G-d

Considering my last year of literary pursuit

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Since there are just two weeks left of the Jewish year of 5773, I’ve been looking back at the last year and evaluating my life on every level: spiritual, physical, and even professional. And one goal still stands out at unfulfilled:

I STILL HAVEN’T PUBLISHED BOOK #2.

This issue depressed me a couple weeks ago, as I sat in front of my journal on Rosh Chodesh Elul (exactly one month before Rosh Hashanah), scribbling about the past year. I’d submitted a few picture books and two novels to multiple publishers and had zilch to show for it.

But then I counted how many times I appeared in print in the last year for pay: over two dozen times (bli ayin hara).

And then, I counted how many words I’d written. Essentially, it was the length of a novel. Wow.

I realized at that point how many more readers — potentially thousands more people — read my work in magazines this year than in my entire previous professional life.

That’s when I felt blessed.

Okay, I still have a major unfulfilled goal. It will be top of my professional goals again for this 5774. But if success is measured in progress, I made a lot of progress last year. And I could only do it with G-d’s help, which makes the year feel very sweet indeed.

How are you feeling about your last year, professionally? What is your top goal for 5774?

My 5 Favorite Things Currently on the Web

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I spend most of my time on the internet doing work, but every once in a while, I stumble upon something I love and have to keep coming back for more. Here are links to my current favs so you can check them out and get obsessed, too.

1) Space Rabbi – I love the brothers Taub and have enjoyed their various projects on Chabad.org for years. Episode 1 gets off to a slow start, but it’s all wackiness from then on, from the retro “futuristic” design elements, to the HAL references, to the bizarre characterizations of all the electronic gadgets that come to life and interact with Rabbi Blastoffski.

Yes, the main character is actually called Rabbi Blastoffski. How cool is that?

2) Pop Chassid – Currently, my favorite Jewish blog on the internet. Elad Nehorai reflects on Judaism, Chassidus, the arts, and modern life. Not only are his posts insightful, but he has some wonderful followers who post great comments.

3) Hanan Harchol – I first got wind of this guy through a bit he had up on Aish.com.  Most of the videos are animated dialogues between Hanan and (his impersonation of) his father and contain reflections about Jewish philosophy. Utterly charming and thought-provoking.

4) Verplanck – I’m not sure how long these guys are going to be around, because they need to raise funds for their project, but part 6 of their Orthodox online comedy is simply hilarious. (Although you probably need to be religious to get the jokes.) It’s awesome if you’re home sick and are too old for Agent Emes. You will laugh yourself healthy.

5) Shtar – Because they rock. Literally. (Okay, sometimes it’s more like hip-hop. Or maybe techno. Or maybe just cool.) “Wonderland” should be used in commercials by the Ministry of Tourism to encourage travel to Israel.

(My first runner-up is G-dcast, video interpretations of Jewish texts that aren’t always Orthodox, but always creative. Check out Avoiding the Mud for a Chassidishe meise, or The Rise of Yavneh for the story of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa and destruction of the Temple.)

Background on my new story: “Just Perfect” (or why I believe we all live in a Magical Reality)

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This week, Hamodia‘s Inyan Magazine published my new short story (and it’s actually for adults!), entitled “Just Perfect.”

The original version of the story was explicitly a piece of fantasy, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I transformed the story into an example of magical realism rather than fantasy in order to address the concerns of my lovely and knowledgeable editor at Hamodia. 

In the original version, then called “Easy as Pie,” the transformation of Libby’s life occurred after she bumped into a little old lady who offered her a slice of peach pie at a party. The pie made Libby’s life–well, just peachy. But my editor felt the little old lady was a little unbelievable. Could I cut her? The only problem was that her brief appearance at the beginning and the end of the story explained the wacky events in between.

I wracked my brains for a way to ditch the old lady but save the rest of the silliness. There had to be an explanation for it, after all. I did a bit of experimentation and research. Finally, I decided that maybe Libby should just pray–and then G-d answers.

Even after I found my “magically real” solution, I initially balked at making the change. It was an elegant solution, so my reaction puzzled me. I had to think about it a lot, and I think my conclusion is worth sharing. Continue reading →

Thank the folks who’ve rejected you–a radical suggestion for writers this Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving is upon us here in the U.S., and this is a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon gratitude, whether you celebrate the holiday or not. I’m a big fan of Rabbi Zelig Pliskin and also of Rabbi Shalom Arush, and I’m going to combine their approaches for this writing exercise appropriate to the Thanksgiving season and year-round. This exercise is useful whether you’re Jewish or not–please don’t get turned off to it just because it was inspired by a couple of rabbis.

mother offering child medicine

Be grateful for the medicine–it’s good for you.

Rejection is just about the hardest thing to cope with when you decide you’re going to become a writer, but it’s something that you need to learn to accept graciously. When that rejection letter first comes, you are often overwhelmed by feelings of resentment, anger, and frustration. You might lash out, calling the editors idiots or saying that the publisher doesn’t know what good writing is. You might despair, consider yourself a failure, or even give up writing.

But here’s the truth–you were meant to be rejected, at least in this specific instance. Continue reading →

Using your art to touch the Divine

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I subscribe to a service called PhotoBotos, which delivers gorgeous and thought-provoking photos from around the world to your inbox daily. Today’s photo exemplifies something that I’ve spoken about on my blog before–use of one’s talents to bring goodness and G-dliness into the world.

The photo is entitled “Beautiful Flower”–you can see it here–and the photographer’s goal was to capture the singularity of G-d and His tenderness for His creation. Take a minute view it and enjoy as you admire the wonder of G-d’s creation.

I Feel Liberated!

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Last week, I finished the charming and very wacky Larklight by Philip Reeve. This sci-fi adventure for kids 10 and older follows the Mumby family as they try to stop a mysterious race of giant white spiders for taking over the solar system. The novel takes place in a wonderfully-articulated alternate Victorian history, where Newton started the space race and all scientific discoveries after his time have not occurred or occurred differently than they did in our true-life universe.

Interestingly, G-d (and praying to Him) is referred to on several occasions as the ultimate Creator of the universe in this book. This is in keeping with the time period of the setting, and also very appropriate in the context of one particular character. The book does not refer to a Christian-specific deity, just “G-d” in the generically monotheistic sense. The mentions are mostly in passing, and are certainly not the focus of the novel, but I can’t think of any other mainstream sci-fi or fantasy books that actually include one character telling another, “Oh, yeah, G-d created the universe.” I was blown away.

This is such a change from the atheism, animism or paganism that has permeated the sci-fi fantasy genre for years. Some of these books go into elaborate detail about how to practice a fictional variety of avodah zara. These books appeal to tweens and teens, who gravitate towards them. One of the reasons that I started writing sci-fi and fantasy material is because of the dearth of such stories that nourish the neshama.

I’ve written a new (and, I fear, completely unpublishable) ending for my current Novel-In-Progress, and I’ve started to think ahead about the next project. About six months ago, I thought of a Jewish steampunk/alternate reality book, but I’ve wondered if the Orthodox book publishers would find it acceptable. Would it be yet another arduous project with an unpublishable result? I started to outline it with the Snowflake method over the weekend. I have transformed the original idea into a fantasy that is not Jewish–but does firmly establish the world I’m creating as created by G-d. I had contemplated this before (as a possible solution to my publishing issues), but felt discouraged due to the lack of such books in the mainstream YA market. Reading Larklight has empowered me to take the leap. Thanks Mr. Reeve!