If you’re passionate about doing something, then you know how magical it can be to be in a room overflowing with people who share the same passion.
It was an amazing experience participating in the Jewish Women’s Writing Seminar (JWWS) in Yerushalayim, on July 4, with so much creative energy filling the room. Under the direction of Tamar Ansh, well-known author and speaker, frum Jewish women writers from Israel and all over the world gathered in the spacious, airy conference room in the Nefesh B’Nefesh Hub.
The event began with an inspiring d’var Torah by Rebbetzin Malka Friedman, well-known speaker, that set the tone of the day with uplifting ideas. She shared how it is hashgachah to have the writing conference now, as there is a strong connection to the parshiyos of the past few weeks, to the importance and responsibility a Jewish writer has to klal Yisrael.
When you write, you are sharing something from your neshamah. The message you write resounds and impacts others and the parshiyos this time of year are about speech and words. She explained that there are four categories in the world. These include inanimate objects, vegetation, chayim, and m’dabeir. M’dabeir is a category exclusive for klal Yisrael. It means to have the ability through speech for your words to connect to Hashem’s speech. Hashem created the world with ten utterances, and He gave us the ability to continue that life source and to fill the world with that life source.
The power of words starts with a vision. The M’raglim’s words brought a disconnect to the world. Their dibur came from their perception. Korach started machlokes – separation, which is the worst thing that can happen to Jews. His words began with his perception of jealousy.
That perception led to something that was so catastrophic, Hashem caused the earth to swallow Korach and everyone with him. His distorted vision caused machlokes. This past week, Bil’am used dibur tov but his brachah was tainted by his vision – his ayin ra.
She said, “You are women of words, leaving a legacy of dibur for generations. It’s a huge responsibility. The first part of dibur is perception.
We have the koach of the written word. She shared that, every day, Hashem brings us back to life. He puts His eyes, so to speak, on us, which gives us the ability to see beyond our physical limitations, and this causes us to connect to dibur elyon. This gives us the ability to write. He puts His hands, so to speak, on us, which gives us the ability to do mitzvos. Every day, as we recite in Modeh Ani, He says I believe in you – shine today.
She shared that those who give words to the public have a purpose, which is to inspire klal Yisrael to become greater and to come to a place of simchah.
Next, Tamar Ansh spoke and also emceed the event. Tamar shared how every person has something special and unique to share. She spoke about how special JWWS is and also how important it is for the frum Jewish writers and Jewish publishers to work together to provide kosher reading material for our children, grandchildren, and generations to come.
Then, Esther Heller, Editor-in-Chief of Menucha Publishers, shared that we are always growing as writers. “Investing time and coming to this conference shows that you want to grow as a writer.” Think about what your strengths are as a writer and what your weaknesses are. Set goals each month that are realistic. Then look back and see if you were able to accomplish them or see what stopped you from those goals. Read other authors’ work. Expand your mind to new ideas. Keep a small idea book handy. Find a friend to write with and give feedback to each other. Study books on the craft. Try to shake up your writing. Try changing the tone of a piece you wrote. Inject actions or more thoughts where needed. If you write long sentences, try writing shorter ones. Change points of view. Change verb tense. Add dialogue. Look at the senses you usually describe and try adding others. Send your work to a publisher. Don’t let rejection stop you. She concluded, “Write as much as possible.”
Following this, Miriam Zakon, Acquisitions Editor for ArtScroll, shared the up sides and the down sides of writing a serial. First, financially, a serial gives a freelance writer a steady income for six months to a year. Second, it makes it easier to write a novel based on the serial. Also, it’s fun.
On the downside, when writing a serial you have to be ahead in terms of chapters and also you can’t go back and make changes on previous chapters, like you can when you are working on a book.
She taught that each character in a serial needs a plotline. You usually have two or three characters, and you have to know them well. She suggested writing a scene from different points of view. Also, something has to happen in every scene.
Following this, Shifra Devorah Witt, well-known author and writing coach, shared a talk about asking yourself questions to help motivate you to write and how writing can help you heal, as well. Some questions include: What do I need to do to do my best? In what areas in my life do I need to heal? What do I want to work on? How much time do I need for writing? What supports do I need to be able to have time to write?
After this, Rabbi Yonason Rosenblum, well-known journalist and author, spoke about what writing does for him. He shared a beautiful teaching from a great rav that has greatly impacted his life. You should look for the good in every person and see how you can incorporate it into your life.
Next, Bassi Gruen, well-known writer and editor, spoke about how to avoid writer’s block. Below are a few of her valuable tips. It’s important to make a routine of writing every day and realize you don’t have to be inspired to write. Schedule it. Sometimes if you have a block, it could be you need to do more research or more pre-writing work. Switch and write something else or start at a place where you are passionate. Try exercising or doing some other activity and then come back to it.
Sherri Mandell, award-winning author, shared some advice and some interactive fun writing exercises. She said you want your writing to resonate with the reader. How do you get your reader to vibrate with what you are saying? If you say something like, “This happened to me and I can’t stop wondering about it,” the word “wondering” gives latitude to the reader as opposed to saying I can’t stop telling you about it.
She said the reader is on a quest with you. You want the reader to participate with you and to feel what you feel. When you create a scene, you invite the reader in with you. Memoir, she taught, is a story carved from your life. You choose what has the greatest resonance for the widest range of people. You are approaching one aspect of your life. Use the senses and also describe the light and what you think. An exercise she offered was to try writing about something that includes smell, touch, and hearing, and what you think. Then try writing about something with your senses but don’t include the words “I see” or “I hear,” etc.
Another technique she shared was to combine the big picture (what is going on historically) with the personal picture. “You have to give the reader enough information so that they are in there with you.” Giving historical context is a way of letting the reader into your personal story and it connects your story to the world. She taught that you should connect to a larger theme that touches the reader. Start with yourself but connect to a wider perspective.
She said to chase the questions that still resonate for you. For example, “After 20 years, this still doesn’t make sense to me.” This will invite the reader to ask the same questions.
Attendees were offered the opportunity to meet with publishers privately throughout the day. The Israel Bookshop editor scheduled Zoom meetings for July 5 with participants.
In addition, there was a publishers’ panel including editors from Mishpacha Magazine, Binah Magazine, Menucha Publishers, and ArtScroll. The editors answered questions from participants.
“We don’t like sending rejections,” one editor shared. You need to look at our books or our magazine and see what we are looking for.
ArtScroll requires an outline and 30 pages of a proposed novel. Miriam Zakon said you should include why you are qualified to write this particular book. She also said that you shouldn’t send your manuscript or proposal the week before Rosh HaShanah or the week before Pesach. “Editors are people.” Also, don’t send an email with grammar errors or that looks unprofessional. Also don’t send something that is not appropriate for the publication.
Menucha Publishers shared that though they do sadly have to reject 90% of submissions, they are looking for ready readiness and middle school and young adult and women’s books. She shared that picture book authors should not lay out the book in advance. In general, it is better not to send illustrations. Also, if you want to use rhyme, the rhythm has to be perfect. A story should be exciting and not predictable. Humor is always welcome. It has to be relatable to children. Also, it needs to be different than what is already published.
Mishpacha shared they have sections that you can submit to, and you need to abide by their word-count guidelines. Life-takes is 800 words. Musing is 700-1,200, Windows is 700-1,200, and fiction is 3,000 words.
Binah Magazine said they are looking for a story that is powerful.
All of the editors shared that you should try not to take rejection personally, as it could be the subject you are writing about was already published.
Here are some comments from participants.
“I found the workshop transformative, motivating me to take my writing to the next level.”
“It was so wonderful being in a room with all that energy.”
“Amazing conference!”
“I loved meeting so many writers from so many places and learning about my craft. Baruch Hashem, it was a wonderful experience!”
Everyone left inspired and energized to keep writing. Kudos to Tamar Ansh for a spectacular job coordinating the event.
By Susie Garber
