Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 46

What Makes a Story Historical Fiction?

This topic is on my mind because a friend just accepted a position at the Historical Novel Review, published by the Historical Novel Society. What is it that makes a story historical fiction? There are two things. Number One – It is historical. As defined by the Historical Novel Society, this means that it takes … Continue reading What Makes a Story Historical Fiction? →

Rewriting: Cutting Excess Words

Tomorrow I have a deadline. My chapter was a bit short so I went through creating scaffolds. What’s a scaffold? It is the support system that I reader needs to understand key pieces of information. I also have to turn in an outline for the rest of the book. That’s what I was most worried … Continue reading Rewriting: Cutting Excess Words →

4 Questions about Writing Picture Books

I haven’t talked about some of these picture book basics in a while so I thought today might be a good day to review. These are questions that I tend to get from beginning picture book authors. Question: Do I need to find an illustrator? Answer: Not to traditionally publish. If you want to self publish, you have to … Continue reading 4 Questions about Writing Picture Books →

Can AI Help Find Comp Titles?

My writing friend Ann Kathryn Kelly wrote a piece on Brevity about using Chat GPT to write the proposal for her memoir. You can find her post here. Specifically she used it to research her audience. ”People who like X will like my memoir.”  Maybe just maybe it would help me find comp titles for my cozy Countdown … Continue reading Can AI Help Find Comp Titles? →

Geocaching Is a Lot Like Writing

I’m facing down a deadline (hello, Friday!). I fully intended to spend some time outside Saturday and then come home and write. My husband had other ideas. He’s really good at knowing when I need an intervention. We left the house at 9:30 am. We got home at 3:00 pm. I was so wiped out! We went geocaching in Forest Park (St. … Continue reading Geocaching Is a Lot Like Writing →

Library Lovers’ Month!

Did you know that February is Library Lovers’ Month? Hats off to my own library branch which is part of the St. Louis County Library system. I’m lucky to be part of an amazing library system. I can check out books, audiobooks, movies, and musical instruments. I can take classes. There are print books, audiobooks, … Continue reading Library Lovers’ Month! →

Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week

The first full week in February each year is Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week. My writing friend Pat Danna has been posting favorite books all week long on Facebook. So I thought I’d take a moment to share some of my favorites.  When I was little, my absolute favorite book was Puffy. My mother always called it Puffy … Continue reading Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week →

Finding Ideas

The vast majority of my ideas come when I consume media. No, I don’t worry about copying because that isn’t what I’m doing. I may want to know more about a historical figure mentioned in someone’s book. Or I feel the need to explore a location where a documentary took place. Or I’ll pick up a book only to … Continue reading Finding Ideas →

World Read Aloud Day

Today is World Read Aloud Day. Whether you are an author, a teacher or just someone who loves books, reading matters.  World Read Aloud Day was founded in 2010 by the nonprofit organization LitWorld. There is a reason that so many preschool and toddler programs like Parent’s as Teacher emphasize reading aloud. Children who hear stories … Continue reading World Read Aloud Day →

Do You Have What It Takes to Write Nonfiction?

People often ask me what it takes to write nonfiction for young readers. They assume that … To these three things I would respond, maybe, maybe, and not if you’re going to be preachy about it.  I honestly think that the most important trait is curiosity. You need to be curious about the world. You need to be … Continue reading Do You Have What It Takes to Write Nonfiction? →