinterest almost every day but how I use it as a writer has changed over time. Research Trends When I was writing up 30 or so crafts, activities or science … Continue reading Pinterest: 3 Ways to Use This Took if You are a Writer →

Manuscripts: Some Work and Some Just Don’t

Ironically, this was supposed to go up on Friday. Before I posted it, storms rolled through the area and took out our power and internet. We had electricity again in about 15 minutes. Internet returned much later on Friday. My apologies. Now, on with the post. Recently, Margo Dill, a fellow blogger on the Muffin, … Continue reading Manuscripts: Some Work and Some Just Don’t →

Answer the Public: A Tool to Help You Brainstorm

It may not have been designed for writers, but yesterday another writer told a group of us about a fun-to-use brainstorming tool. Answer the Public was designed to help businesses see what people are searching about related products. Sounds kind of ho hum, doesn’t it. But click on through and type something into the search … Continue reading Answer the Public: A Tool to Help You Brainstorm →

SCBWI Member Benefits for the Self-Published Writer

Every now and again, I contemplate self-publishing a book. It would have to be just the right project for me to step off into the deep end of independently producing a book. But if I decide to go that route, SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) has made it easier. I’m not … Continue reading SCBWI Member Benefits for the Self-Published Writer →

4 Ways to Get the Words to Flow

One of my writing friends can sit down and write 5000 words or more in a single day. If you are one of those people, move along. There is nothing for you to see here. If, on the other hand, you sometimes find yourself fighting to get the words to flow, this is the place … Continue reading 4 Ways to Get the Words to Flow →

3 Tips for Drafting a Picture Book

I love coming home from the library with a stack of picture books. I stretch out on the sofa and read and read and read. When I’m done, I go back and page again through the ones I liked best. Perhaps it is because I read so many that I can tell when a new … Continue reading 3 Tips for Drafting a Picture Book →

Visual Literacy

I hope some of you attended the SCBWI Big 5-0 conference last weekend. There were so many amazing sessions including the joint session with Marla Frazee and Allyn Johnston on picture book writing. One of the topics that they discussed was visual literacy. I went online in an attempt to find a spiffy, authoritative definition … Continue reading Visual Literacy →

Analyzing What to Submit to an Agent or Editor

Often when you attend a webinar or conference, you have the opportunity to submit your work to at least some of the agents and editors on staff. The temptation is to send out your work as soon as possible. Me? I try to take at least a little time to analyze what each person is … Continue reading Analyzing What to Submit to an Agent or Editor →

Idea Generation: Flip an Old Idea on Its Head

Yesterday I saw this book trailer for The Very Hungry Plant by Renato Moriconi. My first thought was “Wow! What a great way to generate ideas by flipping an old idea on its head.” Maybe I should elaborate – when I saw the book title, I thought that this was the opposite of The Very … Continue reading Idea Generation: Flip an Old Idea on Its Head →

3 Tips on How to Torment Your Characters

Yesterday I read an older Writer’s Digest piece about creating moral dilemmas for your characters as a way to create fiction that will keep the audience reading. It definitely made me take a hard look at my current WIP. As I considered what I had read, I realized that there are three things you can … Continue reading 3 Tips on How to Torment Your Characters →