The on-line home of Sashi Kaufman; teacher, writer, nature lovah!
I used to think my job was really exhausting because of the emotional presence required to be an effective teacher. Since having a baby 8 months ago and subsequently returning to work I’ve gained new perspective on what being present can really mean.
As exhausting as being a teacher is, I get a prep period. I get to eat lunch (for 17 minutes) and I get to pee alone.
I love holiday movies. I can’t help it. They’re shmaltzy and predictable but I just can’t help myself. I like the funny ones, the dramatic ones, mainstream and independents. Everything from a Christmas Story to David Sedaris Holidays on Ice. There’s just something about celebrating holidays that seems to encapsulate a certain amount of relational humor and drama.
My current work in progress takes place between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. The story kicks off with a particularly painful holiday in which the main character’s visiting cousin pees in his bed and his mother lies to him about the death of his beloved grandmother.
Do you have a favorite holiday moment; fictional or autobiographical?
When is sex or even heavy petting (yeah, that’s right I’m bringing this phrase back) allowed in YA fiction?
Why do most teenagers have sex?
This side is somehow less “ok” to write about. One of the refreshing things about a book I read recently called The DUFF was that it dealt with teens who were having sex and enjoying themselves without the world ending. Now I don’t necessarily think all, or even most, teenagers are ready for sex. But they are capable of having healthy relationships that are sexual in some way. So why isn’t it written about?
Ideas In Things 