Maaja Wentz https://www.maajawentz.com/author/maaja/ Worlds of Mystery & Wonder Mon, 13 Feb 2023 02:45:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.maajawentz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/cropped-maaja-at-the-mic-32x32.jpg Maaja Wentz https://www.maajawentz.com/author/maaja/ 32 32 Feeding Frenzy Launched at Bakka-Phoenix https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/feeding-frenzy-launched-at-bakka-phoenix/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/feeding-frenzy-launched-at-bakka-phoenix/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2023 02:45:11 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/?p=2206 Feeding Frenzy: Curse of the Necromancer On March 10, 2018, Feeding Frenzy launched at my favorite Science Fiction and Fantasy book store. Bakka is one of the most unique book stores in North America, family-owned and delightfully supportive of SF&F writers. I was invited, along with seven other  authors, to take part in the store’s […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/feeding-frenzy-launched-at-bakka-phoenix/feed/ 2 Chester Brown’s Favorite Book & More from World on the Street https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/word-on-the-street-interview-clips/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/word-on-the-street-interview-clips/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2023 02:19:06 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/2006/09/26/interview-clips-from-word-on-the-street/ Word on the Street is a Favorite Tradition At Word on the Street I asked readers and writers to name their favorite book. The answers I got ranged from picture books to Chaucer. My annual visit to Word on the Street is a tradition which nets me a big book haul every time. Limited to […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/word-on-the-street-interview-clips/feed/ 2 2 Easy Courses on Writing For Children Helped Me Publish https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/writing-for-children/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/writing-for-children/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2023 01:57:36 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/2006/09/27/lotus-reads-writing-for-children/ Learning to Write for Children This pic gives a late summer view from University Avenue. I wanted to take a picture before the trees lose their leaves and the flowers get frosted. North of Toronto, the colors are already out. Time always rushes through fall, as if the sky is anxious to blanket us in […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/writing-for-children/feed/ 3 Win a Watty Award With a Past Winner’s Proven Advice https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/watty-award-winner/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/watty-award-winner/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2023 20:36:21 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/?p=1549 Feeding Frenzy: Curse of the Necromancer Wins a Watty Award Have you ever read a story on Wattpad and wondered if you could win a Watty Award? This post explains how I used serial fiction techniques to write a novel, finish it, and learn while practicing in public. Winning the Watty Award was just the […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/02/12/watty-award-winner/feed/ 1 I Failed at my 2022 Goals but Won the Creative Writing Game Anyway https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/01/03/i-failed-at-my-2022-goals-but-won-the-creative-writing-game-anyway/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/01/03/i-failed-at-my-2022-goals-but-won-the-creative-writing-game-anyway/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2023 19:28:29 +0000 https://www.maajawentz.com/?p=7987 In January 2022, I set myself three clear writing goals. I failed at my 2022 goals, completely dropping the ball on my fishy kids’ spy novel. There were small wins. I submitted short stories, and some received the best kind of rejection letters, which ends in “send us more.” In my impatience, I published a […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2023/01/03/i-failed-at-my-2022-goals-but-won-the-creative-writing-game-anyway/feed/ 2 The Steak Trick: Top 5 Tips to add Sizzle to your Writing https://www.maajawentz.com/2022/12/17/the-steak-trick-for-accountability/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2022/12/17/the-steak-trick-for-accountability/#comments Sat, 17 Dec 2022 20:09:44 +0000 https://www.maajawentz.com/?p=7977 Dean Wesley Smith’s steak trick for accountability On Medium, I haven’t set specific publication goals. Instead of aiming for an article a week or daily blog posts, I’ve written when the Muse struck. The result has been heartfelt articles, written on a whim, without regularity. I need to follow the steak trick for accountability My […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2022/12/17/the-steak-trick-for-accountability/feed/ 1 How To Avoid the Worst Indie Book Cover Mistakes https://www.maajawentz.com/2022/10/20/click-horror-book-cover/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2022/10/20/click-horror-book-cover/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2022 02:57:05 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/?p=1701 Should you make your own book cover in 2022? My earliest indie short stories came out before I learned how to make a proper book cover. Since then, I’ve learned to create my own book covers for urban fantasy and children’s books. Despite this, I still recommend hiring a cover designer to any author thinking […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2022/10/20/click-horror-book-cover/feed/ 8 New Writing Opportunities https://www.maajawentz.com/2022/09/25/new-writing-opportunites/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2022/09/25/new-writing-opportunites/#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2022 02:03:27 +0000 https://www.maajawentz.com/?p=7909 From a top secret call for authors to new experiments on Medium and a website revamp, this has been a season for writing opportunities.

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2022/09/25/new-writing-opportunites/feed/ 1 T’was the Night Before Pitch Night https://www.maajawentz.com/2017/12/24/night-before-pitch-night-christmas-spoof-for-writers/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2017/12/24/night-before-pitch-night-christmas-spoof-for-writers/#respond Sun, 24 Dec 2017 14:31:53 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/?p=2155   The Night Before Pitch Night…  A Christmas Spoof for Writers By Maaja Wentz (after Clement C. Moore)   ‘Twas the night before pitch night, like inside a dream, The writers were trying their best not to scream; They drafted their log lines concisely with flair, In the hopes that big contracts soon would be theirs. […]

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]]> https://www.maajawentz.com/2017/12/24/night-before-pitch-night-christmas-spoof-for-writers/feed/ 0 Coming Second (after W.B. Yeats) https://www.maajawentz.com/2017/10/28/coming-second-after-w-b-yeats/ https://www.maajawentz.com/2017/10/28/coming-second-after-w-b-yeats/#respond Sat, 28 Oct 2017 14:32:09 +0000 http://www.maajawentz.com/?p=2120 Turning and turning in a plastic gyre The Garbage Patch grows silently. Things fall apart, degrading into plastic pills and Floating Barbie heads are loosed upon the world. The plastic-dimmed tide concentrates in filter feeders. The innocence of tossing bone over shoulder Should have died with the Neanderthals. The best want more stuff, while the worst Slave […]

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