Following up on a suggestion (I wish I could remember who passed along this hint!), I was scoping out historically significant anniversaries occurring in 2014 as potential topics for my writing.
St. Louis, Missouri – 250 years and counting!
In theory, choosing a topic that’s–well, topical–can be a marketing advantage. Unfortunately, none of the anniversaries I’ve found has inspired me so far, but I thought they would be worth sharing because maybe one of them will inspire you. Continue reading
I am not a blogger.
There, I said it.
I came to this realization yesterday, after the funny (as in “weird,” not in “haha”) response I had to PopChassid’s marvelous list of 7 bloggers he thinks deserve more attention. As I read about all the fabulous bloggers (Several I had heard of, and a couple I had not…my favorite post by one of the unfamiliar ones was Ruchi Koval’s interview with her yetzer hara. Just so funny and true!), I felt more and more (embarrassing to admit) jealous.
Now, I’ve blogged here before about how important it is not to envy other writers. I’m a big believer in being farginen those around me. But I sensed something unusual about the variety of jealousy I was experiencing. Continue reading
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.)
So, Tablet published a piece of mine this week. It’s been a crazy experience.
In the first place, writing the piece was a bit out of my comfort zone. While I usually write fiction, this is a personal essay. In brief, the story is about confronting my inner teenager as I’m approaching 40 and relates an episode where I thought a younger man was checking me out in a cafe.
Trolls don’t only live under bridges.
The subject matter was outside the editorial policies of the chareidi magazines that comprise my usual stomping grounds, so I had to find an alternative publisher. Afraid I might embarrass my husband, I almost decided not to publish it at all, but he assured me that he didn’t mind. And when I shared an early draft with writing friends, the strongly positive reaction encouraged me further.
Tablet accepted my query, then the completed essay. They had it up in a matter of days. Whoa. It didn’t leave me much time to prepare myself. And, boy, did I have to prepare myself.
You see, there’s a lot of differences between a Jewish, but broad-spectrum, online magazine like Tablet and print magazines in the chareidi world. The biggest difference is the comments section.
In a print magazine, there is no comments section. Continue reading
Lately, I’ve been neglecting my blog. I’m not being delinquent; I’m just being practical. Thank G-d, I’ve been doing a lot of writing in the last couple weeks, writing that is both fun and paying (my favorite combination). G-d willing, I’ll be publishing a short 5-part serial in Binyan in the next few weeks, as well as a few other exciting projects that have been time-consuming.
It’s true that blogging is not independent of my work–I maintain my site largely to create an audience for my writing, promote it when published, and help others overcome some of the professional hurdles I’ve come across (sometimes stumbling along the way). However, writing a decent post that I don’t mind having my name attached to takes time. Lately, for good reasons, I’ve felt my time has to be spent elsewhere. But posting regularly is key to maintaining a good blog.
How do the readers out there strike the right balance between blogging and other professional activities?
As part of a course I’m taking through Carol Tice’s amazing website Make a Living Writing, I received the following homework assignment: put an avatar up on Gravatar to pop up whenever I comment on blogs, etc. Now, I could use a photo, but that would just be no fun, so I decided to create my own Gravatar.
Me, in black and white and nothing on my head to cover my hair. For shame!
I started off by googling “free avatar tools” and discovered a lot of nifty links to different programs to help you make your avatar. The best site I found was Digibody. The results of a picture created with their Avatar-Maker tools look much nicer and more professional than those created with other programs, I found.
However, that left me with a small problem. Or rather three:
Here’s what I did:
Thanks to Microsoft Paint, I added my headscarf, glasses, and a touch of color.
This is my DIY avatar. It’s recognizably me.
What do you think of the end product? I’d love some reviews in the comments.
Rebecca Klempner 