Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 207
December 6, 2017
Mentorships: An Opportunity to Learn One-on-One
One of the best ways for a writer with experience and some know-how to improve their writing is to work with a mentor. Working closely with someone means that you get targeted feedback and they get to know you and your writing quirks. If you are a picture book writer or illustrator, author Tara Luebbe […]
December 5, 2017
Opportunities: Personalize Your Work Space
How many of you have taken the opportunity to personalize your work space? If you haven’t you should. Writing takes a lot of energy and time. Make your work area your own. Fortunately, I’m not the only creative person in the family. Recently my husband made something book-themed for me. It looks like a stack […]
December 4, 2017
Opportunities: A Contest
I have to admit that I liked writing numerous posts about picture books throughout November. Since I don’t know of a writing related “month” for December, I’m going to make up my own. December is going to be Opportunity Month. Why Opportunity Month? Because I think we all need a reminder very now and then […]
December 3, 2017
Free Digital Books
I found out about this great resource through Electric Speed, Jane Friedman’s e-mail newsletter. Internet Archive is an organization that is working to digitize as much public domain literature as possible. One of the projects that they support is the UCLA Children’s Book Collection. Archives of historic books are a great resource because they give […]
November 30, 2017
Strong Nonfiction: One Way to Nurture the Passions of Young Readers
Yesterday, I read a publishing blog about writing STEM steries to nurture girls to pursue their interests in STEM. While I agree it is essential to nurture girls, I’d like to think of us nurturing all young learners. Growing up in the 1970s, I was always encouraged to pursue my interests. My grandad was a […]
November 29, 2017
Good News
This week, most of my efforts have been focused on finishing up a requested rewrite. Just got that turned in yesterday. What a relief. But I’ve also had a spot of good news. Hidden Human Computers, written by myself and Duchess Harris, is going to be performed by Stages Theatre. This children’s theater is located […]
November 28, 2017
Picture Book Mash-Ups: Putting Two Things Together to Create Something New
Yesterday, I was on the treadmill scanning the publishing blogs. That’s when I spotted Little Red Ruthie: A Hanukkah Tale by Gloria Koster. Koster is an elementary school librarian. In the course of her job, she’s seen how popular folk tales are. She’s also seen the demands for fall and winter holiday books. So she combined the two. […]
November 27, 2017
Scary Picture Books
Scary picture books? Are those a thing? Not in the sense that you and I think of scary because for the picture book crowd they also have to be safe. For great examples of how this is done, check out Creepy Carrots and Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds. In Creepy Carrots, carrot loving Jasper […]
November 26, 2017
Jólabókaflóð: Christmas Book Flood
I know, I know. For some of you it is just too early to talk about Christmas. But Thanksgiving weekend is when we draw names in my husband’s family. It is also the time I start planning my Christmas book buying. That’s why I love this Icelandic tradition. The rough translation for Jólabókaflóð is Christmas Book […]
November 23, 2017
Leaving Room for the Illustrations: Picture Book Writing
One of the hardest aspects of picture book writing to grasp is leaving room for the illustrations. In part, this means that you can leave visual details up to the illustrator. What color is Becca’s dress? Not your problem. What type of shoes does she wear? Not your problem. Back pack? Not your (can you […]
