Today I discovered an amazing children’s author: Avi. Avi has written over seventy books for young readers to young adults and is still writing. My first foray into his work was a fun historical fiction novel called Murder at Midnight about a magician’s assistant and the magic of the printing press. This evening, I planContinue reading “Avi: Read Good Writing”
Tag Archives: life
A Change of Scenery: Hiking for Writers
This winter has been wonderfully warm and spring-like in my neck of the woods, so I’ve been going on some fun walks. Thanks to a post by harrybipedhiking, a local blogger, I recently discovered Ravensdale Retreat. This place is an amazing contradiction–A beautiful forest with a little stream that runs through it, packed between aContinue reading “A Change of Scenery: Hiking for Writers”
Sources For Guided Revision
Since my first read-through of my novel–in which I could barely read it for all the horrible typos and grammar issues and ended up hating my manuscript–I have been actively avoiding my novel. However, having given myself a strict deadline which is rapidly approaching, it’s time to get to work. As I am stillContinue reading “Sources For Guided Revision”
Reading as a Writer: Today I learned something I do NOT want to know!
Recently, while reading a manuscript, I came across some dialogue that looked to be punctuated incorrectly, so I made a note about it that I intended to give to the author. This morning, I got online to find reputable sources that would back my claim. To my surprise, honestly horror, I found seven different sourcesContinue reading “Reading as a Writer: Today I learned something I do NOT want to know!”
How To Make Each Query Letter Personal
You’ve written a hook to draw in the reader. You’ve summarized your story in a paragraph or two. You’ve ended the letter with a bio that makes it clear you are the only person to write your book. You received great feedback from online forums. Your critique group loves it. So it’s time to sendContinue reading “How To Make Each Query Letter Personal”
Marketing: Societies, Associations, Meetups and Clubs
I apologize for neglecting you last week, dear readers. I received the fully copy-edited version of my chapter book and dove into choosing agents to query and revising my query letter. As I believe I’ve mentioned before, querying is a nerve-wracking full time job. Today, I posted my second revision, after many helpful critiques, onContinue reading “Marketing: Societies, Associations, Meetups and Clubs”
Exploring: Writing on the Go!
Happy 2015 to everyone! This feels like an exciting year. I like the sci-fi-ness of 2015. This morning I woke up and did a nice morning stretch and a little strength training. While in the shower, I pondered how to be more active in my daily life without taking away from my writing time andContinue reading “Exploring: Writing on the Go!”
My first interview as a children’s book author!
I planned on re-posting the fun interview Andy Mulberry did with me, but that’s not working, so I’ll link to it instead. Here are the first few lines from Andy’s post: Welcome Maria L. Berg, Children’s Book Author | Guest Post It’s Sunday! Which means, it’s time for a fun Q&A with a children’s bookContinue reading “My first interview as a children’s book author!”
Exploring: “If You Want to Be Great, Think of Ways to Do Things Differently than Everybody Else”–Gene Ho
I found a great video that inspired me today. I love finding things I’ve never seen, or even imagined before. Something so simple as trusting yourself enough to not look through the lens while taking a picture was exciting enough, but then when he grabbed a camera in each hand to show how you canContinue reading “Exploring: “If You Want to Be Great, Think of Ways to Do Things Differently than Everybody Else”–Gene Ho”
Revision: The Plan and then What Really Happened
Today’s revision was inspired by two things. One, last weekend at writers meet-up we were each challenged to come up with a goal to accomplish during the two weeks before our next meet-up. I announced to the group that I would have a re-write of my first chapter done. This felt like a reasonable goalContinue reading “Revision: The Plan and then What Really Happened”
Experience Writing 