Jennifer Chambliss Bertman's Blog

In my latest newsletter, I share an update on lots of things including my next book, my writing prompts, upcoming events, and a whole lot more. Plus I’m giving away a copy of my favorite book that I read over the summer!… Read the rest

The post September Newsletter appeared first on Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

September 19, 2025: I’m presenting a workshop on “Crafting Stellar Scenes for the Middle-Grade Audience” for the Writing & Illustrating for Young Readers Virtual Conference. The conference is a 3-day intensive and the line-up is fantastic! Learn more and sign up here.
October 18-19, 2025: I’m presenting two breakout sessions at the RMC-SCBWI Letters & Lines conference! I’ll be doing a variation of my “Crafting Stellar Scenes” talk as well as a plot workshop on weaving together internal and external narratives. Register for the conference here.
October 28, 7pm MST: Sisterhood of Sleuths is the October selection for the Writing & Illustrating for Younger Readers (WIFYR) Book Club.… Read the rest

The post Upcoming Events appeared first on Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

Did you remember when I did the Middle Grade Summer Reading Bingo game last year? I had so much fun with that, and several people said they hoped I’d do it again, and so I am! Like last year, I’ve collected a diverse mix of books from a variety of authors: some new releases and some backlist, graphic novels, a verse novel, nonfiction, funny, suspenseful, romance, historical fiction . . . Hopefully, there’s something here for every reader. I put Book Scavenger in the center “free” space to celebrate its 10-year anniversary this year. (Confetti throw, hooray!) If you’re here on my website, then I figure there’s a good chance you’ve already read it, so it likely is a free square for you.… Read the rest

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This year I have a personal goal to do more writing “play,” so I’m creating weekly prompts for myself and sharing online, in case you’d like to join me too. I hope you will! Teachers, you’re welcome to use these with your students. I’ll be posting these every week on my website, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Substack.
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I love using a picture as a prompt, especially one that suggests a setting with hints of a character, but no actual character. It feels like an invitation to my imagination to fill in the blanks. Who lives in this little cabin in the woods?… Read the rest

The post Writing Prompt #15: Who lives here? appeared first on Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

This year I have a personal goal to do more writing “play,” so I’m creating weekly prompts for myself and sharing online, in case you’d like to join me too. I hope you will! Teachers, you’re welcome to use these with your students. I’ll be posting these every week on my website, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Substack.
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I loved this essay from Ali Edwards, about the big brown couch that has been with her through multiple stages of life.
“The BBC [big brown couch] has seen Star Wars at least twenty times (probably even more). So many movies and shows.… Read the rest

The post Writing Prompt #14: It’s Giving Main Character Energy appeared first on Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

This year I have a personal goal to do more writing “play,” so I’m creating weekly prompts for myself and sharing online, in case you’d like to join me too. I hope you will! Teachers, you’re welcome to use these with your students. I’ll be posting these every Wednesday on my website, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Substack.
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You can find previous prompts and my responses here.
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If you want to receive all my weekly writing prompts in your email, subscribe to my newsletter/Substack and click on the link to manage your subscription. There you should see a Notifications section and you can turn on/off which emails you’d like to get from me.… Read the rest

The post Writing Prompt #13: Pick Three Things appeared first on Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

This year I have a personal goal to do more writing “play,” so I’m creating weekly prompts for myself and sharing online, in case you’d like to join me too. I hope you will! Teachers, you’re welcome to use these with your students. I’ll be posting these every Wednesday on my website, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Substack.
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Whenever I share my picture book A Good Deed Can Grow, I always encourage readers to sit with the book and explore Holly Hatam’s charming illustrations. I swear, every time I look through this book I notice details I hadn’t seen before—and I’ve looked through this book A LOT.… Read the rest

The post Writing Prompt #12: Character appeared first on Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

This year I have a personal goal to do more writing “play,” so I’m creating weekly prompts for myself and sharing online, in case you’d like to join me too. I hope you will! Teachers, you’re welcome to use these with your students. I’ll be posting these every Wednesday on my website, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Substack.
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This week’s prompt involves a field trip! Where you go on your field trip is up to you. I recommend a place new to you, but it doesn’t have to be. The idea is to experience a location with fresh eyes and write about it.… Read the rest

The post Writing Prompt #11 appeared first on Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

This year I have a personal goal to do more writing “play,” so I’m creating weekly prompts for myself and sharing online, in case you’d like to join me too. I hope you will! Teachers, you’re welcome to use these with your students. I’ll be posting these every Wednesday on my website, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Substack.
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Have you ever found an item left behind by a stranger that revealed something about the person? Maybe it was a receipt at a grocery store, and you can deduce from what they bought that they must be planning a birthday party.… Read the rest

The post Writing Prompt #10 appeared first on Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

This year I have a personal goal to do more writing “play”, and so I’m creating weekly prompts for myself which I’ll also share online, in case you’d like to join me. Teachers, you’re welcome to have your classes write with me too! I’m calling this practice Writing Prompt Wednesday and will post the prompts on my website, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Substack.

In my novel Sisterhood of Sleuths, Maizy’s mom manages a vintage store called Alter Ego. It’s filled with second-hand items, and I love wandering through shops like this. You never know what treasures you might find, both physical items or story starters.… Read the rest

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