Sue Bradford Edwards's Blog, page 99

Finding Possible Publishers

One of my writing students recently came to me because she was having troubles finding potential publishers for her book. It is middle grade nonfiction. Yes, she had found suitable publishers. They were only taking agented manuscripts. Many of the publishers she found were putting out biographies but not general historical fiction. She wanted to … Continue reading Finding Possible Publishers →

3 Things to Remember about Conflict and Story Stakes

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of reading on conflict and story stakes. Many writers want to know if their stories really need conflict. But when I read more closely, I often come to the conclusion that what they are questioning is combat. Do they have to have physical confrontations? Do their characters need to … Continue reading 3 Things to Remember about Conflict and Story Stakes →

Query Letter Criticals

One of the classes that I teach at WOW! Women on Writing is Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work. My students breeze through creating a list of potential markets. Creating a pitch presents only minor problems. It is the query letter that gets them every single time. If you are preparing to query, don’t panic. … Continue reading Query Letter Criticals →

3 Boxes to Check as a Professional Writer

I’m not your Mom. Really, I’m not. I know this because if I was we would not be having this conversation. I have one kid, and he is so beyond me where computers, social media and all things electronic are concerned. And yet, I’m about to tell you that some of you out there need … Continue reading 3 Boxes to Check as a Professional Writer →

Writers Write and Sometimes We Draw

When I saw the graphic novel writing class taught by Melanie Faith on WOW! Women on Writing, I signed up. After all, I have a graphic novel script complete but for the ending. Have I worked on that? Cue: Maniacal laughter. No. Part of the class requires working on our drawings. I do NOT want … Continue reading Writers Write and Sometimes We Draw →

Surprise! Creating Story Endings that Satisfy

Picture books and early readers quite often seem so simply. They are short. There are no subplots. The number of characters are limited. Easy peasy! In all truth, in many ways this makes writing them tricky. This is because, within the bounds of the format’s limited word count, you have to do everything that a … Continue reading Surprise! Creating Story Endings that Satisfy →

3 Tips for Writing to the Correct Reading Level

The manuscript I am currently drafting is for 3rd graders. The problem is that I can write to a 7th or 8th grade level with no effort. Why? Because I’ve written to that level often. But it also means that writing for younger readers takes a lot more work. I tested chapter 2 today and … Continue reading 3 Tips for Writing to the Correct Reading Level →

How to Create Suspense

Last week, I finished listening to the audio book, The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. The suspense drove me crazy! Wingate wrote this book with two story threads. One is the story of Hannie. This thread takes place in 1875. Hannie is a former slave who is struggling to save two young women … Continue reading How to Create Suspense →

Setting Goals

Many writers that I know set annual goals. I tried it and I have to say that my results are unimpressive. A year is just too long for me to wonder. Monthly goals? Now they seem to work. This year several members of my accountability group are setting monthly goals. In addition to setting goals … Continue reading Setting Goals →

Lunar New Year

Today is the Lunar New Year and it is the year of the tiger. I’m crazy for cats of all kinds so I’ve enjoyed seeing all the recommendations that publisher’s have put together for tiger books. But why am I not seeing recommendations of books by Chinese American authors? After all, this is a cultural … Continue reading Lunar New Year →