Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 215
August 16, 2017
Tension: Make It Count
When we start a new piece of fiction, one of the things that we need to figure out is how to add tension. One of the best ways to do this is to give your character a goal but have something stand in her way. This something can be external. Perhaps two young characters want […]
August 15, 2017
The Appeal of Series Fiction
In contemplating a fix for a recent manuscript, I came across James Scott Bell’s post on what makes a great series character. As so often happens, this to me thinking . . . this time about the differences between a long-running series and stand alone fiction. Especially when you write for children, a big part […]
August 14, 2017
Anthropomorphic Animals: Creating Picture Book Characters that Work
Using anthropomorphic characters in picture books can be tough. Sometimes the problem is that we try to write to “type.” The giraffe that is too tall and wants to be tiny. The prickly porcupine. The smelly skunk. The shy turtle. Or we work too hard to go in the opposite direction. The shy tiger. The […]
August 13, 2017
Professional Gaming Careers
Friday, I posted on Facebook about seeing a Tweet from one of my publishers. The series is E-Sports: Game On! That book on the left? Professional Gaming Careers? That one is mine. Woo-hoo. It’s a great feeling to see your book out and about in the world. Then guess what came in the mail later […]
August 10, 2017
Set Your Story
Recently, Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency posted a summary of her ongoing series “9 Story Openings to Avoid.” I started to skim the list but was stopped on item #2. “White Room Syndrome.” What is that? What Room Syndrome is what Nelson calls it when a writer forgets to set the story. They […]
August 9, 2017
Top 100 YA Titles according to a SLJ poll
In November of 2015, School Library Journal (SLJ) sent out a poll asking professionals in the field what books would make it onto their Top 100 Must-Have YA books. The poll was answered by 274 people responses. 29% said that they work in a public library. 43 percent identified as school librarians. SLJ noted that the list contained […]
August 8, 2017
Picture Book Writing: How Many Picture Books Have You Read
How many picture books have you read? One piece of advice that I’ve heard time and time again is that if you are going to write picture books, you shouldn’t finalize even one manuscript until you have read 100 published picture books. And these have to be recent picture books. Recent? That’s books that […]
August 7, 2017
What to Work on Next…
Most days what I work on is a fairly easy decision. Deadlines must be met. And I have plenty of things to get done this week. There’s that pesky requested rewrite with a deadline for tomorrow and the publisher has a new manuscript for me as well. I’m critiqing a manuscript for someone and really […]
August 6, 2017
Your Work Space
Where do you work? I’m a full time writer so I have a dedicated work space. I have writer friends who have laptops and just flit around wherever. They work in coffee shops. They work in the park or a public garden. They work in the library. They get together and work. Really? I don’t […]
August 3, 2017
SCBWI 2017 Reading List
Are you a PAL (Published and Listed) Member of SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators)? If the answer is yes, SCBWI has a promotional opportunity for you might want to take advantage of. The Society isputting together a 2017 SCBWI Reading List to promote our PAL authors and illustrators. As with previous […]
