Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 192
June 7, 2018
Picture Book Writing and the Unreliable Narrator
I just finished reading Whobert Whover by Jason Gallaher, illustrated by Jess Pauwels. I picked it up because an agent I’m scouting recommended it as a great picture book mystery. Picture book mystery? You bet. And it is totally age appropriate. Whobert Whover is a detective but he’s not the best at his job. In fact, he […]
June 6, 2018
Research: How to make it manageable when you are finding too much info
Recently one of my students asked me a question. She is working on a biography and busy collecting as much information as she can find about her chosen topic. Her problem isn’t too little information but too much. Did I have any tips so that she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed? A big part of this is […]
June 5, 2018
#PitMad: Getting Your Work in Front of Agents and Editors
If you’ve never heard of #PitMad, gather round and get ready to take advantage of this exciting opportunity. #PitMad is a Twitter pitch party. Writers get to tweet a 280-character pitch for manuscripts. Agents and editors make requests by liking the tweeted pitch. Any unagented writer is welcome to join in because all writing categories are welcome. #PitMad […]
June 4, 2018
Too Much to Do: Organizing post-critique
A big part of the KS-MO Advanced Writing Retreat was critique. This means that I got feedback on “People Pray” from the four other members of my critique group. They also critiqued “Drip by Drip, Cave Below” as did Karen Boss (Charlesbridge). Actually Boss critique two versions of the cave manuscript. Sometimes when you get […]
June 3, 2018
Crystal Kite Awards Named
On Friday I saw the SCBWI announcement of the winners of the 2018 Crystal Kite Awards. These awards are given to 15 books voted the best by our writing and illustrating peers. Why 15? The membership of the SCBWI is divided into 15 voting districts for the purpose of these awards. Without further ado, the […]
May 31, 2018
5 Minutes a Day: Industry News and Cleaning Out Your Inbox
Keeping up on what is going on can seem really tricky. Between blogs, newsletters and tweets, which should you turn to? Two of my favorites are: PW Children’s Bookshelf which comes out twice a week. I always read through rights reports and look for book reviews. Shelf Awareness which has two newsletters – one for readers […]
May 30, 2018
Twitter: Using Lists to Organize
Now if you’ve known about Twitter lists for a long, long time . . . shhhh. I don’t want to hear about it. I only joined Twitter reluctantly because the idea of even more social media weighs me down. But Karen Boss of Charlesbridge fame advised everyone at the retreat to get on Twitter. Blog […]
May 29, 2018
Setting: Keeping Track of What’s What
Whether you are writing fiction of nonfiction, keeping track of who is where and how one location related to another can be tough. In scene one, your character goes upstairs and down the hall to fetch the jacket she left in her bedroom. In scene 10, her bedroom is the first room off the stairs. […]
May 28, 2018
Gut Instinct: Paying Attention to Your Writing Hunches
One of the stories that Karen Boss of Charlesbridge told at the KS-MO SCBWI Advanced Writers Retreat was about sending out a rejection letter. She e-mailed the writer, briefly explaining why the manuscript didn’t quite work. She got a response. “Thank you for your feedback on my manuscript. That’s what I thought was the problem, […]
May 27, 2018
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is one of those odd holidays. People celebrate with BBQs and picnics. But the other name for this holiday is Decoration Day. It is really about remembering those in our military who have given their lives in defense of their country. Not that I’m complaining about the BBQs. We Americans have a tendency […]
