The Ups and Downs of Writing Life

May 19, 2020beccakinla award, good news, Jewish, jewish american experience, Jewish writing, shavuos, Shavuot, update Tags: a dozen daisies for raizy, chesed, chessed, children, chinuch, imposter syndrome, inadequacy, jewish, jewish books, Jewish kidlit, jewish writing, kidlit, kindness, lovingkindness, picture book, shavuos, shavuot, writing career 2 Comments

I was feeling a little cranky earlier today. Okay–more than a little. I’ve hit the point in a particular revision which I’m working on when I have to start writing new material, not just tidying up what was previously written. And I found out this morning that a program which wants to reprint one of my books will be doing so *at least* another year in the future (I was informed I’d made their list a year ago). The program comes with a stipend for authors, and I would love to receive my cash sooner rather than later.

So, yeah, feeling demoralized.

Anyway, last week, I’d noticed that the sales of my first book, A Dozen Daisies for Raizy, had gone up. The book takes place on the day before the holiday of Shavuos, which I figured was boosting sales. I also tried to work a little social media muscle to make sure people knew the book was back in print and how to reach it. I decided at about noon today to check where sales are at THIS week. Continue reading →

Writing ethics: Defining your voice by what you don’t write about as much as what you do

September 9, 2014September 9, 2014beccakinla advice, art, beauty, Jewish, truth, writer, writing Tags: art, author, beauty, community, ethics, fiction, friendship, informant, jewish, jewish writing, moral, morality, nina badzin, true story, truth, what i don't write about, writer, writing, writing process 2 Comments

Okay, so last week I mentioned how much I admired Nina Badzin’s article for TC Jew Folk, “Things I Don’t Write about on the Internet.”

I pretty much agreed with her on all points, although I will occasionally get political. (This is pretty much conditioning on my part: no meal shared with my family during the 1980s did not involve bashing of the Republican Party, so far as I can remember. But my memory might be faulty. Not that I’m a Democrat. Currently, my party membership is officially “decline to state.” You can do that in California.)

Anyway, there was one thing not on Nina’s list I kept thinking about while reading it, and it has haunted me ever since:

I DON’T TELL OTHER PEOPLE’S STORIES.

What are “other people’s stories?” Continue reading →

Even turtles have to poke their heads out sometimes

August 6, 2013August 6, 2013beccakinla art, authors, Jewish, Jewish Book Carnival, Jewish writing, Judaism, summer, words, writer, writing Tags: art, books, chassidus, dreifus, Erika Dreifus, jewish author, jewish book, jewish literature, jewish writing, libi astaire, literature, spirituality, Tablet, tafkid, what is Jewish writing, yeod 2 Comments

What makes Jewish literature Jewish?

In theory, I’m on vacation, make that staycation, with my kids and not posting. However, in the last week, two authors I respect both posted on a topic I’ve contemplated before: what is Jewish literature? Their ideas were both useful and inspirational. It’s worth reading the posts. You can read Libi Astaire’s post here and Erika Dreifus’s here.

On a related note, after a short hiatus, Tablet has started posting fiction again. I’m wondering if the complaints about whether their previous stories were examples of Jewish literature had an effect — both the recent pieces have been translations of Israeli authors.

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

February 21, 2013February 27, 2013beccakinla authors, book, books, editing, editors, fantasy, fiction, G-d, God, HaModia, inyan magazine, Jewish, Judaism, klempner, magazines, message, new yiddishists, novel, novels, publishing, stories, style, wacky, writer, writing, writing process Tags: background, fable, fantastic, fantasy, fiction, hamodia, jew, jewish, jewish writing, judaism, kabbalah, literature, magic, magical realism, mystic, rambam, reality, religion, story, write, writer, writing, writing process Leave a comment

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 →

Cold shoulder or pit bulls? On Peter Beinart, the Atlanta Jewish Book Fair and how to act when you disagree with a writer

November 14, 2012beccakinla author visit, authors, censorship, different, frustration, interethnic, Jewish, Jewish writing, respect, review, reviews, speech Tags: Altlanta, Book Fair, current-events, free speech, jew, jewish, jewish book, jewish writing, judaism, media, media buzz, middle-east, Peter Beinart, politics, press 2 Comments

I don’t often comment on news items, but this one is both Jewish and book-related, so I thought it would be worth mentioning.

Earlier this year, Peter Beinart–blogger and professor–wrote a book blaming the lack of peace in Israel on the Israelis. Even to someone whose politics are somewhat atypical for an Orthodox Jewish American, I found the premise of Beinart’s book both offensive and intellectually flimsy.

Should we set the dogs on ‘im?

This week Atlanta’s JCC hosts 10,000 visitors at its annual Jewish Book Fair. Initially, Peter Beinart was scheduled to appear there to promote his book. But, due to the outrage of many Atlantans who disagree with his public attacks of the Israeli government, Beinart will no longer be welcome to speak at the book fair. Instead, he’s speaking this evening at a different venue. (For more coverage, see here.)

Was this the right reaction? Continue reading →

Finding Inspirational Words from Sarah Shapiro–Defining Jewish Writing, Part 2

November 11, 2012January 16, 2013beccakinla advice, authors, comments, fiction, how to write, Jewish, Jewish writing, Judaism, Orthodox, publishing, writer, writing, writing process Tags: all of our lives, anthology, author, defining, definition, editor, essays, feldheim, inspiration, inspirational, jewish, jewish writing, judaism, orthodox, sarah shapiro, targum, workshop, writer, writing 1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago, some of the comments on a post I wrote about defining Jewish writing revolved around the introduction to Sarah Shapiro’s All of Our Lives. I took a workshop with Sarah–who writes, edits, and teaches amazing writing workshops that have inspired many fledgling Jewish writers–and have a lot of respect for her opinions, so I borrowed the book from a friend (thanks Miriam!) in order to more accurately represent Sarah’s opinions here.

Sarah’s essay “The Writer’s I” reflects several of the issues I discussed in my original post. Jewish Writing can be defined by the author’s identity, by its subject matter, or can be considered a completely arbitrary label. She personally feels that “all three are right,” but admits the difficulty in establishing a single definition.

Sarah goes on to say that attempts to identify or define specifically Orthodox Jewish writing are even more complicated. Continue reading →

Rebecca Klempner

Author page of Rebecca Klempner

jewish writing

The Ups and Downs of Writing Life

Writing ethics: Defining your voice by what you don’t write about as much as what you do

Even turtles have to poke their heads out sometimes

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

Cold shoulder or pit bulls? On Peter Beinart, the Atlanta Jewish Book Fair and how to act when you disagree with a writer

Finding Inspirational Words from Sarah Shapiro–Defining Jewish Writing, Part 2

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