School and Library Presentations
Topics: Enjoying Stories (K-2), Enjoying and Writing Stories (Lower Elementary), and Writing and Editing Workshop (Senior High School)
Venue: In person if in the Grande Prairie or Beaverlodge, Alberta area. Via Skype elsewhere.
Presentation Fees: Negotiable
Proofreading and Editing
Fees: The first sample edit is free. If you like your sample, send me the entire project for a quote.
School and Library Presentations
Enjoying Stories (Kindergarten—Grade 2)
Would your students enjoy a visit by a children’s book author?
I will be pleased to share Marie and Mr. Bee and/or Scissortown, as well as stories by other authors. For example, I've found Wolf’s Coming!, Marley and the Kittens, Taking Care of Sister Bear, Little Hoot, and Sam & Dave Dig a Hole to be popular with the K-2 set. Check out my TOP PICKS page!
Plus, I have a PowerPoint slide show with eight slides of artwork from thumbnail sketch to final product. The children enjoy seeing the changes!
Margaret Welwood has blessed our Out Of School program in reading to our Kindergartners every Monday afternoon. As well as offering us her very own children’s writings, Margaret chooses and shares children's literature which always engages our young listeners. We believe Margaret’s reading sessions have enhanced literary appreciation of our children and increased their desire to read and understanding of the process. I would certainly recommend inviting this talented and child-centered author to any setting where early development programs are!
Karen Burns, Glory Garden Out of School Program supervisor
School and Library Presentations
Enjoying and Writing Stories (Lower Elementary)
For a very young and/or wiggly group, I read Marie and Mr. Bee or Scissortown. The children then draw a picture or colour a line drawing that I provide, and I read them another story.
For a group with a longer attention span, I read Scissortown and then show the children a slide show of the pictures without the text and have them re-tell the story.
The children start creating their own stories in one or both of the following ways:
* We start a story together, with the children playing the characters and scenery.
* I give out simple pictures with writing prompts and have the children write or tell their own stories, possibly in pairs.
School and Library Presentations
Writing/Editing Workshop (Senior High School)
Clear, Concise and Compelling: Write So Others Will Want to Read!
Students read excerpts of writing in various genres and discuss what makes them interesting (or not).
This is followed by oral and written exercises designed to help students become aware of, and learn to employ, the following features of effective writing:
- Clarity
- Conciseness
- Consistency
- Sparkle—vivid description, fast-paced action, appropriate pacing
Finally, some tips on proofreading, and humorous examples of proofreading neglected or gone wrong.
If desired, students can bring their own work for critiquing by myself and/or in small groups.
Proofreading and Editing Services
"A wonderful resource for anyone looking for easy-to-understand advice on how to manage their diabetes . . . . This text is smart, humorous, personable, and easy to read. It's like getting advice from an educated friend . . . ."
Writer’s Digest judge of To Teach, To Learn, To Live: The Complete Diabetes Education Guide for Health Care Professionals by Diane O'Grady, RN, BSN, CDE, Second Edition
The Guide received 5/5 on all three categories: structure and organization, grammar, and production quality and cover design. It won first place in the reference category of the Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards.
Would you like an experienced editor to look over your work before you send it to an agent or publisher?
Have you ever paused on your way out the door and asked your spouse, “How do I look?”—and then been very glad you did? Sometimes your writing just needs a quick once over with a fresh pair of eyes.
But most of the time, you’re too close to your work to see what could be unclear or awkward for your reader, or an inappropriate word choice. Did the bully get kicked out of school, or was she expelled? That depends if her mother is writing to the school board asking that her daughter be given a second chance, or if she’s ranting on the family blog.
When you check your own writing, what you meant comes through to you more clearly than what you actually wrote.
And then there are the nasties like it’s and its, mysteriously placed or missing commas, and a whole host of other problems that creep in when you’re focusing (as you should) on your message.
I have edited Northwest Business Magazine, written numerous articles for local, Canadian and American magazines, and edited a Writer’s Digest award-winning book.
Several of my online articles can be viewed on ezinearticles.com; my book reviews are on goodreads.com and on my TOP PICKS page.
I provide editing services for non-fiction, and for *squeaky clean*, family friendly fiction.
These services include:
* proofreading for spelling, typos and punctuation
* editing for word choice (including precise, overused, and unnecessary words), sentence structure, and paragraphing
I MAY make suggestions for article/story structure, characterization, style, point of view, language (including dialect), flow, integrity, and suitability for the target audience. Preliminary suggestions will be free of charge; you may then request more feedback at a rate to be negotiated.
Would you like an experienced editor to look over your work before you send it to an agent or publisher?
Please e-mail margaretwelwood@gmail.com with the first two or three pages of your manuscript as a Word document, and I will edit an excerpt for free. If you like the way I’ve edited the sample, you send me the entire project and I provide you with a quote for editing the remaining part. Whether or not you hire me to complete the project, the sample edit is yours.
I can help you polish your writing so that it says what you want to the audience you want to reach. Let’s work together to make your writing clear, correct—and compelling!