Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 163
July 22, 2019
Graphics: When to Include Them When You Aren’t an Illustrator
Now that Earning, Saving and Investing is up on Amazon, I wanted to talk about one of the challenges I faced in writing this book. Money is an abstract concept so writing about it is never easy. I found myself struggling to make my explanations as concrete as possible. This was especially difficult when I was trying […]
July 21, 2019
Onomatopoeia or SFX, Part 2
Just over a week ago, I wrote this post about using SFX in my graphic novel. If I was writing a picture book, we’d say I was including onomatopoeia. On Friday I found myself yet again including SFX. One character was shooting another with a goop gun. Then there was the girl armed with a […]
July 18, 2019
Picture Books: A Variety of Formats Telling Simple Stories
One of the things that I discuss with my students are various picture book structures. The structure for a particular book will depend on the topic or story. Character has a problem. In many fiction picture books, the character has a problem to solve. The first and second attempts to solve this problem fail. Tension […]
How Adaptable Are You? Surviving in the Freelance Market
Sorry this is late going up. A six hour power outtage yesterday wouldn’t have stopped me but someone had to prep for a calc test so he got my laptop. Earlier this week, I saw this TED talk with Natalie Fratto, a venture investor. She explained that when decided who to back, many investors look […]
July 16, 2019
Cover Reveal: The Dark Web
Over the weekend I was fiddling around on Amazon when I found the cover for my latest North Star title, The Dark Web. It will be released in August. I admit that as I’m writing a title, I sometimes wonder what the cover will look like. What images will they use? What font will they choose? […]
July 15, 2019
Harper Alley
Good news for graphic novel fans! HarperCollins is launching HarperAlley, a graphic novel imprint for readers of all ages. What does this mean? As explained by Editorial Director Andrew Arnold, “We believe that a good story is a story that any reader can relate to. That’s what we mean when we say “readers of all […]
July 14, 2019
Theme: How Broad or Narrow Should You Make It?
Last week at critique group we ended up discussing theme. One of our members had just run a picture book rewrite through the group. She knew it needed another rewrite but what to bring forward? And what to minimize or cut altogether? A lot of this would depend on not only the plot but also the […]
July 11, 2019
A New Manuscript: How to Start Writing
One of my students mentioned to me that she is having troubles starting her manuscript. She has the research. She has the outline. She just can’t get the words to flow. Here are three different ways to start writing a new manuscript if you are having this problem. When you worry that the beginning isn’t […]
July 10, 2019
Onomatopoeia or SFX
This week, I’ve been rewriting my picture book level graphic novel. I’m having a lot of fun with it but admittedly find myself asking questions I’m not used to contemplating during the course of drafting a manuscript. What noise does someone make when they wretch? What sound does a vacuum make? What sound does it […]
July 9, 2019
Poetry: The Zejel
Maybe it is because I just finished reading Naomi Shihab Nye’s Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners, but I’ve been playing around with poetry a bit more than usual lately. My latest attempt is a zejel which you can find described by Robert Brewer here. The zejel is known as an old Spanish form but […]
