Rebecca Klempner's Blog, page 27
April 3, 2013
Passover is over. Time to jump back on the wagon!
I’ve written zero, zippo, nada since my limericks on the day before Passover, and I now have three pieces outstanding to editors, the first of which is due on Friday. YOW!
As a religious Jew, I was unable to write for most of the Pesach holiday, and chose not to during the more lenient, intermediate days (chol hamoed),as well.Hence the pile up on my to-do list.This post will necessarily be brief. I’ve got to peruse the notes I scribbled two weeks ago, when I received the assignment that’s due...
March 25, 2013
Pesach Limericks for Maggid (because I need a break from my kitchen right now)
On the way outta there!
Many of us have memories of childhood seders. Even when the memories are fond ones (like these shared recently by Jessica Soffer on the Prosen People blog), we were often confused by the Maggid section of the Haggadah. I’ve pried myself from the kitchen to share some wacky Passover poetry to read a the seder during Maggid, hoping it’ll help.
Chag kasher v’sameach, chaverim!(“Have a kosher and joyous holiday, friends!”)
Even if you were an Einstein,
Or Richard Feynman in h...
March 17, 2013
Believe it or not! Writing reality that’s stranger than fiction
Tablet just published a personal essay about my grandfather.Please check it out. (And share, and like, and comment!)
Passover seder has been a bit spooky (in a good way) for me ever since childhood, when my sister and I were convinced Elijah the Prophet was none other than the Bogey Man.
And then we had a real ethereal visitor during Pesach.
It’s one of those stories that you tell and people think you are making it up. I probably would have thought that it was a figment of my imagination if my h...
March 11, 2013
Seeing the world through a writer’s eyes
I’ve been thinking a little bit more about my theme of a couple posts ago, “how to be funny.”
A good jester will find humor in any situation, not just those that are obviously funny.
One of the steps to writing funny isseeingfunny all around you. You can look at almost any situation and find something funny in it if you relax and try to experience it through calm, judgment-free observation.
A few months ago, someone (it might have been Erika Dreifus) pointed out this opinion piece by Silas House...
March 10, 2013
Wacky Pesach songs
Reblogged from Rebecca Klempner:
The central mitzvah of the Passover seder is "L'higgadeta L'vincha"—to relate the story of our redemption to children. This means the section of the haggadah called "Maggid" is the most essential portion of it. However, most of the exciting songs and actions of the seder come before or after "Maggid". Some children, even some adults, don't really enjoy this part of the seder for that reason.
Pesach is just a couple weeks away! Here's a...
March 7, 2013
For writers: 5 ways to be funny
If you play your cards right, you’ll have them laughing like hyenas!
It’s been a week and a half since Purim, so I’ve gotten lots of feedback about this year’s Klempner family Purim Spiel. My husband and sister (fellow contributors) agreed with me that this year’s was less funny than last year’s, but we seem to be in a minority. As I mentioned last year, since I began writing professionally, my little hobby now feels like work, and I avoided cranking out a complete rough draft well into the we...
March 3, 2013
My 5 Favorite Things Currently on the Web
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 ch...
February 28, 2013
Throwing down the gauntlet: I challenge you to write something different!
Be careful! If this guy throws down the gauntlet, it’ll probably hurt.
So yesterday I read this post by the Rubber Ducky Copywriter. In it, she posts about her first rejection letter after going out on a limb and submitting a short story. Despite her success as a copywriter, fiction is a new endeavor for her, and rejection hurt.
First of all, I’d like to cheer her on. Despite the rejection letter (and my readers will know I’m no stranger to them), the Rubber Ducky Copywriter did something a lot...
February 26, 2013
Home decorating with bibliophiles: what your books say about you
Yesterday’s L.A. Times had a wonderful article by book critic David Ulin about his book collecting habits. His home is packed floor to ceiling with shelves and shelves of books. Periodically, he arranges them in alphabetical order.
Ulin shares many reasons for his enormous book collection. Here’s his chief one:
They are part of my present, yes, but also part of my past, my history: three-dimensional memories.
Among their appeals is that they opened up a world view, which is what the most essenti...
February 22, 2013
Better Writing vs Better Sales: What makes a better writer?
Today’s post from The Write Practice got me thinking. In it, Joe Bunting suggests that we worry too much about sales, and even about how good our writing is.
I love these two lines:
Does the fact that more people have readTwilightthan have read [any book by] Mark Twain mean Stephenie Meyer is a better writer?
More important for us, does the fact that we are all less known than E.L. James (as far as I know) mean our stories aren’t as good?
Your writing can be the chain that binds people together.
B...
