Sometimes it pays to be a fan…

January 4, 2015January 4, 2015beccakinla magazines, review, writing, writing process Tags: article, enthusiasm, excitment, fan, feature, Hevria, hobby, idea, interest, magazine, pitch, review, topic, write, writing 1 Comment

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?

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 →

Tables turned: a writer gets interviewed by Fradl Adams for The Lakewood Shopper

November 26, 2014beccakinla author, interview, Jewish, writer, writing Tags: author, binah magazine, Chareidi, hareidi, interview, jewish, orthodox, rebecca klempner, writer, writing Leave a comment

Fradl Adams interviews inspirational women, particularly baalos teshuvah, for The Lakewood Shopper. Her column appears weekly. Anyway, she asked to speak to me — focusing primarily on my writing for Jewish teens and tweens — about a month ago, and the interview runs this week. For those of us outside NJ, she provided this link.

I’m much more used to interviewing people than being interviewed. It was definitely WEEEIRD, and I kept thinking, “Do I sound like that?”

A discovery! And what happens when you follow other writers’ advice.

November 16, 2014beccakinla advice, creativity, productivity, serial, tips, writer, writing, writing process Tags: advice, author, binah magazine, creativity, focus@will, inspiration, productivity, serial, tips, write, writer, writing, writing process Leave a comment

So, things today went better today than last week. In short, I wrote more today than I wrote in the entirety of last week. (Yes, that’s how bad things were going.)

One of the things I found helpful was focus@will’s new setting “Cafe focus Beta.” A few months back, I reported that researchers released data indicating that writers are more productive in cafes than sitting in a quiet office at home. Well, I guess the folks at focus@will read the same study, because not only can you use the site to enhance your creativity with baroque or ambient music — or to white noise — you can now listen to a re-creation of a busy cafe full of people.

And yes, I did indeed find it helpful.

I also relied on the advice of other writers today in order to increase my productivity. Continue reading →

Can we just get this over with?

October 30, 2014beccakinla frustration, Jewish, kvetch, magazine, rant, serial, writer, writing Tags: author, Binah Bunch, binah magazine, frustration, glixman in a fix, magazine, patience, serial, writer, writing 7 Comments

I am sick of writing my serial.

There, I’ve said it.

This week, I’ve resolved to crank this puppy out as fast as humanly possible, because I fear it has taken over my writing life. I haven’t written a piece of fiction in months other than episodes of Glixman in a Fix.

Can I just kill off Mendel’s Aunt Rina?

If I didn’t have readers come over to me every couple weeks and tell me how much they look forward to each episode, I think I would have thrown in the towel already.

I have a bad, baaaaaad feeling that some editor will Continue reading →

Writing exercise for building empathy, Part 2

October 6, 2014beccakinla advice, writer, writing, writing process Tags: anger, emotion, empathy, essay, exercise, fiction, grudge, personal, real life, reflection, release, relief, resentment, story, therapeutic, therapy, writer, writing, writing exercise 3 Comments

A month or so ago, I published a post about how writers — and everyone else — could benefit from building empathy. I’d like to share another strategy about which I’ve gotten a positive feedback about. This exercise in particular will build you as a writer, and as a person.

For this exercise you can do one of two things: Continue reading →

Rebecca Klempner

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