Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 179
January 14, 2019
Best Writing Web Sites
One of the best things about getting together with other writers is sharing resources. Whenever my critique group meets, the first 20 minutes is spent discussing business. Whose acquiring and where we can go to get what we need to solve a problem. Sometimes people offer up a new-to-us resource. Other times people ask questions. […]
January 13, 2019
Reading the Map: A Book Set in Every US State
Last week, I read an Abdo Publishing tweet about a pair of sisters who spent 2018 reading a book set in each US state. Twins Elizabeth Krych and Rachel Van Houten have competed in various reading bingo challenges but in 2018 they decided to do something different. They challenged each other to read across the US […]
January 9, 2019
Picture Books: Opening with a Strong Hook
The vast majority of picture books are 500 words or less. That means that a picture book author has 500 words to pack in character, story problem, setting, tone and a hook. For those of you who don’t know the term, a hook is how you, literally, hood the reader. What makes them want to […]
January 8, 2019
Characters: Making Them Three-Dimensional and Realistic
Earlier in the week, I was reading a Writer’s Digest guest post by teen author Lorena Koppel. In her post, “From YA to YEAH: 4 Ways to Keep Teen & Young Adult Readers Hooked,” she discusses a variety of things, including unrealistic dialogue, that turn off young readers. Among the topics in dialogue she discussed is “codeswitching.” […]
Picture Books: Making It BIG and Personal
The other day, I heard someone comment that Where the Wild Things Are isn’t about the wild things or adventure. It’s about more than that. It’s about wanting to be loved. In case you haven’t guessed, I read and listen to a lot when I’m on the treadmill. I also have time to think as I’m step-step-stepping […]
January 7, 2019
Daring to Dialogue: Writing Dialogue that Works
Spice up that dialogue. Somewhere, someone is delivering this piece of advice to a new or new-ish writer. And, more often than not, the new writer sets out to do just that. “Get out of my house!” she shouted. “Why don’t I believe you? How can you ask that after you got us both expelled?” […]
January 6, 2019
Picture Books: Sending a Message without Preaching
Every now and again I find a book, flip to the publishing information and see the date and think, “Where has this book been for so long? Why did I take so long to find it?” That was my reaction to Maddi’s Fridge by Lois Brandt. If you haven’t read this book, my post is pretty much […]
January 3, 2019
Writing Is Rewriting
Yesterday Morgan Wright asked fellow writers on Twitter to show how we felt about your current WIP using a GIF. There’s the initial enthusiasm — woo hoo! This is the best idea ever. And there’s the current reality – seriously? Really? Did I write this? It is so lame. And that, my writing friends, is […]
January 2, 2019
Enter to Win…
Who doesn’t love free books? Okay, there is probably someone, but my guess is that this person is not a writer. Fort those of you who aren’t familiar with Shelf Awareness (and you should be), they publish two newsletters about books. Shelf Awareness for Readers is for general readers and helps subscribers 25 top-notch books each week […]
January 1, 2019
Reading into the New Year
For Christmas, my husband got a gift card from HalfPrice Books. This local store features a wide variety of used books and we all love going there to look for something you won’t find at Barnes and Noble. This time around I found a copy of Lion of the Valley by James Neal Primm. Primm was […]
