Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 75

Story Starts . . . And Story Stops

I have to admit that I cringed when a fellow writer told me about cleaning out all of his writing files. Novels drafts. Stories that never got beyond the mid-point. Chapters that never when anywhere. He had sorted through all his files and the pieces that didn’t become his six or seven finished novels? Into … Continue reading Story Starts . . . And Story Stops →

Call Yourself a Writer

When someone asks what you do, how do you identify yourself? This is one of those conversations that I often have with new writers. Some of them are just drafting their first manuscript. Some have drafted multiple manuscripts but have yet to sell anything. So I remind them – call yourself a writer. This is … Continue reading Call Yourself a Writer →

Source Bias

One of the topics I discuss with my students is source bias. I’m almost always doing research and some topics turn up a lot more bias than others. One heavily biased news story was about Omaha activist Nathan Phillips and a group of students from Covington Catholic High School. One narrative has a group of … Continue reading Source Bias →

Review of A Wingman for Christmas

This is the perfect book to curl up with a cup of coffee (or your favorite beverage) and take a break from your holiday preparations. It is also a good boost for anyone who isn’t quite in the holiday mood. After all, Cheryl isn’t even close to the holiday spirit. Although she and her siblings … Continue reading Review of A Wingman for Christmas →

3 Types of Story Stakes

This post first appeared on November 4, 2020. My apologies for rerunning it. The good news? I don’t have COVID. The bad news? Still sick and taking the day off. Back to our blog post for the day: As I work on developing my middle grade science fiction idea, I’ve been watching some of the … Continue reading 3 Types of Story Stakes →

Could Your Book Be a Book Club Pick?

Recently I read a post about having your book chosen for a book club. Written by agent Kristin Nelson for the agency blog, the post discussed the dreams of authors hoping to land a spot on a Big Name club like Reese Witherspoon’s or the Good Morning America book club. When clubs like these choose … Continue reading Could Your Book Be a Book Club Pick? →

Pause to Recharge

Recently a fellow writer tweeted that she just didn’t feel like getting more queries together or polishing her work-in-progress. What she felt like doing was taking a break. What would the rest of us advise her? My advice to her? Pause to recharge. Take the time you need to be ready to write. This doesn’t … Continue reading Pause to Recharge →

Necessary Layers: What’s Inside a Flower by Rachel Ignotofsky

I’m not going to lie to you. The first thing that I noticed about Rachel Ignotofsky’s What’s Inside a Flower were the illustrations. There is just something about the illustrations that remind me of folk art featuring flowers. As I read , I realized that there was more to the book than that. The text … Continue reading Necessary Layers: What’s Inside a Flower by Rachel Ignotofsky →

Happy Thanksgiving

For those of you who celebrate, I’d like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Take this time to recharge your creative battery. I have a lot to be thankful for in my writing life.  I have a manuscript due 12/23 and two rewrite requests coming “momentarily.”  I’m just hoping that each editor means something slightly … Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving →

A Writer’s Gratitude

There are so many things that I’m thankful for as a working writer. This isn’t a ranked list but I now consistently put #1 at the top. 1. My health Just over a year ago, I developed a tendon problem in one wrist. I actually didn’t know or crochet for about 9 months. I was … Continue reading A Writer’s Gratitude →