Q&A – get to know B.L. Berg
Questions from a book reviewer, January 2024
How long does it take you to complete a project?
I actually have no idea ...
I don’t sit down and write one book and then move on to the next. I work on several stories at the same time and let the inspiration decide which one I’m focusing on. The most recent one I finished about a vampire started more than a year ago. I didn’t write a single word for five or six months and then suddenly the inspiration was there, and I finished it in about a month or so. I wrote between 1,500 and 5,000 words each day. So basically, I like to see where inspiration takes me.
I have a full-time job (not writing) and obviously it takes up a lot of my time, so unfortunately, I just can’t sit down and write whenever I want to. So I make a lot of notes to myself, and on a good day I sit from morning to night piecing the notes together. Presently I’m working on five stories on and off. A bad day is when I work late, come home, and then go straight to bed and haven’t had time to write a single word.
I’m an impulsive writer and have learned that when I get an idea, I should just start writing. Maybe it’s only ten pages and nothing will ever come of it – but you never know.
That's the easy part of the project. Then there’s the synopsis (I hate writing those), the blurb, and looking for a publisher – if I don't do it myself, that is – the editing, the proofreading, the formal requirements. That part of the project is unfortunately completely out of my hands. And honestly, it takes longer than I'd like.
What would you say is your strength as a writer?
I think what characterizes any good writer is the ability to transport your reader into another time and place and when they feel they know the characters. And the language of course. Writing is not just putting words together – it’s doing it properly. Anyone can be a writer, but if you're just yapping away and if your grammar is so bad it's distracting, you're not a good writer.
Mostly when I write it feels like I'm just describing what's happening in the movie running through my head. And I think that gives it credibility – even if it is an imaginary place. One reader told me: “I know exactly what this place looks like. It was like being there myself.” It made me so happy because that means I’ve succeeded. Transporting your reader to another place when they read is amazing!
The same goes for characters – I “know” the people I write about – so they seem real. I love being told that readers are feeling sorry for the characters or absolutely love them, because that means I've succeeded in creating them.
Personally, I also need relatable characters. Sometimes when I read, I find that the characters are slightly unrelatable, and it distances me from the story. I like to write about normal, imperfect people and everyday problems and situations – it could be you it happened to.
What do you think makes a good story?
I like to be entertained. A good book is just like watching a good movie. I want believable characters and I want to like them. They don’t have to be all good – quite the contrary – but I need to have some sort of sympathy for them. They don’t have to be rich or able to do just about everything or be the best or an expert. But I definitely lose my patience if they’re too helpless or clueless.
I like to be intrigued. I like surprises and if I haven’t figured it all out after reading twenty pages, I’m thrilled. A bit of drama is good, melodrama drives me insane. To me books are often an escape and if it gets too hysterical it reminds me too much of the real world, and I don't necessarily need that. Also, I like to laugh. I like snappy, intelligent dialogue, and sarcasm.
A good story is one you just can’t put down. Where you glance at the clock and wonder if you can read a hundred pages quickly because you're desperate to finish the book, and you have to leave home in less than an hour. (For the record, you can!)
Questions from AllAuthor.com, June 2023
What inspired you to start writing? How long have you been writing?
Inspiration is absolutely everywhere to me, and at some point, my brain couldn’t contain it any more. I wrote the first words in English (which isn’t my native language) on 27th of December 2020. It was basically an image that had popped into my head and the story unfolded from there. I had absolutely no idea where it was going when I started, I just knew that I had to write it down. And it was fun and I liked it. I kept writing and has done so ever since.
I’ve been writing all of my life on and off. When I was a child, I usually made drawings to accompany my stories. And when I made drawings, I told a story out loud at the same time – much to my parents amusement, of course. (Thank God there was no Social Media back then!) Writing has often been at outlet to me – a diary of frustration when I was getting divorced, dramatic poetry when I was a teenager, and now it’s something I do whenever I can.
The photo is me at about four, telling stories to the inhabitants of my dollhouse.
When you were young, did you ever see writing as a career or full-time profession?
I had absolutely no idea, what I wanted to be, so no. Not at all. I’m not a full-time writer yet, but now – at the ripe age of forty-eight – yes, I can see it.
In high school I actually had a friend who one day, when I was acting strange (it happens) told me that I’d end up living in the country side, painting, and writing books. I know he meant it as a threat because to him that was actually the worst thing that could happen to a person. He was kind of perplexed, when I told him I thought that sounded amazing!
I recently got reacquainted with my best friend in high school, and when I told her, I had written a few books, she just looked at me and said “I told you.” Obviously, back then there was no doubt in her mind, that I would end up being an author.
Have you ever experienced “Writer's Block”? Any tips you would like to share to overcome it?
Since writing isn’t my full-time job, I don’t feel the pressure a full-time author would at all. But the frustration is there and I’ve certainly had days where I desperately wanted to write something – but couldn’t. I’ve come to accept that there are days where I can’t come up with a single word – and there are nights where I write 20 pages without even breathing. Those pages are often the ones I like the most afterwards. So basically: write whenever you can and when you can’t – do something else. The inspiration will come back to you.
Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit. Any tips for aspiring writers?
I’m not a full-time writer (yet), but so far, I can only tell you that’s it worth it. Drink a lot of coffee. Take deep breaths. Admit when you need a break or need to recharge. Sleepless nights will not go on forever – trust me, I know. Complain and whine to the people you trust and accept the hugs and the soothing remarks (even though you absolutely hate it at the time). The stress and the obsession will level out – believe that you can do this!
