Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 233

Comic Books in the Classroom

I’m a very visual person.  Because of this, I’ve always been a little surprised that I don’t like comic books and graphic novels more than I do.  My son believes its because I haven’t found the right graphic novels. “You like some of them a lot.”  And he’s right.  It either clicks with me or […]

The Anna Dewdney Read Together Award

When I heard in September that Anna Dewdney, author of Llama Llama,  had died of cancer, it really rocked me back.  Not only were we the same age, but my mother-in-law had given my son one of Dewdney’s books along with a recording.  Although she lived in another city, she wanted her grandson to hear her […]

Best Books: Who Votes for What?

Whenever someone announces book awards or puts out a best books list, I click.  Why?  Because I’m always interested by the differences in what people choose.  ALA awards go to literary books with broad appeal.  The National Book Awards go to books with headline appeal.  I’m still getting a feel for the books chosen by […]

Rewriting: Working from my Editor’s comments

About two weeks ago, I got a rewrite request from an editor.  She had some comments and would be willing to take another look at my manuscript.  I sent out a note saying I would make the changes and then put it off. In part, that was intentional.  I’m the kind of person who needs […]

Where Should You Focus: Marketing or Craft?

Where should you be focusing your energies and time as a writer?  Should you be working on craft or marketing? I’m going to tell you right now, my answer is not the popular one.  My favorite retreats and conference sessions have always been those led by my fellow writers and illustrators. I want to hear […]

Rough Draft: Word Count and Reading Level

I have a new contract with Red Line.  This one isn’t for  Abdo but Norwood Press.  The reading level is lower and the book is much shorter than the ones that I write for Abdo.  The elements present in each chapter are also somewhat different.  This means that I’m going to have to make adjustments […]

Voice: Capturing the Specifics

I’m 1/2 way through my scene outline for Iron Mountain and I have to admit that I’m getting jazzed.  I really want to get started writing this book!  But I’m going to have to do some work to recapture the voice. I started another draft of this novel something over a year ago.  I had […]

Twitter: A Game of Roulette

Social media and marketing are two book related things that closely resemble roulette.  You know that there’s a small chance that you may win. You have to believe this or you wouldn’t bother to play.  You place your bet, making the pick you think will be a winner, and then you spin.  Where that bouncing […]

Finally Fall: Writing in the Gray

Here in Missouri we had an unseasonably warm October.  Fall weather would bob into view and then bob away again.  It didn’t settle in until about a week before Thanksgiving.  But now the days are more gray than sunny and we’re getting those fall rains.  Personally, I love the sound of rain on the patio […]

Advice I Rarely Follow, or Write What You Know

Last week, I got a message from a RedLine editorial assistant.  Would I be interested in working on a series about E-sports? I happened to be on the treadmill when the message came through but I hopped off and ran upstairs.  “E-sports?” I asked my son who was playing CS:GO. (As was explained to me, […]