Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 48

My Fascination with Writing as a Young Reader: Guest Post by D.W. Brooks

Take a moment to join me in welcoming D.W. Brooks. I am taking part in her blog tour for her book, Homecoming Chaos. As part of this tour, she is stopping here today with her post about developing a writing fascination as a young reader. You can see the schedule at the end of the … Continue reading My Fascination with Writing as a Young Reader: Guest Post by D.W. Brooks →

Proceed with Caution when Doing Photo Research

Not long ago, I was looking for a drinkware set for my son. I wasn’t sure what he wanted, so I was sending him links. ”I even found one with a raccoon,” I told him. That’s the set I found to the left. “That’s probably not a raccoon,” he replied. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that … Continue reading Proceed with Caution when Doing Photo Research →

Fun Book Oriented Poster: Using All Your Talents

Media File(opens in a new tab) Isn’t this the most amazing poster? Click on it to go to Laura Trinder’s site and see it in more detail. This, my friends, is an excellent example of using your specific talents to promote yourself and your work. Trinder is an artist, a writer, and a bookseller. This is just the perfect … Continue reading Fun Book Oriented Poster: Using All Your Talents →

Let Your Life Inspire Your Writing

Whether you write for teens or preschoolers, even as an adult, your life can inspire your writing. Last night, I was the only person home when the cat’s waterer quit working. It is one of those fountains with an electric motor. I would have let him make due with a bowl of water for a … Continue reading Let Your Life Inspire Your Writing →

Picture Book Characterization

One of the trickiest things about writing a picture book is that you have to squeeze in everything that would go into a novel. That includes plot, attempts, failures, setting, and characterization. But you have much less space. That means that you can’t spend paragraphs getting something across to your reader. You have to do … Continue reading Picture Book Characterization →

Fight Book Bans Act

Have you heard about the Book Ban Act that is currently before Congress? The Act isn’t designed to eliminate book challenges. Instead, it will support libraries and librarians in helping meet the expenses they incur when a challenge takes place. It was introduced on December 5 by Florida’s Maxwell Alejandro Frost and Frederica Wilson, and … Continue reading Fight Book Bans Act →

The Nonfiction Proposal: What to Include

If you are new to proposal writing, the thought of creating one can be intimidating. But really, they are kind of wonderful. A proposal makes it possible to get a contract without having to write the entire book. Think about that for a moment. You can get a contract without writing the whole book. You’re … Continue reading The Nonfiction Proposal: What to Include →

Layers: How to Create Books for Young Readers and Adults

I’ll admit it. I haven’t read Max Storm’s Minecraft books. I met him as the author of World War Z but I just watched his Library Con keynote and then requested The Island, the first Minecraft book. You’re probably wondering how someone can write adult horror, zombie books, and Minecraft. But Storm had an answer … Continue reading Layers: How to Create Books for Young Readers and Adults →

Questions of Genre

Last week I read a piece in Today in Books about abolishing literary genre. “Should We Abolish Literary Genres” linked to an article in The Guardian. Apparently the idea is that if Literary Fiction contains elements of mystery, romance, the supernatural or magic, it proves that the genre terms we use are not sufficiently accurate. … Continue reading Questions of Genre →

National Cookie Day and Writing in December

What does National Cookie Day have to do with writing in December? Well-planned our not, December is a hectic month. Personally, I have a book due, a class beginning, a proposal to get out (to numerous agents), a college graduation, a move, a trip, and . . . hmm. What am I forgetting? Oh, right. … Continue reading National Cookie Day and Writing in December →