Photo from charlottebrentwood.blogspot.com
Today’s post is a departure from my usual topics about Jewish life. I was invited to participate in a virtual blog tour discussing “My Writing Process” by Goldie Goldbloom at www.goldiegoldbloom.com. Goldie is a writer, teacher, lecturer, activist, mother, Jew, and also a new friend! She asked me to answer the following four questions (a shout out to the upcoming Passover holiday, perhaps?).
1. What am I working on?
I am currently working on my blog, Kol B’Isha Erva, where I discuss social issues related to the 21st century orthodox Jewish community. Sometimes I write straight up social commentary, but often I use other literary devices as methods to get my point across. My 1 year blogoversary is today, and I hope to focus more on fiction writing in the upcoming year. I am considering publishing a book idea that I’ve been working on, called Oria’s Song, in serial form on Wattpad. I love working on short stories, but my dream has always been to write a long novel. I can’t seem to gain my footing on such a large project, so maybe breaking the story up into a serial form will make the achievement of this goal more manageable.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I think my work differs in two ways. The first way it differs is because of the various mechanisms I use to get my point across – whether it’s Op-Ed style prose, poetry, satire, fiction, or even writing in a different voice that has readers questioning my very identity. The second way I think my work differs is that I am an orthodox Jewish woman critiquing the orthodox Jewish community. Most bloggers who are critical of orthodox society are male. While there are many talented female orthodox Jewish bloggers, not many openly criticize the leadership or societal norms of our community. The women writers I am aware of who give harsh critiques of the orthodox world have left the orthodox community. As such, they no longer have as much to risk by speaking out about its problems.
3. Why do I write what I do?
I started writing because of the polarization I saw happening within the orthodox Jewish community. I’ve been a part of the orthodox community for over 20 years, and I’ve never seen such division between the various segments of orthodox society. The right wing is moving swiftly farther to the right, the left wing is rapidly moving farther to the left, and the center is quickly being evacuated into nonexistence as people feel compelled to pick sides. Of course, as everyone is rushing to their opposite corners, no one is paying attention to those who simply abandon the game altogether. I suppose my writing is a way for me to digest current events and figure out where I fit in. Sometimes writing about these issues helps me to form an opinion. Other times, writing just brings up more unanswerable questions.
4. How does your writing process work?
It all depends on what I’m writing about. Sometimes I’ll read a news article that evokes an immediate passionate reaction. In those cases, I’ll feel inspired to quickly write a response in a stream of consciousness manner. Other times, such as when I’m working on a fictional short story, I will have an idea percolating in my head for weeks before actually writing it down. Sometimes I do background research, whether it’s a literature search, throwing out an idea on social media, conducting a phone interview, or even posting an ad on Craigslist and weaving a character or plot device from the responses. When the story finally comes together, I might work on it over the course of a few days, changing details and dialogue around, so that the characters have an authentic voice and the plot flows in a natural and believable way. I am used to writing with the expectation of a short turnaround time. That’s why working on a longer novel, with no clear end in sight, will be my next challenge.
Although I don’t have the same guidance as I did as a college student attending writer’s workshops, I enjoy the freedom of “going rogue” and writing about anything that strikes my fancy. The road is wide open and all I have to do is pick a direction and step on the accelerator.
