Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 142
May 12, 2020
3 Things You Can Learn from Jerry Craft, author of The New Kid
If you haven’t read New Kid, pick it up. I know, I know. Any type of shopping is inconvenient right now but this is worth your while. It is one of the funniest books that I’ve read in years. My poor husband had to put up with my laughing out loud while I read in bed. Then […]
May 11, 2020
What Young Readers Are Checking Out During the Covid-19 Pandemic
On April 28, I blogged about 10 Ways to Write Funny for Young Readers. In the first paragraph, I wrote, “Recently one of my editors commented that she had just heard from an agent that in adult writing editors want romantic comedy and humor.” Imagine my surprise when I clicked over to the SLJ article, “What Are […]
May 10, 2020
3 Things to Do When You Can’t Face Writing
Last week, I didn’t write. A lot of writers say that you absolutely have to write every day. And it isn’t bad advice except for when it is. On May 1, I turned in my second book since February. That’s 28,000 words. I was spent. I needed to restore my reserves and that bring me […]
May 7, 2020
4 Query Letter Essentials
Query letters. Ugh. Once I have a query letter for a project, I can adapt the information for other agents or publishers. But coming up with that first version is always painful. Fortunately, one of the agencies I’m researching is BookEnds Literary Agency and they have YouTube channel. You can check it out here. Among […]
May 6, 2020
Three Things to Try When Your Voice Feels Forced
Voice. Agents and editors want it but it can be a tricky thing to develop. I’m fairly confident in my voice when I’m writing nonfiction but when I write fiction? Everything will be going well and then . . . what? Why don’t I sound like ME anymore? When this happens, try these three things […]
May 5, 2020
Three Things to Learn from All American Boys
If you are a writer, you probably already know that there is a lot you can learn from reading. I just finished listening to All American Boys by Jason Reynold and Brendan Kiely. For those of you who don’t know the book, Rashad is on his way to a party when he stops at the local […]
May 4, 2020
3 Reasons I’m Thrilled with this Year’s IBBY Hans Christian Andersen Award
Yesterday the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) announced this year’s winners for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. If you aren’t familiar with the award, the goal is to celebrate authors and illustrators who help promote understanding through children’s books and give children access to book with high literary and artistic standards. The […]
May 3, 2020
3 Ways to Get Back into a Writing Project
For the last 10 weeks, I’ve been working on the Trump impeachment book and the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it is time for me to get back into several projects that have been sieting around waiting. 10 weeks. That’s a lengthy time apart. Here are five things that you can do to get back into a […]
April 30, 2020
The Ten Most Challenged Books of 2019
The American Library Association just released their list of the Top 10 Challenged Books of 2019. I’m proud to say that I’ve read all but three of them. The scariest thing to me is why they’ve been challenged. Except for Harry Potter it is all about sex and gender. Americans certainly have more than their […]
April 29, 2020
3 Lessons from Pablo Picasso
Take four minutes and watch Pablo Picasso paint Visage: Head of a Faun. Seriously, it is all I can do to write my own name and . . . well, just watch it for yourself. Watching this, I realized three things: Don’t mistrust the fast draft. When you are young and you make art, you just do it. […]
