Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 216
August 2, 2017
StoryWalks®
Have any of you ever been fortunate enough to encounter a StoryWalk®? I only learned that they existed earlier this week when someone asked about them on a community forum. StoryWalk® is an innovative way for readers of all ages to enjoy reading in the outdoors. Laminated picture book pages are attached to wooden stakes […]
August 1, 2017
Disconnecting
Starting today, I am re-instituting an old policy. I am going offline to work. Because so much of my writing involves research, I generally have a search engine open. This means that Facebook is also open. My computer lets me know when someone contact me via Facebook. It let’s me know when I have an […]
July 31, 2017
Naming Your Characters
Several months ago, I started working on a picture book set in the Himalayas. I’m currently on my third major rewrite and my main character has already had two names. I think the one she has now will stick. I just checked the post-it notes where I wrote my first draft. Yep, post it notes. […]
July 30, 2017
Compelling Nonfiction: 4 Rules for Writing Important Stories
I’ll be the first to admit it. Sometimes, by the time I’ve finished writing one of my more difficult books, I have troubles remember why. Why in the heck did I think it was a good idea to write about Black Lives Matter? I definitely had the same doubts by the time I finished What Are […]
July 27, 2017
Distance: The Key to a Successful Rewrite
Put it away for a month. Whether you are writing novels, picture books, or poems, you’ve probably been given this advice. Put your work away. Gain some distance. Then it will be much easier to see what needs to be fixed. And it’s good advice when you have the time and space to take it. […]
July 26, 2017
New Imprints
New imprints mean new publishing opportunities so I was thrilled to see these two new imprints written up in Publisher’s Weekly. JY is a new graphic novel imprint that will focus on middle grade readers. The imprint is named after JuYoun Lee, the deputy publisher of Yen Press,. JY will launch this fall and will […]
July 25, 2017
Illustration Contest
Are you a children’s illustrator? If so, here is a fun contest you can enter as long as you are a member of SCBWI. The KS/MO (Kansas and Missouri) Region of the Society is hosting a content. The winners illustration will grace the KS/Mo Fall Conference 2017 programs and will be displayed on the Kansas/Missouri SCBWI web site. It […]
July 24, 2017
Dark, No Light: First Hand Experience vs Research
Sometimes first hand experience trumps all other types of research. I just finished listening to the audiobook for Killers of the Flower Moon, a prohibition era true-crime story. It tells of the creation of the FBI and attempts to figure out why so many wealthy Osage are dying. It also describes the full-on darkness of […]
July 23, 2017
Don’t Dumb It Down
I spent a lot of time pool side this weekend and ended up talking to fellow swim team parents that I don’t see very often. I compared work stories with one of the dads who asked what I had been writing. He nodded sagely as I explained the Dakota Access Pipeline book and the media […]
July 20, 2017
Book Sales Up
In good news for we writer types, Publisher’s Weekly recently reported that print sales are up in the first half of 2017. Sales for January through June are up 3% over the same time period last year in spite of the fact that there was no new blockbuster best seller for that time period. So what’s […]
