Tess Rosen Writes

     The world is a bit of a dumpster fire right now (see last two posts). Nonetheless, amidst all of the burning garbage, my book still needs to be written. Unless one of you wants to write it and give me credit (jk... unless...). I will, of course, continue to share other pieces I write as they come to my heart and mind, but right now I'm focusing on outlining my novel. It's productive and  a welcomed distraction!  As I shared when I started this blog, I want to keep a diary of my writing process, so here's what I've been up to aside from writing emotional poetic prose pieces about antisemitism.      This summer, I decided I would warm up my writing muscles before digging into the novel journey by trying out some techniques on a short story. With this warm-up story, my goal was to practice writing in the same genre as my novel, incorporating multiple perspectives, developing characters, and finding my voice. It was also incredibly valuable in te...

Last week at religious school…  Two seventh grade boys asked if we could take a moment or two  to talk about something that happened at their school that afternoon. Of course. They shared that someone carved a swastika into a bathroom stall – so large that they have to replace the entire wall. I asked them how they felt.  They both muttered, “Really scared.” All I could say was, “That’s fair. I’m so sorry, that’s so awful, and I’m so glad you shared.” And they nodded.  And I nodded. And the rest of the class nodded. Sharing an impromptu moment of silence in a way. We acutely understood each other’s heartache that day; every one of us clearly hearing all the words we didn’t say.  We just needed to feel with each other for a little bit.  To share the pain. To honor it. Then, moments later, they were all back to being seventh graders.  Talking over each other, sitting in inventive positions in their chairs, tossing around fidget toys.  Someone is sud...