Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 17

How Much Research Is Enough?

My students always want to know how much research is enough. How many sources do they need to use when they write nonfiction. I still have a chapter and a half to go on my current project and so far I’ve used 232 sources. The simple/not simple answer is that you research until you’re done. … Continue reading How Much Research Is Enough? →

What Do You Watch? Read?

Yesterday, I walked in on a conversation about the joys of Hallmark movies. Note: I like snow. Many Hallmark movies have snow. And antiques. Those are nice too. But anyway, two gym buddies were extolling the joys of Hallmark movies. Them: Don’t you just love them? Me: No. I’d rather lick a wall outlet. Them: … Continue reading What Do You Watch? Read? →

Conflict vs Obstacles

I just read Janice Hardy’s blog post, “3 Common Mistakes Writers Make about Conflict.” In her post, she discusses that our stories often lack conflict because we don’t understand the difference between conflict and obstacles. And what we are actually adding to our stories are obstacles. So I started doing some reading and this is … Continue reading Conflict vs Obstacles →

How Many Books Do You Read at Once?

Recently someone asked me how many books I read at once. I’ve been drafting, revising, and editing for almost two full months, meeting multiple deadlines. In celebration of specificity, the answer is one. Because I cannot read two or more books simultaneously. But that isn’t what he meant. He means how many books am I … Continue reading How Many Books Do You Read at Once? →

Trust Your Reader

Earlier this week, I read Eva Langston’s latest post, “Add Suspense by Cutting Scenes.” She was discussing the fact that often her students can cut entire scenes or at least the large part of a scene. This is because they feel that they need one scene to tell the reader what is going to happen … Continue reading Trust Your Reader →

Don’t Give Up

I know that I’ve already said this in other forums but I hope people are making the effort to watch the videos from the SCBWI Virtual Winter Conference. It has been really inspirational and eye opening to hear both editors and agents talking about long term successes. Several speakers have mentioned reading a manuscript or … Continue reading Don’t Give Up →

Research: Even Fiction Writers Do It

Recently I heard another writer comment that she prefers writing fiction. Why? Because that way she doesn’t have to do any research. You get it. Because it is fiction everything is made up. I actually remember saying something like this when I was a new writer. And truthfully maybe some fiction writers don’t do any … Continue reading Research: Even Fiction Writers Do It →

Preparing for Trouble

Friday, storms swept through Missouri. At least twelve people died across the state. We didn’t have any damage although we did find a piece of insulator board that someone else is surely missing. Four of us and one irritable cat squeezed into the messy basement room that has no windows. Between us we had three … Continue reading Preparing for Trouble →

5 Things Your Story Needs to be a Good Bedtime Story

Recently a critique partners ran a story through the group. It is one she is planning to enter into a contest for bedtime stories. As I tried to comment on her piece, I realized that I really needed to familiarize myself with what a bedtime story is. And what makes a bedtime story good? Let’s … Continue reading 5 Things Your Story Needs to be a Good Bedtime Story →

Be the Rainbow: Give Hope

Before I get started on this post, I have to admit that I typed the first half of that title and then paused. Why does that sound so familiar? Oh! Taste the rainbow! I hope that some of you have taken the opportunity to sign up for the SCBWI virtual conference. The sessions are available … Continue reading Be the Rainbow: Give Hope →