Writing | Rami Ungar The Writer

Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

The E-Book Age: How It’s Affecting The Already Published

Posted: May 14, 2012 in Reflections, Writing
Tags: writing

Alright, so I’m talking to my dad on the phone yesterday, and he says there’s this article in the Columbus Dispatch about writers and e-books that I should check out. I go online and I find the article (the link for which I include below). The article, titled “Not 2 Be Missed; So you want to write for a living?”, talks about how most authors, particularly mystery, thriller and romance writers, used to publish one book a year.

According to the article, not anymore.

With e-books, and our youth becoming so fixated on having the latest stuff now, authors are pressed by their publishers to put out more novels, and even short stories and novellas, in order to keep interest in them and to keep sales up (the biggest concern for any company or manufacturer). It’s a sound strategy, as a teen with an iPad or Nook might be more interested in buying a 99 cent short story first rather than a $14 dollar e-book or a $26 hardcover. And heck, a short story is a good way to get people excited for the novel, right?

In an age where we’re used to getting what we want in an instant at the tip of our fingers, it’s made things harder for writers to say the least. Getting the novel just right (or just “done”, as my English teacher in high school would’ve said), has taken a backseat to meeting demand and keeping attention on yourself.

I’m trying to enter the industry at an interesting time.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/05/13/so-you-want-to-write-for-a-living.html

Spring Quarter 2012: Half-Time Report

Posted: April 27, 2012 in Journalism, Living and Life, Writing
Tags: college life, journalism, Ohio State University, writing

It’s spring quarter, the last quarter of the school year, and since Ohio State is switching to semesters in the fall, the last quarter ever. So I have one thing to say to all those listening: somebody slow the quarter down! I’m not kidding, it’s going by waaay too fast. I mean, I’m enjoying my classes, and I’m doing well in them, so why are we already halfway through? I feel like we should still be in week 3, not at the end of week 5! This is why I hate the saying, “time flies when you’re having fun”.

Alright, now that I’ve told everybody in the blogosphere how I feel this spring is going by way too fast, let’s get into the particulars: grade-wise I seem to be doing well, if my quiz scores are any indication. I’ve scored consistently in the 80’s, 90’s, and 100’s on most of them, so I’m not too worried about struggling. I’ve also learned a lot, including that I actually enjoy very old English literature a lot more than I thought I would, and that literature in any period reflects a lot of what society it was written in and what the author was aiming for with the words they write.

I’ve also been pretty busy, what with writing two articles for the Pulse, and taking part in Holocaust Awareness Week and Cover the Night. Not too mention I’m at work almost everyday, and being the financial aid office, spring is busy season, so I’m rarely without something to do. But hey, I’m learning new stuff on the job and `helping out, and getting paid for it too, so what’s not to love?

As for writing, I’ve got three short stories and a poem I’m waiting to hear back on, and once a friend of mine is done looking at the first chapter of Reborn City, I’ll start looking for an agent or submitting to contests, I haven’t decided which yet (and on that, I’d like everyone’s opinions).

So here’s hoping to a good rest of the quarter, let’s hope it slows down and brings plenty of good stuff, particularly in the realms of grades of written works.

New & Old Work: Getting It All Done

Posted: April 15, 2012 in Living and Life, short story, Writing
Tags: college life, editing, milestone, short story, writing

Well, this is my fiftieth post. A milestone by anyone’s considerations. And like all milestones, this is a time to look both back and forth. Which is what I’ve been doing lately:

These past two weeks or so, I took a look at some old short stories back in high school, one of which happened to be inspired by a very creepy dream I had. Neither one got accepted for publication, and after so long I could see some of the reasons why they were rejected. So in the meantime, I thought I’d edit them and maybe see if they were any better after a good editorial bath and polish. So far, I’m thinking they may be more appealing to publications, but I’ll have to wait and see if they actually get published, because I may just be taking too much pride in my own work. Anyway, fingers crossed.

Also, after I’ve finished editing these old stories and have found time in my busy collegiate schedule to sit down in front of the computer, I plan to pen (or type, actually) some new stories. One will be based on that Law & Order: SVU dream I had a week and a half ago, though it’ll probably end up being more of a thriller story involving events after the key evidence has been collected than your typical police procedural (I’m not sure I could write that sort of story in under 20 pages anyway without making the story too complex or full of technical details).

The other story will be based on the concept of kotodama, which is a Japanese belief that words have power and can affect the lives of people around us. This belief is found in many other cultures besides Japan, and we can see throughout history and up to today how accurate a belief it is (I tend to think that what happened to Rush Limbaugh and Sandra Fluke after Limbaugh said some very nasty things about Fluke is an example of kotodama on a large scale). I will be blending this concept with a very dark event that happened in my life recently, though I haven’t figured out how this will blend yet or how it will end up coming out. But I’ll figure that out when I get to it.

Thanks for sticking with me up till the fiftieth post. I’m so glad that people are reading Rami Ungar The Writer and I hope to bring only good news to you in the future. (wouldn’t it be nice if kotodama could take effect with that last part, huh?)

I Almost Lost It All! Why You Should Back Up Your Files If You Don’t Want To Lose Them

Posted: April 11, 2012 in Writing
Tags: computer, God, writing

I’ve always maintained that God has a horrible sense of humor (my evidence: Rebecca Black’s “Friday”). He played this prank on me today:

I was having a comments chat with one of my followers who also follows me (there’s a technical term for that, I just haven’t heard it yet) and we were discussing how frustrating it is for writers to lose something they’ve poured their sweat, blood and tears into because of a computer error or some such reason. I told her that it had happened to me, though not in a while.

Later that day, I go to put my flash drive in my computer to work on something, but the flash drive doesn’t register. I think maybe it’s just a glitch, and I go off to watch the latest episode of NCIS. On the way back, I try the flash drive on a friend’s computer.

It doesn’t register there either. (cue annoying soap opera organ music)

So I rush upstairs, feeling my heart beat, praying to God that He lets my flash drive work.

It does. I thank Him, but then I realize He’s playing another prank on me. Ha ha, Sir. You got me.

So lesson to all you readers out there: whether you’re a writer or not, BACK UP YOUR DOCUMENTS! You may end up regretting it later if you don’t.

Writing Stimulant: A Good Horror Movie Goes A Long Way

Posted: April 5, 2012 in ideas, Living and Life, Writing
Tags: films, ideas, inspiration, writing

It’s amazing what happens when you see a good movie and it just makes you want to write. For instance, I just saw The Woman in Black with Daniel Radcliffe in it at my school’s union and was totally freaked out by it (I would write a review on it but it’s just too soon after the last review). Even while I was watching the film though, my head was swirling with inspiration. Horror is my craft, and I was carefully noting what the filmmakers had done, how they built up tension in this or that scene, how they symbolically signaled that Radcliffe’s character had discovered an important clue, and basically how they told the story (you can learn a lot about storytelling just by watching a good scary movie).

In addition to noting these things, I was also coming up with ideas, ideas for my own stories that I’d like to write someday. When I do come up with stories based on films I’ve watched, it usually has to do with some element from the movie that really stuck with me or something that I’d like to use myself someday, or even just some stray thought that goes through my head while I’m watching. For example, when I saw Taken with Liam Neeson back in high school, I thought how cool it was that he was taking out everyone and anyone with guns, and that led to my idea for a story on a serial killer who tracks down and kills mafioso (do not take that idea!). I also thought that when he was chasing down that punk from the airport, how much Neeson would have it if he was a werewolf, and that led to an idea about werewolf spies/detectives (don’t take that idea either, I will know if something similar is published after this blog post! Just kidding, I know you wouldn’t do that.).

I’m not going to go into details about the ideas I had in my head when I left the theater. I will say though, that once I’m done putting them down on the ideas list I have on my flash drive, I’ll get to work on finishing my new short story. I am in such a writing mood. Wish me luck.

Unlikely Advice (And Where I Got It From)

Posted: April 3, 2012 in Living and Life, short story, Writing
Tags: Once Upon A Time, short story, writing

Okay, so I’m watching Once Upon A Time on Hulu yesterday and one of the characters, August, who’s a writer, says that whenever he has writer’s block, he goes back and looks at what he did so that he can find “a nugget of inspiration” he may have left behind. Yeah, it sounds kinda funny to hear, but that’s what he said.

Anyway, I’m writing this new short story, and boy do I have such a case of writer’s block. I just can’t figure out how to make the story flow. I have the idea, I just can’t make the words come out. So I thought, “Hey, why not? I have to find something to help me get this out.” So I’m reading what I’ve already written, and then I think to myself, “You know, I don’t really like how my narrator is telling the story.” So I go along and change the style of narration and pretty soon the words start to flow again! Before I know it I’ve got three-and-a-half pages written and a few more on their way.

Has this happened to anyone else? Have you heard advice from some weird place and just found out that the advice is legitimate? Please tell me, so I’ll feel less embarassed.

Rami Ungar The Writer

Follow Blog via Email

Archives