Let's Write the Next Great Frum Novel

Iymnok

Wed, Dec 12 2018, 8:28 am

mommy2379 wrote:

I need a synopsis! If someone can get me a detailed synopsis of whats happened thus far I'll pick up the thread!

YYB goes to Shul oat, if at all. He has some sort of airline miles deal with a friend to make money for the Shul and the FBI is investigating him on it.
His wife , Rivka is a BT. She expects him to be a good Jewish husband and go to Shul and learn torah, help her around the house when needed and build a deep connection.
One of the FBI agents is her childhood friend.
YYB's brother has been married a few years and has more kids than he could count due to multiples, yet he expects his wife, Shifra Shprintza to have the house clean, the triplets nursed, clean and sleeping, the older toddlers all quietly in bed and a hot, delicious meal on the table when he comes home. Oh, and a sheitel, makeup and heels on.
someone else fill in about the in-laws.

Rubber Ducky

Wed, Dec 12 2018, 1:35 pm

YY's parents (Rivka's MIL) have 13 kids and are uber-yeshivish. FIL hasn't spoken to his son YY in 15 years and has banned him from his home because YY isn't learning full time. MIL is super-geshikt, the type nobody else can measure up to.

mommy2379

Wed, Dec 12 2018, 2:39 pm

[quote="mommy2379"]What's rivka's relationship like with Shifra Shprintza? Have we explored that?[/quote

Rivka woke up with a throbbing headache- her sheital hairs splayed wildly across her pillow. Advil! Advil! her brain screamed. She'd read once in a magazine that the key to happiness in ones marriage is- Always wear a sheital and layer of lipstick. for some reason that line stuck with her, and she decided to give it a shot. she had nothing to lose. She was on day 3 now- 72 hours since she put the sheital on her head, and her scalp was getting a little itchy. She wasn't quite sure what to do about showering- keep the sheital on? If only she'd saved the magazine article she'd have all the details! Rivka washed negel vasser, trying to figure out what to do. The thing was- the segulah was actually working- YYB had gone to every single minyan since she started wearing her sheital at all times. it was nothing short of miraculous!! He'd also finished 80 blatt gemarah and started an organization for teens at risk. No way she was taking the sheital off.

mommy2379

Wed, Dec 12 2018, 2:39 pm

"I know!" she thought. "Shifra Shprintza loves Mishbinami Magazine. For sure she'll remember the details!"
Ring. Ring. Ring. Shifra s picked up on the fifth ring- breathless.
"Oh. Hi." She said dully.
Rivka was taken aback. "Shifra Shprintza, you sound...I dunno, overwhelmed or something?"
"Really?"
"Yea. Is everything ok?"
"Yea sure. I was just sipping a latte and playing sudoko while perusing the New York Times."
"Oh ok phew. I thought for a second maybe you were struggling with all the little ones! Baruch Hashem I was wrong and you're totally normal!"
"Baruch Hashem." Shifra Shprintza answered flatly.
"Look. I heard about this segulah and it really works--oh wait, YYB just walked in from Neitz, I have to give him his piping hot babka and cocoa. I'll call you back."
"Hi YYB!" Rivka called out cheerily. She hands him a slice of babka, he makes a slow mezonos. After swallowing, he looks up.
"It's amazing Rivka. It's like I've been reborn. I feel such deveikus, I never knew life could be like this!"
Rivka smiled, patted her oily sheital happily.
"There's just one thing. Your sheital."
Rivka's eyes widened. "m-m-my sh-sh-eital?"
"Yes. I think you should start wearing tichels rivka. I like the look better."

syrima

Wed, Dec 12 2018, 6:07 pm

Love the sleeping in the sheitel idea!

Joey (don't ask which one, you'll see soon) loosened his tie, put down his briefcase and sighed. It was a deep sigh that seemed to go all the way to his toes. He just couldn't stop thinking about that kid in her aleph bet pajamas. He used to wear those. He used to know all the letters and their sounds, even some words...it made him feel vaguely sad that he had forgotten it all. Like he was missing a key part of his identity. The only thing more Jewish than the aleph bet was maybe...chicken schmaltz? And he was woefully ignorant. He stood in the foyer of his lonely apartment, hands in his pockets, reflecting on the past. Then suddenly, as though a voice of a Jewish ancestor was whispering in his ear, he moved quickly to the computer and typed "aleph bet meaning" in the search engine. Soon he was engrossed in the articles on a kiruv website describing how these 22 letters were used to create the world. His eyes grew wide with wonder as he absorbed the online wisdom.*

*This example of internet use is used in the plot to bring about Joeys return to his faith in a ridiculously short span of time. It is assur to try this at home with an unfiltered computer, and if you skip ahead to chapter 47, please note that Joey aka Yossi has now installed a proper filter so that his yingalach can stream Uncle Moishy in the most kosher way.

cuties' mom

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 8:06 am

Joey decided that he had to visit Becky again, this time without his annoying partner. He rang her bell and was surprised to see Becky's husband sitting at the table eating babka and drinking hot cocoa.
"Come in, Joey," Rivka said. "I have fresh babka on the table."
Joey walked into the kitchen and sat down across from the man he was supposed to be investigating.
"I came without my partner this time, as you can see," Joey pointed out the obvious. "I'm starting to think that Yussaf has something against Jews. Since he became my partner, we're only investigating cases that deal with Jews. You could probably tell me offhand, is there anything illegal about chicken smaltz?"
"You're the FBI agent who called a few times?" YY asked, trying to stall.
"That's me," Joey agreed.
"And you're also Rivka's old friend who came the other night?" YY confirmed.
"I know her as Becky," Joey said.
"So am I in trouble?" YY asked nervously.
"That's what I'm here to figure out," Joey said. "Your daughter's pajamas triggered some old memories. My grandma bought me pajamas like that and taught me the aleph bet, but told me not to tell my parents. Overtime, I forgot about it, but I've been reading up on the letters the last few days. I think it's what my grandmother wanted me to do."

PinkFridge

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 3:36 pm

flapsmom wrote:

Ladies, this thread is absolutely hilarious! I'm on the edge of my seat!! What happened to malka in the hospital? Did we forget about her? She may be the key to all this!

I just read this as mikva in the hospital.
If that helps anyone with writer's block, my pleasure!

Boca00

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 7:24 pm

Rivka closed the door behind YY with a sigh, and adjusted her tichel.
This was just getting... hard. It was great that YY was getting back into his shiur and everything, but it was just so much PRESSURE to be a babka machine and keep the house perfect all the time.
It was definitely a fair trade-off, though, and Rivka felt guilty for feeling this way.
She needed some support, and now, to be able to keep this up.

Rivka slipped into her room and clicked the door shut. She pulled the iPad out of her drawer and powered it up.

Logging in, Rivka went straight to her posts to check the responses to her previous post. 140 hugs, 3 likes. 67 caring messages and offers of help.
Rivka smiled as she read, relishing the feeling of warmth that spread through her.

She was in the middle of the 37th response when she heard the door slam downstairs. YY must be home already!

She quickly logged out, and expertly switched over to her History to delete the site.

But what she saw there, made her cry out in shock. Why oh why oh WHY???

mommy2379

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 3:41 am

Boca00 wrote:

Someone had logged onto her ipad late last night. It must have been YYB. He had visited a disturbing site indeed! The Center for Information about Breslov!!! "Is YYB becoming chassidish? Is that what the tichel thing is about??" Rivka's heart was racing "I dont know if I'm ready for this Hashem!" Rivka sobbed into her tehillim.

mommy2379

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 4:00 am

Her Ramah days with Joey flash before her eyes. "Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I was never meant to become frum!" Thats how her brain always works when she becomes stressed. She quickly signs on to Imamother for instant therapy, her fingers shaking. She adds a new post to the shalom bayis forum ( her 976th post on that particular forum) "Help! I think I'm supposed to be conservative! And also my husband went from At Risk to Yeshivish to Chassidish in a span of one week!" Suddenly, YYB bursts into the bedroom. "Rivka! You'll never believe who was at shachris this morning! Joey the FBI agent, your old friend!" He is beaming. "Also- where's my cocoa and babka?"

amother

Pewter

Fri, Dec 14 2018, 10:52 am

** editor's note - please either add terrorist attack- shooting or bombing or even hijacking to this story, since no Jewish novel is complete without it. That's what really makes a novel spine-tingling.
Also be sure to include "veteran askan", and dedicated mechanech.