Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 250

Reader Expectations

Hand me a book and tell me that it is a mystery set in a major art museum and I’m going to expect two things.  A mystery.  I may not know on page one if this is going to be about a theft, a murder, or a forgery but you told me it was a […]

The Downside of Audio Books

Writers should listen to audiobooks.  It’s one of those things that I firmly believe will help you learn about pacing and the poetry of language.  If you want more detail on this, take a look at my post on The Muffin. As necessary as audio books are, I have to admit that sometimes, just sometimes, […]

Writing Fiction and Nonfiction

Way back when, I remember talking to an author who wrote both fiction and nonfiction.  I think it may have been Gary Blackwood but don’t hold me to that.  He told me that when he researched and wrote about a nonfiction topic he worked on a fiction story or book that dealt with the same […]

Describing Your Characters

Details make your writing come alive.  We’ll all heard that bit of advice and the really are words of wisdom.  The problem comes when you don’t know what types of details to include although truthfully I notice the problem more often in adult fiction than children’s fiction. Part of the problem is that we, as […]

Agents Looking for Manuscripts

Finding the agent who is the right match for your manuscript can be tough.  But I live in hope and I’ve always got my eyes open for agents’ wish lists.  Admittedly I keep a pretty close eye on news from my dream agencies so it isn’t a huge surprise that I spotted a list from […]

Place Names in Your Fiction

I’ve discovered another hurdle in writing fiction that is more than picture book length.  I’m having to come up with place names, place names and more place names.  To make it even more fun, this particular story is science fiction.  Not only am I naming towns and cities, I am naming planets. The particular colony […]

How Original Are Your Ideas?

Recently I saw an interesting TED talk with organizaitonal psychologist Adam Grant.  In the video, he discussed the work habits of original thinkers.  Some of what he had to say really surprised me. Original thinkers are not the first ones done with a project.  Grant admitted that he is one of those people who starts […]

Friday Fun: A Stretch for Writers and Illustrators

Technically, this wasn’t billed as a stretch for writers or illustrators but my yoga teacher has made one thing clear.  A stretch that’s good for the hands is good for the hands.  Hand work is hand work.  That means that a stretch that benefits crafters very often benefits those of us who slave away at […]

Themed Word Lists

Someone on Facebook just recommended something that looks like a really helpful resource if you ever use themed word lists.  Why would you need a themed list?  Here are some possibilities. Motion words.  In a picture book text, I needed a variety of words to describe animal movement.  This text is super brief so the […]

Reading, Writing and Becoming an Accomplice

I wasn’t familiar with Virginia Woolf’s “How Should One Read a Book?” when I stumbled across the essay online.  But I’ve been reading and blogging about how we read so it caught my attention.  I didn’t get the same thing out of it as the original commentator.  That person was all about coming at your […]