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Pesach Magazine CRAZINESS!

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It looks like I’m not just in one Jewish magazine this Pesach, not in two…IY”H, I’ll be in FOUR. That’s right:

  • You’ll find a sci-fi tale in the Hamodia Story Supplement.
  • You’ll find another short story in Binah‘s main magazine.
  • I have a short story also in The Jewish Press, out today.
  • And, lastly, an article in The Jewish Home – L.A. about cheap activities in Southern California for the intermediate days of Passover.

I’m a little verklempt. And busy. I’ll tell y’all more about the stories another time, when I’m not cooking and have no kids home on vacation. (A couple of the stories have interesting backstories.) If you read any of my stories, and want to give me feedback, just comment below.

And have a chag kasher v’sameach!

“Purim Spiel” newsletter out!

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A couple years ago, I wrote about my Purim newsletter in Tablet. It’s been a family tradition for years, but last year, I didn’t publish our usual f”Purim Spiel” paper. I couldn’t really see the humor in anything (I learned of my father’s death a week before the holiday).

This year we’re back. I can’t even tell if it’s funny anymore, because I’ve been working on it too much. Click here to read it: Purim Spiel 5776.

Note that the second page is first in the PDF. Feel free to print it out and read it that way. And, please, if you share, give the Klempner family credit!

Happy Purim!

 

Rabbi Yoel Gold: innovative storytelling

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Last week, my profile of Rabbi Yoel Gold appeared in The Jewish Home – L.A. edition. Rabbi Gold leads Congregation Bais Naftoli here in Los Angeles, and teaches in a local yeshiva high school, but he is also becoming quite well known due to a series of videos he began making last year.

I got a chance to interview Rabbi Gold, and he said several interesting things about storytelling, particularly it’s role in education and how he makes sure his “true stories” are true. He also explains how to identify a “good story” to retell. Check out the interview yourself to see what he said.

Nice writerly things that have happened this week

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On Sunday, we had a second ladies-only Open Mic night at my synagogue for women here in L.A. Despite it being Oscar Night, the evening of a big community bar mitzvah, and the height of cold season, we got a decent-sized crowd. Women's Open Mic FEB 2016

The participants were awesome. The youngest was in her twenties, I think, and the oldest was 68! The audience was just as diverse. More people I didn’t know already came this time, so I think that word-of-mouth is getting around. Continue reading →

More excuses as to why I haven’t been blogging much – I promise they’re good ones!

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I disappeared again. Sorry about that.

There’s been illness (mine and kiddos – thank G-d, nothing life threatening) and there’s been writing. There’s also been a lot of editing, including a new copyediting gig.

The copyediting is pushing me just a bit out of my comfort zone. While I’m used to editing and proofreading, it’s usually only a few very short pieces a day or a single long piece, and it’s not every day. This job I’m now doing Continue reading →

The first week of 2016: goal setting and keeping on track

beccakinla advice, goals, Uncategorized, writing, writing exercise Tags: , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

As I mentioned in my last post, I saw quite a bit I didn’t like when I looked back on my writing accomplishments for 2015. A colleague “happened” to reach out to me right around then to ask if we could be writing buddies. Basically, we touch base once a week to confess how much writing we did or didn’t do during the week, as well as swap a bit of writing we did. We’re hoping this will keep us accountable and help us reach our goals. Today was the second Sunday my new partner and I swapped our accountability emails. So far, so good. Last week, I got a great critique out of it, as well as some insights about how I’ve been spending my time.

All of this means I had to pin down some goals. Continue reading →