Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 182
October 25, 2018
5 Minutes a Day: Explore the Library of Congress
If you aren’t familiar with the Library of Congress, spend some time whenever you have a few minutes and poke around. There are so many resources available including a wide variety of research materials. Two of the newest offerings are: The Theodore Roosevelt Papers. approximately 276,000 documents, this is the largest collection of Roosevelt documents […]
October 23, 2018
Suspense: Why You Want It and How to Create It
In a story, when we talk about suspense we are talking about the ability to keep your reader on the edge of their seat. They firmly believe that something is going to happen. It may very well happen soon. And the reader feels tense. Sometimes suspense comes with knowing something big is at stake. The […]
Fractured Fairy Tails: Go Big
I love it when I come across a new book that represents an original take on an old story. Some, in my opinion, are harder to redo than others. For me, one of the toughest is the Little Red Hen. In part, this is because I so loathe how some versions of the original end. […]
October 22, 2018
Genre: Can You Mix and Match?
Back when I started writing, we authors were told that we had to know where our book fit. Pick a genre and stick with it. It was the only way to know who your audience was as well as how and where to market the book. You still get that advice but, of course, I […]
October 21, 2018
Copyright: Should You or Shouldn’t You?
Every now and again someone asks me if they should copyright a story before sending it to an agent or a publisher. Some even suggest taking the time to get a piece copyrighted before taking it to critique group. “You mean that you don’t trust me not to steal your work?” “It could happen.” “And […]
October 18, 2018
Recharge and Renew: Pajama Day
Last week, I rewrote a 15,000 word piece of teen nonfiction. This week, I turned in a chapter and outline for my next project. If you only count books under contract, this will be number 7 for the year. If you count un-contracted projects, add two more to the tally. And I wrote 2000 words […]
October 17, 2018
Series Writing: Recurring Conventions
Even if you don’t recognize the term, recurring conventions, you’ve spotted these elements in your favorite series. Elizabeth Craig calls them tropes. Camille LaGuire uses the term rituals. These are the situations, settings and other elements that recur from book to book. In Harry Potter, we have Harry’s scar and the fact that the Weasley’s are […]
October 16, 2018
Facts: Accuracy Is a Must
Facts. It doesn’t matter if you are writing fiction or nonfiction. You have got to get them right. If you don’t, you’ll alienate your reader. That’s why I dug in my heels this week when my editor wanted me to make a change on my manuscript. The content consultant wanted me to discuss the things […]
October 15, 2018
Fact vs Fiction: Stories Based on Real Life
This past week, a fight broke out at the local high school. Apparently it was “a big one” by whatever standards are used to quantify these things. The students who started it were not from our school and somehow accessed the building in spite of locked doors, students required to wear IDs and security guards. […]
October 14, 2018
National Book Awards: Finalists Announced
Last week the National Book Foundation announced the finalists for the National Book Awards, winners to be announced on November 14. In the category of “Yound People’s Literature,” the nominees are: Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X (Harper Teen). “Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has […]
