Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 13

Library Love: My Local Library and the LOC

I adore the displays at my local library branch. I just recently discovered that one librarian puts together most of the displays in this case that is just inside the main doors. I knew that she did some of them, because we talk about books and sometimes I can recognize her taste in literature. But … Continue reading Library Love: My Local Library and the LOC →

Book Cover Design: 5 Tips to Avoid Looking Like an Amateur

Aren’t these covers amazing? I love when I get to see my covers for the first time. I’m not sure who does the book covers for Redline but they do an amazing job. I’ve watched a number of videos and taken a design class or two. I highly recommend The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin … Continue reading Book Cover Design: 5 Tips to Avoid Looking Like an Amateur →

How to Use Your Phone as a Hotspot

Hopefully I won’t need to use this bit of knowledge, but just in case we lose power again I wanted to know how to use my phone as a hotspot. The first thing that you do is turn on your phone’s hot spot function. To do this, go to your phone’s settings. That’s the little … Continue reading How to Use Your Phone as a Hotspot →

How Do You Back Up Your Computer?

How do you back up your computer? I used to do it on an external hard drive. Before that I backed up individual manuscripts on discs. I resisted backing up my computer to OneDrive. I fought it so hard. But my son convinced me to give it a try. “Look, you can open up your … Continue reading How Do You Back Up Your Computer? →

Desktop or Laptop?

Recently one of my writing friends asked which we prefer? Do we write on a desktop or a laptop with a docking station? My response? Why do I need to choose? I do most of my writing on my desktop. I have a cordless ergonomic keyboard and an ergonomic mouse. The best part about this? … Continue reading Desktop or Laptop? →

Brainstorming Ideas for Highlights High Five

I recently learned that High Five will be open to submissions from May 30 through July 14, 2025.  That’s the good news. The bad news is that they are expecting a large volume of submissions so each author can only submit 5 pieces. Here is a bit on what they publish. I used to do a … Continue reading Brainstorming Ideas for Highlights High Five →

Nonfiction: 6 Different Things You Might Write

If you are interested in writing nonfiction for young readers, there are so many different things that you can write. Here are 6 of my favorites. In addition to the different types of nonfiction, there are also different lengths and different publishers. You can write book-length biography or biography for a magazine. You can write … Continue reading Nonfiction: 6 Different Things You Might Write →

How Being a Nonfiction Writer Warps My Perspective

Not long ago, I was talking to someone about a tree. I don’t remember specifically what we were talking about but I named what type of tree it was. I didn’t get super specific. It was a gingko or a cypress. Oh, wait. If it was a gingko, I guess I was super specific because … Continue reading How Being a Nonfiction Writer Warps My Perspective →

Do You Have a Story?

When you are a new writer, or even a not-so-new writer, it can be hard to tell if your idea is a story. It might actually be a situation. Or an event. Let me show you what I mean. “I want to write about a birthday party.” “I want to write about the Blizzard of … Continue reading Do You Have a Story? →

3 Ways to Create a Nonlinear Timeline

Note: This was supposed to go live for Thursday but didn’t! So I’m going to drop it now and it will count for both Thursday and Friday. Sorry! I just finished reading a book with a nonlinear timeline. A linear timeline starts at a specific time and moves forward. Let’s say it starts on March … Continue reading 3 Ways to Create a Nonlinear Timeline →