Author: beccakinla

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting up a Writing Critique Group or a Manuscript Swap

beccakinla advice, Uncategorized, writing, writing groups, writing process Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

A little birdie told me what to write about this week.

Okay, I’m exaggerating. But recently, quite a few people have either asked me how to advance their writing skills (answer: join a critique group) or how to arrange a critique group or what they should do if they cannot attend a critique group. And while I’ve discussed critique groups on the blog before, I think it’s worth a new blog post dedicated to this topic, because I’ve been helping run critique groups for nearly five (or is it six?) years now, and I’ve learned a lot.

Why Join a Critique Group?

You only will grow as a writer if you write regularly. But motivating yourself to write regularly, with no deadlines, is challenging. Getting useful feedback can also be challenging. For instance, you might have a close friend or relative read it, but will they be objective? And you could take a class, but that might involve spending money. (Note: I think it can be worthwhile to take writing classes – but I don’t have much spare change and won’t assume you have it either.) You can remedy all these problems with a single solution: the critique group.

How to create a critique group:

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Whoops! Missed my Wednesday post.

beccakinla Uncategorized, writer's block, writing, writing exercise, writing process Tags: , , 2 Comments

Ack! I’ve been trying to post weekly on Wednesdays, and I completely spaced this week. (I’ve got a good excuse – all my kids are on vacation.) Anyway, I’m taking a moment to write something now, before Shabbos, to make sure I stay in the groove.

I struggled to make a writing deadline last Friday and actually missed it, in the end. This is very unusual for me. I rarely experience writer’s block, but here it was and I was feeling very, very low.

I finally finished the story and turned it in on Tuesday. What got me over the hump?

  1. Advice from members of my writing group.
  2. Contemplating why I couldn’t write.

That second one flipped a switch in my head from “I just can’t finish this story!” to a frenzy of writing in which everything just poured out. It turned out that I was simply approaching the story from the wrong direction. So here’s my…

Writer’s tip for the day:

If you are stalling out while writing a story, approach things from a different direction. Change the POV. Change the tense. Change the genre. If the writing is emotive, write it with clinical dispassion, and if you are writing with that dispassionate voice, mix in more emotions. If you have been focusing on dialogue, start writing a description of the scenery, or vice versa.

Or, my favorite piece of advice for fiction writers, have a long talk or “interview” with your characters. How do they perceive the central conflict of the story? What do they think will happen next?

The Merits of Perseverance

beccakinla advice, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , 3 Comments

So, I’m 11 minutes late, but I’m posting today, third Wednesday straight. Hooray, me!

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A Copyeditor’s Rant

beccakinla authors, editing, editors, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , 6 Comments

During my disappearance from this blog, I spent a lot of my time proofreading, editing, and copyediting.

First, while people tend to use the terms interchangeably:

  • A proofreader checks text for syntax, spelling, punctuation, and other similar errors and corrects them.
  • An editor may do the above, but also will consider the content of the piece, the order of sentences, meaning, style, how the author addresses the audience, and other, deeper issues.
  • A copyeditor deals with text intended for publication – for instance, in a magazine or a book, proofreads it, checks it for accuracy (for instance, are the names of sources spelled correctly?), and then formats the material according to the “house style” of the publisher.

As you can see, each job has slightly different responsibilities. Mostly, I’ve been copyediting the local publication I mentioned in earlier blog posts. In general, I love the job. The hours are flexible (so I’m free to take care of sick kids or errands), and I get to make other writers look good. I’ve developed great working relationships with several of the columnists, thank G-d.

But there are also annoyances. And – without naming names – I’m going to tell you about some of them, because many of the people who read this blog are also writers, and those who aren’t may still be in a position where they have to write something for public consumption. A little awareness about common issues might prove helpful to you.

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Okay, I know it’s been months, but…

beccakinla klempner, Uncategorized Tags: 7 Comments

I’ve been very much neglecting this blog, it’s true. I’ve been using my time (mostly) wisely. I got a second critique group up and running here in L.A., I’ve made progress on my next novel, have continued to increase my editing hours, and…okay, I’ll admit it: I’ve done some slacking, too.

Not much exciting is going on around here. The most significant professional news in the short-term is that I got the cover of Glixman in a Fix (the release of which was pushed back until either Purim or Passover) in my email today. It’s so much fun. I’m hoping kids get real pleasure from reading it now as a novel.

I’m also working on a couple short stories. I’ve cut out most of my non-fiction writing. While I appreciated the money it pulled in, the deadlines kept preventing me from completing the work that is more time-consuming and closer to my heart.

Another small item of interest (I hope): I’m going to try a new thing. I’m picking one day of the week, and write just a tiny, 200-300 word post each time it rolls around. Hopefully, that will keep my blog more up-to-date, and help me keep in touch better with readers. G-d willing, I’ll see you ’round here next Wednesday!

I have been swallowed whole.

beccakinla jew, news, Orthodox, recommended reading, respect, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Okay, really, I’ve been swallowed in pieces. Work is swallowing part of me, and my kids (all home for the summer) are swallowing the rest. There apparently isn’t much left for blogging.

One little bit of nifty news is that I started occasionally guest posting for Jew in the City. My first two posts went up last week and the week before. You can find the first one, “When The ‘Less Religious’ Woman Was Frummer Than Me,” here; and the second one, “A Kiddush Hashem In A Most Unexpected Place,” there.

Between swim lessons and jaunts to local museums, I have editing and writing to do. Thank G-d, have four writing assignments to squeeze in the next few weeks. Between this, that, and the other, I’ll probably be blogging infrequently throughout the summer, but hopefully I’ll be back in good form in the fall.