Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 156
October 29, 2019
Little Free Library: Trademarks and Legal Wrangling
I wish I had gotten pictures of the two Little Free Libraries we saw in the Eureka Springs area. One was next to a school. The other was near the library. I just love these tiny libraries! So I was more than a little upset to see this story in Publisher’s Weekly, “Little Free Library, Founder’s […]
October 28, 2019
Word Count: How Much Is Too Much?
Recently I saw a Writer’s Digest graphic describing word count for a novel. I learned that for my mystery, 80,000 to 89,999 words should be my target. But what about children’s books? I last posted about this two years ago so I wanted to see if anything had changed. Board Books: The only listing I […]
October 27, 2019
Halloween Picture Books: Pair Creepy with Funny
Halloween picture books fascinate me. When my son was little, our favorite was probably the Berenstain Bears Spooky Old Tree. If you have never read it, it is an early reader picture book about whether or not the bears will dare to go inside this massive spooky tree. Of course, they do it or it would […]
October 24, 2019
Writing Fiction: Go Big or Go Home
I’ve been trying to get back into my mystery this week and get started on a new picture book. . . (cricket, cricket, cricket) I say this and I’ve done some pre-work but sitting down to actually write has not been in the cards. And the really sorry thing is that I don’t have a […]
October 23, 2019
Writing Fact Based Fiction
Writing fiction based on fact is always tricky. Often the problem is that we are tempted to avoid making changes. “But that’s how it really happened!” Maybe so but it may require a few changes to make a believable and compelling story. It is often much easier to simply take inspiration from the world around […]
October 22, 2019
Retreats, Residencies and Colonies
Yesterday I saw a headline that Stephen King’s home in Maine is going to be an archive and writer’s retreat. It is going to be some time yet before it is ready for eager writers but a friend and I were just talking about applying to a retreat together. Some retreats are free — funded […]
October 21, 2019
Setting: Making It Real and Establishing a Mood
Today I read a really interesting post on how to build a strong setting by D.M. Pulley. In addition to the importance of deciding whether or not you should you as actual place or a completely fictional location, she also talked about mapping your city or neighborhood and drawing something similar to a blueprint for […]
October 20, 2019
Inspiration: Seeking Story Ideas and Energy
For almost two weeks, one of my writing friends who lives in New Hampshire is staying at the Writer’s Colony in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Friday, I turned in my latest teen nonfiction manuscript and my husband and I hit the road. I knew I was just happy, Happy, HAPPY to be away from my desk […]
October 17, 2019
Deadline Met!
Finished my last book assignment at 12:30 this morning. As soon as I get it off to my editor, I’ll be taking my cue from Willie Nelson. Not to worry. I’ll be back next week with photos and stories to share! –SueBE
October 16, 2019
Picture Book Writing: Free Course
The other day, a group of us were tweeting about how frustrating it is that so many people, even other writers, think that writing for children is going to be easy. After all, the books, especially picture books, are so short! But if you’ve ever drafted a picture book manuscript, you know how tricky they […]
