So, if all goes as planned, I will — G-d willing! — finish my serial (again…but that’s a whole ‘nother story) by the end of next week.
I’m a little freaked out Continue reading
writing process
How attached are you to your dreams?
Taking feedback and running with it
I’m still thinking about the story that I mentioned in a post earlier this week, the one that I ran by the beta-testers that I’d acquired through my newsletter.
On Monday, my sister phoned, and she wanted to know about the comments people had made about the story (she had been one of those to offer feedback). In particular, she wanted to know which comments were those which I’d mentioned had popped up multiple times.
I told her what the comment was, and then added: Continue reading
Results of an experiment: finding beta readers online from among fans vs in-person writing groups
A couple weeks back, I sent out a very short story I’d written a few days earlier to people who had signed up for my newsletter (you can sign up for that newsletter on my welcome page). I wanted some feedback, and I had more than a week until the next scheduled meeting of my writing group, so I decided to try something I’d heard other authors have done: generating beta readers from my mailing list and asking for feedback from them.
Here’s the results of my little experiment Continue reading
Fun with Fan Mail: I can tell you about my characters because they live in my brain
Usually, when I get fan mail for my work in print magazines, it’s from other writers. Occasionally, fans will stop me in the street. However, no fan mail for my serial in Binah BeTween had been printed in the magazine until last week.
At some point last Shabbos, my kids ran over to me to show me that I’d received a letter about Glixman in a Fix in last week’s edition. And then yesterday morning — lo and behold! — I got a letter from two more young fans forwarded to me by my editor so that I could reply before they go to print.
What was funny about the second piece of fan mail was the question. Continue reading
Sol Stein sold me on “The Actor’s Studio Method for Developing Drama in Plots”
Some of my regular readers might notice that my usual response to frustration in the midst of a writing project is to start borrowing writing books from the library and systematically going through them (in addition to eating chocolate, cleaning, and spending too much time on Facebook as an avoidance strategy).
A new favorite writing book, chock full of original, well-informed, and practical advice.
I’m two volumes into my current stack of five. The last couple of days, I’ve been reading Stein on Writing, written by novelist, playwright, and editor extraordinaire, Sol Stein. It’s not a new book, but it’s a classic, and I picked it up due to the acclaim.
I’m not done yet, but I’m just loving this book. It’s much more practical than most of the writing books I’ve read, which tend toward the touchy-feely, and after 50 pages of familiar (but articulate) ground (which I probably could use a review of anyway), Stein starts describing all sorts of new strategies for writers to employ.
My favorite one, thus far, is “The Actors Studio Method for Developing Drama in Plots.” Continue reading
Sometimes it pays to be a fan…
Last week, The Jewish Home L.A. published an article I wrote about Hevria, an online lit mag/blog that I’ve loved from its first post last summer.
One day, after contemplating how much I would like to see Hevria’s message of Torah and non-judgmental discourse spread, and thinking about how fun it would be to write about its writers, I pitched an article based on the website to The Jewish Home L.A.‘s editor. Since the publication is based in L.A., I focused on the website’s contributors who live in the L.A. area. The pitch got accepted, and now the article is hopefully being read by many people.
I guess sometimes it pays to be a fan. In the past, I’ve written book reviews of works by writers whose books I love, and I’ve written stories based on my hobbies and interests. Sometimes, researching articles can be a chore, but when you’re writing about something you love, it’s a pleasure. And then when it’s time to write, the words simply bubble up with enthusiasm.
I’m definitely going to be exploring more of my favorite things in future magazine pitches.
I can’t help but think that there’s a secondary message here: Recently, I’ve been mired down in a project for which my initial enthusiasm has waned. Maybe I need to introduce something new into the project which I’m actually interested in writing about.
Have any writers out there published articles based on one of your “favorite things?”
Do you think it helps/hurts your writing, makes it harder/easier?
And have you tried to draw on your hobbies or interests in order to liven up a project that you need to complete, but which you’re no longer excited about?
Rebecca Klempner 