Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 28

What Is Your Daily Word Count?

Have you ever wondered how many words your fellow authors write each day? The answer — it depends! First of all, it depends who you are talking about. Poet Amanda Gorman writes about 300 words a day. She also says that she writes at least 15 minutes a day. That seems like a pretty good … Continue reading What Is Your Daily Word Count? →

The Hardest Thing for New Writers

Yesterday I gave a talk to a group of law librarians in Texas. To clarify – they were in Texas. I was here. It was via Zoom. One of the questions that they asked me was “what is the hardest thing for new writers?” In my opinion it is wading through all of the information … Continue reading The Hardest Thing for New Writers →

Pixie Dust or Practice?

On Tuesday I read about a writer whose work was rejected because the agent that they submitted to didn’t represent writing for children. The problem? Not only had this writer NOT done their research, a search would have revealed that the agent only represents writing for adults, but this writer PAID someone for a list … Continue reading Pixie Dust or Practice? →

October Is National Book Month

How did I not know that October is National Book Month? Fortunately I celebrated by buying myself a book at Front Street Books in Alpine, Texas. Maybe I can squeeze in another bookstore visit in the next 10 days. That said, I’ll probably stop by a bookstore here in the St. Louis area. There are … Continue reading October Is National Book Month →

Writing Animal Characters

I can’t believe that I’m trying to write a story with a feline main character. In general, I’m not a huge fan of “talking animal” books. But I did read Erin Hunter’s The Warriors series to my son. And also Brian Jacques. There are a lot of things to consider when writing an animal character. … Continue reading Writing Animal Characters →

The Joys of Working from Home

Please note: The cat was not the problem yesterday. He is not a lap cat or a keyboard cat. He is a “you may brush me 12.3 times, now STOP” cat. Some days just aren’t super productive and I don’t think it matters if you work from home or work in the office. How would … Continue reading The Joys of Working from Home →

Reduce Your Stress: Avoid FOMO

Lately my stress levels have been through the roof. I realized that I’ve been clenching my teeth again. Part of the problem is my absolutely ridiculous to-do list. What does that have to do with FOMO? When I was a new writer, I printed out information on so many markets. I could write greeting cards. … Continue reading Reduce Your Stress: Avoid FOMO →

3 Reasons You Need Recent Sources

Writing is often all about research.  Yeah, I’m a little biased because I write so  much nonfiction but even in fiction you should find yourself doing research. One of the things that I emphasize with my students is finding recent source materials. No matter what you are writing about, you need to find sources that … Continue reading 3 Reasons You Need Recent Sources →

Give Yourself Time Away

Sunday I was pushing myself to finish the first chapter and outline of my next project. They were due Monday. But I just could not get it right. There were so many problems! Me: This is terrible! I’ll never make my deadline! Him: This again? Me: What are you talking about? Him: Go to bed … Continue reading Give Yourself Time Away →

Guiding Your Reader, Step by Step

This post originally appeared on February 5. I am facing two deadlines this week, thus the reprint. I have to admit that before I agreed to take on this particular project, I took a good hard look at the guidelines. What did the editors want me to include? There is so much guilt and self-hatred when it … Continue reading Guiding Your Reader, Step by Step →