Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 42

Rewriting and Revising

I laughed really hard at this. I would love to say that I never find this type of mistake in my own writing. I’m not likely to write “to funny,” but I am very likely to type “right” instead of “write.” And that is super embarrassing. I have a manuscript to turn in today so … Continue reading Rewriting and Revising →

An Attempt Is an Attempt Is Experience

Earlier this week, I read Melanie Conklin’s newsletter, Mel’s Notebook. Specifically, I read the post “A Step Backward Is Still a Step Forward.” It was about the fact that no creative journey is linear and that a setback may be necessary to make progress. This is something that a lot of my writing friends seem … Continue reading An Attempt Is an Attempt Is Experience →

Review of Art Matters by Neil Gaiman

When I checked out ART MATTERS by Neil Gaiman, I expected something how-to oriented and inspirational. It is the latter, but it is really so much more. This is unfiltered Gaiman and although I don’t agree with him 100%, I love that he is okay with that. No, really. He comes out and says it. … Continue reading Review of Art Matters by Neil Gaiman →

How Many Sources? How Much Research Is Enough?

My students always want to know how many sources you need to use when you write nonfiction. I’ve just finished my first draft of my current project and, so far, I’ve used 108 sources. My guess is that there will be about 30 more when I’m done. The real answer is that you research until … Continue reading How Many Sources? How Much Research Is Enough? →

Review of Mercy and Grace by Anoop Judge

I’m going to admit that I didn’t know what to expect from Anoop Judge’s novel, Mercy and Grace. I’ve read a number of novels set in India, many of them historic fiction, so a contemporary novel that largely takes place in the US was new for me. But it wasn’t the story that first grabbed … Continue reading Review of Mercy and Grace by Anoop Judge →

Take 7 – 8 Years Before Writing Your Story

Not long ago, I was reading Alison Acheson’s Unschool for Writers. Specifically, I was reading the post about memoir writing and how long in the past an event needs to be before you tackle it. Acheson quoted Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir. “If the events you are writing about are less than seven or … Continue reading Take 7 – 8 Years Before Writing Your Story →

Self-Care for the Busy Writer

As we head into March, I have signed contracts for 5 books. Because I’m working for a book packager and a publisher, two different entities, the individual projects sometimes overlap. I’m going to be moving from deadline to deadline for the next three months or so. This means that I’m going to be spending an … Continue reading Self-Care for the Busy Writer →

How Much Do I Need?

One of my writing friends has been working hard to market her memoir. One person read part of it and told her that she shouldn’t include dialogue. Dialogue made it feel like fiction. This might be the case with some people but I’ve read my friend’s writing and her dialogue always provides something essential. Take … Continue reading How Much Do I Need? →

The Guest List: Working with a Nonlinear Timeline

Today my book club is getting together to discuss THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley. I’ve already printed out the discussion questions because I listened to an audio copy of the book. The vast majority of audio books do not include the discussion questions. I’m glad that I’ve already heard from several people that they … Continue reading The Guest List: Working with a Nonlinear Timeline →

Writing Contest

One of the things that I really love doing is encouraging young people to write.  Thank you to the St. Louis County Library system for setting up this awesome contest. Do you know a young writer? If so, the St. Louis County Library is having a writing competition for library patrons who are in from … Continue reading Writing Contest →