Posted by Anonymous

March 18, 2015March 18, 2015beccakinla authors, morality, writer, writing Tags: anonymity, anonymous, backlash, children, consequences, neighbors, parenting, protection, pseudonym, spouse, what will they think, writer, writing 8 Comments

Okay, this is really not being posted by Anonymous. It’s plain ole me.

Writers live in the same world as the rest of you, which means we have to live with the people who read our work.

Yesterday Hevria began to post a series entitled “Truth And Dare.” The first post was by the outstanding writer, Chaya Kurtz. Entitled, “Backlash,” Chaya described the artistic desire to bare her opinions for all the world to see, but how when she did this, she suffered from the subsequent reactions that readers had. Today, sometimes she censors herself.

Anyway, it’s a fabulous post, and I recommend you read it, as well as the other pieces in the series.

When I commented on her post, a topic came up in the conversation I had with Chaya that has been on my mind lately — that being, is it right to publish anonymously or under a pseudonym? Continue reading →

Approaching the runway for landing: Winding up my serial with excitement and regret

February 9, 2015February 9, 2015beccakinla writing, writing process Tags: character motivation, logic, novel, regret, serial, sol stein, writer, writing, writing process 9 Comments

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 →

How attached are you to your dreams?

February 5, 2015February 5, 2015beccakinla revision, writing, writing process Tags: art, challenge, dreams, feedback, first draft, imagination, painful, revision, writer, writing, writing process 4 Comments

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

February 2, 2015beccakinla how to write, revision, workshop, writing groups, writing process Tags: advice, beta readers, blog, mailing list, newsletter, revision, testing, workshop, writer, writing, writing group, writing process 6 Comments

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

January 15, 2015beccakinla art, writing, writing process Tags: art, author, character, characterization, convincing, skill, writer, writing, writing process Leave a comment

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 →

Writers wondering what goes on in the minds of other writers

December 22, 2014December 22, 2014beccakinla authors, how to write, writer, writing, writing process Tags: art, blogger, blogging, essayist, identity, kristen ploetz, personal essay, writer, writing, writing process 14 Comments

A couple weeks back, Kristen M. Ploetz posted several questions she wished she could have answered by other writers. The post has generated a bit of buzz, with replies by two bloggers I admire, Nina Badzin and Rivki Silver (which is where I first heard of it).

(And then Rivki made me cry happy tears by saying she admired my work. I love her site, so the feeling is mutual.)

I found both the original post and the follow-ups fascinating. A lot of what all three bloggers had to say was about self-identification as a writer. At what point does a person who writes become a “writer?” Another theme was how the writer — whose job is by nature often solitary — interacts with their social milieu, both in their personal lives and in their professional ones.

Here are the original questions in bold. I’ll add my responses below each of them.

1. Do you share your work with your partner or spouse? Does it matter if it’s been published yet? Continue reading →

Rebecca Klempner

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