Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 36

When You Aren’t Sure Where Your Manuscript Is Going

Look at my published books and something becomes clear. Nonfiction is my thing. It is where I feel comfortable and, even if a wrench gets thrown into something, I can pivot. Re-outline a nonfiction project? No problem. I’ve had to do it before and I’ll have to do it again. Replace a chapter? I can … Continue reading When You Aren’t Sure Where Your Manuscript Is Going →

What’s Your Favorite Historical Setting?

On Wednesday I posted a simple question on X and Facebook. “Let’s talk historical fiction. What’s your favorite time and place? What won’t you read?” One friend said that she’ll read anything involving the British monarchy. My mother-in-law said that as much as she loves historic fiction, her most recent reads would indicate that World … Continue reading What’s Your Favorite Historical Setting? →

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! I’m taking time off today to . . . let’s be honest. We’re cleaning the house because 7 of our son’s friends are coming over! Yes, I told him he could ask people over but I never expected 7 of them to say yes. Two are college students whose families live … Continue reading Happy 4th of July →

Historical Fiction: Where and When to Set Your Story

Yesterday I was doing part of the reading for the class I’m taking and Simon Rose said something that really rocked me back. His advice is to only set a story in a time and place that your reader already knows. My gut reaction was to disagree. After all, The Magic Tree House books are … Continue reading Historical Fiction: Where and When to Set Your Story →

Story Boarding a New Picture Book

I spent some time this afternoon outlining a new picture book. I did it using a story board. Cartoonists use them as do illustrators. How do you use it if you aren’t an illustrator?  Some writers make quick sketches.  I jot down a few words or a sentence on a Post-it note. Because you see … Continue reading Story Boarding a New Picture Book →

A Life Inspired Picture Book

Just over a week ago, a neighbor called my husband over. A huge dog was lingering between her house and the next and she was terrified. There’s a reason we jokingly call my husband Dr. Doolittle. Within moment, the “good boy” was in our back yard. Then he was in our kitchen. Returning him to … Continue reading A Life Inspired Picture Book →

When Your Writing Surprises You

When I signed up for Melanie Faith’s class on writing historical fiction and time travel stories, I knew what I needed to get out of it. Because my cozy is set in the 1960s, I wanted to learn more about writing historical fiction. I’d suffer through the sections on time travel but that’s not a … Continue reading When Your Writing Surprises You →

A Letter From My Character

Recently I read an article about how to find out in-depth things about your character. The prompts included things like “spy on your character. What does she do when no one is looking?” I guess I see what the author was getting at but spying on people just doesn’t do it for me. Even in … Continue reading A Letter From My Character →

Pulling Readers In With Sensory Perception

Whatever you write, you need to find a way to make it accessible to your reader. One way to do this is through sensory detail. I can already tell that I’m going to love working my way through this book. Every other page has an exercise, a writing prompt, or some other way to dig … Continue reading Pulling Readers In With Sensory Perception →

What Every Publisher Wants Is a Little Different

Whenever I start working for a new publisher, I have to pick through the specifications very carefully. It doesn’t matter if what you are doing for both is a middle grade biography. Something is going to be different and it may well be something big. For my current project, they just decided that the series … Continue reading What Every Publisher Wants Is a Little Different →