NaNoWriMo approaches, more articles up!

NaNoWriMo looms large! It begins November 1 and finally, finally, I have my novel idea (in both senses of the word). It’s all very exciting and I can’t wait to flex my 2,000 words-a-day muscles. Please quote me on this as I may live to regret it. I’m also thrilled that there are so many twitterers talking about NaNoWriMo. Makes one feel less, alone, no?

In the meantime, my article on Hilary Helstein’s documentary is up. Please read it. And I’m waiting for my article to be published on an extraordinary Israeli fashion designer now based in LA whose career almost came to a screeching halt after she almost lost her hand in an horrific car accident.

Right, off to do some editing work… oh joy -sigh..

Night of Writing Dangerously sponsorship goal met!

Hooray,

I raised my $200 for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)’s Night of Writing Dangerously, and I’ve booked my ticket to San Francisco for November 22. G-d bless SouthWest airlines – el cheapo dealo. I really wanted to fly Virgin America but their prices were high-in-the-sky. So bye-bye Virgin, for now at least.

Great thanks to my mum (aw shucks), Tania Hershman, James Tumminia, Eddie and Melissa Rabin, Etan Lerner (well his parents Paul and Michelle), Fred Kramer, and Susan Meadows for raising the funds for the Office of Letters and Light. You all rock! And thanks to Lisa Alcalay Klug for offering to host me in SF.

My mum was visiting from Israel in November last year and we went to San Francisco for a few days and I came down with the world’s worst flu – but NOT H1N1 (it hadn’t occurred yet). So it will be great to spend a day in SF and do all the things I didn’t get to do last time (after the six hours of writing for NaNoWriMo), because I was stuck in my hotel room bed.

Of course, this does mean I DO have to write my 50,000 words in one month, and I’ve still yet to come up with a concrete idea. Oh well, I have a couple of weeks. I’ve been checking out all the NaNoWriMo posts on Twitter and it’s all a little daunting. There’s almost 40,000 people signed up for NaNoWriMo and it makes you realise how many writers are actually out there – a lot! It’s also fun to know that others will attempt this deranged, insane, activity.

In the meantime, I’m working on three separate stories. Just sent to my editor an article on an Israeli fashion designer in LA who almost lost her hand in a car accident as a teenager and still is managing to pursue her dream. Pretty inspiring stuff. And I just interviewed a former Israeli soccer player who is now the hair extension guru to Hollywood stars (Zohan, anyone?). And I spoke with Hilary Helstein about her moving documentary As Seen Through These Eyes – a decades in the making film about Holocaust survivors who documented their experiences through their art. Narrated by Maya Angelou it’s extraordinary. If you’re in LA – go see it!

All three articles will be written, and up in in the coming weeks – will keep you posted on the links. And of course there is more wonderful work up at Scribblers on the Roof. Go check it out.

NaNoWriMo here we go!

I have officially signed up for NaNoWriMo this year – aka – National Novel Writing Month. NanoWriMo encourages everyone and anyone to write a novel of 50,000 words or more between November 1 and November 30 each year. You’re officially a winner if you cross the finish line with a minimum of 50,000 words by November 30.

Now that I’ve blurted it out here, I’m going to feel doubly obligated to complete this crazy assignment. I’m also now going to ask as many of you as possible to undertake this challenge too. Head over to the site and sign up. It’s a daunting task, but as Chris Baty (founder of NaNoWriMo) states, the secret weapon to writing a book is having a deadline.

Please feel free to check in on me and make sure I’m making my word count (which is approximately 1700 words per day – phew).  In addition, I’m also hoping to attend NaNoWriMo’s Night of Writing Dangerously in San Francisco (and I don’t even live in San Francisco!, where I will join hundreds of others in writing all night long. However, in order to attend, participants must raise a minimum of $200. Proceeds from the event will fund National Novel Writing Month’s free creative writing programs in hundreds of schools and communities around the world. And that’s why I’m drawn to this project. Anything that encourages others to take up creative writing is a plus in my book. Please visit my fundraising page here and sponsor me. Donate $1 or $1,000, whatever you like. Thanks for listening to my shameless plea.

Down the rabbit hole… and back

I appear to have gone down the rabbit hole for the last couple of weeks from Kellifornia Dreaming. Was I in fact dreaming? Not a whit. I’ve been slammed. The combination of work (nice to know something is keeping me busy), my new Web site (hooray) and the month long Jewish holidays (exhausting but exhilarating) have left me a little off kilter.

Nonetheless, I’m thrilled to say that with the advent of the Jewish New Year, I’m renewed and ready for a great year ahead. Here’s hoping.

First off, I’ve had a fair amount of articles published lately. I don’t even remember writing them. Isn’t that thrilling? All the gain, none of the pain. But, here are a few of my latest missives. I’m so glad that Religion Dispatches published my piece on the Women of the Wall, here. And Blueprint has kept me busy too with my article on The Moishe House LA, an upcoming Sukkot piece with the AJC, and an article on a Matchmaking Conference (hold the Fiddler on the Roof jokes, please).

Please head on over to Scribblers on the Roof – my wonderful new Web site to check out my regular blogs there, along with the latest, greatest postings. In addition, I was interviewed by the super-duper talented Erika Dreifus over at her Blog – My Machberet – all about my inspiration for and running of Scribblers on the Roof. Please read it!

In absolutely bloody wonderful news – the company that paid me ZILCH and sent me into the black hole of debt, finally sent me an email (hey five months late is better than never, right?) telling my I will in fact be paid for my services (sans interest – naturally – ha), the week of October 12. I will be RICH, RICH, RICH!!!! Okay, I’ll be able to make a dent in my credit card debt – which of course would never have occurred had they bothered to pay me on time as promised. Sigh.

So, mea culpa. I will be back regularly from here on out. More interesting things afoot. Watch this space…