Meow.
Last year, I wrote on this blog that I struggled with creating the annual Purim newsletter I co-write with my husband. Well, this year, I wrote an essay about it for Tablet. You can read it here.
And if you don’t live in L.A., but do want to see this year’s edition of the newsletter (and other freebies throughout the year), you can fill out this form. I’ll put you on the mailing list!
This year, in preparation for Purim, I’ve been rereading the megillah at a class given by my LOR (local Orthodox rabbi). Of course, it’s not the first time I’ve read The Book of Esther, as it’s called in English. We do that every year on Purim–twice! And it’s also not the first time I’ve learned it with this particular rabbi. But it is the first time I’ve read it with commentary, guided by my rabbi, since I officially became an author (whatever that means). And boy, is there a difference.
A Purim Spiel in Poland. Photo shared in the Wikipedia Commons by Henryk Kotowski.
When you’re writing fiction, there is a big no-no that you’re told never to do: rely on deus ex machina. In short: don’t get your characters out of a tight corner by dropping a deity down from the sky to perform an instantaneous rescue. The audience will roll their eyes, at best.
The term originated with actors playing deities in the theaters of Greece. But for a religious writer of a different persuasion in the 21st century, it causes problems. Continue reading
After reading my earlier posts on STORY, you might think I’m 100% sold on the book. I have to admit that I’m a fan, but I do have some quibbles, largely on the adoption of screenwriting techniques for short story or novel writing.
1) (The only one I noticed pointed out by McKee) You may get inside the characters heads and explore their thoughts in literature. This creates a greater intimacy between the narrator and the reader. It also means the conflict can be much more subtle and much more interior.
2) Some readers like descriptive, sensory details that can’t be experienced with film — smell and touch can be better evoked, for example (unless you’re viewing in smell-o-rama).
3) The audience must work harder when reading print–in a good way.
4) When contrasted with other useful literary guides, you see some shortfalls. Continue reading
My best friend and fellow writer, Cy, sent me a link to an article in the current Atlantic about why writers are infamous procrastinators. Read it here and tell me what you think. And don’t forget to include the reasons you procrastinate in your comment. Personally, it took a relative taking me aside and disabusing me of the notion that talent is the source of success (or even deserves any praise). But my current biggest barrier to writing is poor time management. I tend to pick distractions or less important writing tasks over the more serious ones.
I’m still reading STORY and have so much to say on its utility that you’ll just have to bear with me for a few more posts on it.
Writer! Mind the gap!
McKee has a theory that the material a story is made of is not words, not paper and pen (or computer) but something he calls the GAP. The Gap develops when a main character acts and discovers that his/her expectations regarding the response s/he’s going to get conflict with the reaction s/he really gets. This discrepancy forces the character to adjust and change.
“But it’s about screenwriting!” I said.
Story, by Robert McKee is a book that has come up again and again with my writing friends. A colleague even coached me in some of McKee’s techniques. And I’ve recommended it to random people in the library looking for books on screenwriting. But it was not something I’d ever actually read.
I think my block was this: I’m not planning to write a movie. I haven’t even seen one in a theater for (it’s now official!) ten years. Why would I read a book about screenwriting?
After listening to so many novelists and other writers praise the book, I finally decided to read Story.
It’s fascinating so far.
One of the issues that came up in the bit I read today was about the conventions of genre. Continue reading
Rebecca Klempner 