Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 195
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 […]
May 24, 2018
RIP Richard Peck
This is not the post I planned to run the Friday before Memorial Day. I was going to run something short and upbeat. But Thursday morning I learned that Richard Peck had died Wednesday. Sadly, I can’t let that pass without comment. Unlike some of my fellow writers, I didn’t know Peck’s work when I […]
May 23, 2018
Setting as Character
Make your setting vital to your story. We’ve all heard that bit of advice but I’m never sure if I’ve pulled it off or not. At least I wasn’t sure until this weekend when one of my critique partners pointed out that I had succeeded in making the cave a character. Now picture me doing […]
May 22, 2018
How to Avoid Rejection
Why am I posting about how to avoid rejection vs how to get an acceptance? After spending the weekend with Karen Boss (Charlesbridge) I am more convinced than ever before that it is really tough for some editors to tell you specifically what they want. Although I know Boss really likes nonfiction, I can’t point […]
May 21, 2018
Critique: Take the Time to Do It Right
Strange. This was supposed to post last Thursday. Because I was on the road, I didn’t realize it never “went live.” My apologies. Let’s see if it posts this time around! –SueBE This weekend, I’m going to be at a writing retreat. I’m not sure how other retreats are organized by this one features time […]
