Rami Ungar The Writer

Leaving Tomorrow For Europe

Posted: May 5, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections
Tags: Amazon, blogging, college life, entertainment, ideas, living and life, novel, Ohio State University, progress report, publishing, Reborn City, reflections, Smashwords, Snake, social media, study abroad trip, writing, WWII/Holocaust

I can’t believe it’s already upon me. I mean, I’m just about all packed up, I’ve written numerous posts about it here and elsewhere, and I’ve got my passport and plane tickets and everything else (I think. I always forget something. Hopefully that won’t happen this trip, and if it does hopefully it’ll be something easily replaceable). I’m still coming to grips with the fact that it’ll be happening. I feel like I’m in a novel, about to go through a wardrobe or be taken by cyclone or get in a blue police box and travel to some fantastical place only glimpsed in dreams, a place where history comes alive and romance is possible (I wish) and new adventures await at each and every corner.

But it is happening. My dad will pick me up later today and take me to his place for an overnight so he can drive me to the airport in the morning. I’ll stay in Toronto the latter half of that day waiting for my flight, and then I’ll take a red-eye to arrive early morning in London* to meet up with some of my fellow study-abroad goers and one of our teachers, where we’ll take a bus to our hotel and…well, from there it’s pretty open. Anyway, it’s happening, as hard as it is to believe. I’ll be in Europe till the 29th, and I’ll be experiencing everything and anything while I’m there.

*If God forbid my plane disappears over the Atlantic and CNN devotes all its time and energy to making a big deal out of very little information, I swear I will come back as a ghost and haunt the people in charge of CNN until they actually start acting like a news channel. I was already planning on becoming a ghost, but now I have something to haunt!

You know, it’s hard to put my finger on what exactly I’m looking most forward to. Is it visiting these museums, or places where battles or atrocities actually happened? Is it seeing Titus Andronicus at the Globe Theatre, or visiting the Paris catacombs? Is it taking a million photos and coming up with a thousand ideas for novels and short stories? I have no idea. I’m looking forward to just about all of it.

Well, I’ll be coming back with plenty of stories to tell, I’m sure. I’ll probably make several posts about the trip too. However, you can get these stories sooner by checking in regularly to my OSU-provided blog, which I will update in each new city we stay in (we’re going to be in London, Bayeux, Paris, and Berlin, by the way). And if for some reason that link isn’t working, you can find the blog at u [dot] osu [dot] edu [slash] ungar [dot] 19. I promise, there will be plenty of photos and stories there for me to share with you.

And don’t worry, I’ll be posting some other stuff on this blog while I’m away. After all, Snake‘s coming out in a month and five days. I’ve got to advertise for that (and I plan to, as only Rami Ungar can). And of course, if you’re really desperate to read something by me while I’m gone, or more likely you’re looking for something new to read, Reborn City‘s e-book is available for $0.99 throughout the month of May. You can check it out on Amazon and Smashwords any time this month, and get a great discount when buying it. And if you love it or hate it, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or write a review letting me know. I love feedback, no matter what sort it is.

All for now. I’m going to go through my apartment and make sure I’m not forgetting anything important that I have to take with me. It’d suck if I forgot something important, wouldn’t it? Have a great day, my Followers of Fear.

Spring Semester 2014: Post-Semester Wrap-Up

Posted: May 4, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report
Tags: blogging, college life, films, living and life, Ohio State University, short story, study abroad trip, writing, WWII/Holocaust

Well, I got my final grades in for spring semester. Can I just say, about time! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to post about this until I got back from Europe. But in they are, my grades, so I can now tell you my impressions of this past semester and what I’m hoping to get from the next one.

Well, to say the least, this past semester was dominated by preparing for my study abroad trip. Besides the obvious meetings with the people in my group, orientations on health and safety, and applying for numerous scholarships (of which I got three and I have a couple of people I have to thank for that, including teachers and wonderful donors), almost all of my classes were devoted to preparing for the trip. Part of taking the WWII Study Abroad Trip is that I have to pass certain classes in order to go with everyone. I’d taken one of the required classes and one of the optional classes in previous semesters, so I had four more classes to get through before I went abroad. These classes were American History from 1921-1963, in which I got a B, French American Relations Through the Years (B+), a special French study course to learn basic French (these sort of classes you get either a “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory” grade; I got the former), and a History Research Seminar focusing on WWII (I got a B+).

I have to say that while all of my classes were interesting and fun (usually), my favorite was the American History one. The teacher was so passionate about the subject matter, and he was fun to watch as he told us about everything from the Roaring Twenties to Truman’s abilities (or lack of them) as President to the rise of the nuclear family and the beginnings of the civil rights movement. That class also had the most interesting books, including one I used for research into a short story, and another two I decided to keep (you never know when they might come in handy). But each of the classes had something that made them special. I learned French customs and speech in my French courses, and I was able to look into the actual connection between Nazism and the occult for my research seminar. It was a wonderful time.

The only class I took that wasn’t related to my trip was Contemporary Disabilities Studies: Deaf Literature and Deaf Culture, in which I got an A. I took the class as a requirement for my English major (yeah, I’m not sure how a Disabilities Course overlaps with English, except that it was about Deaf and deaf literature, and yes there’s a difference). The teacher of that class was a deaf woman getting her post-doctorate who’d also been a GTA in one of my classes from a previous semester. I got to know her much better this past semester though, and I ended up really enjoying her class. I also ended up learning a lot about Deaf literature and culture that I hadn’t known previously, and it expanded my worldview and helped my writing. In fact, one of the short stories I wrote this past semester, Darkness at Noon, was for a project in that class. Not only did it receive an A, but my teacher cried at the end and said I should get it published. Believe me, I’m working on it.

So next up for me is the Study Abroad Trip, which I’ll be posting about a lot, both here on Rami Ungar the Writer and on my OSU blog site. After that, I’ll be heading into my final year at Ohio State University, as hard as that is to believe. In the fall, I’ll be taking five courses: a creative fiction writing workshop, a course focusing on Shakespeare’s plays and poetry, a course on the history of war, a course focusing on the history of East Asia before the modern era, and a biology course focusing on portrayals of biology and anatomy in cinema. I’ll also be working on a new novel as a thesis, which I’ll go into more detail about as the next semester gets closer.

For now though I’m going to take care of some other stuff for my trip, as well as write a blog post on the OSU blog site. So until next time, my Followers of Fear.

Laura Horn: I’ve Reached Chapter Thirty-Five

Posted: May 4, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
Tags: college life, entertainment, films, holidays, Laura Horn, living and life, novel, Ohio State University, progress report, Star Wars Day, study abroad trip, thriller, writing

Some of you may recall a while back that I wanted to get to a certain stopping point in my work-in-progress Laura Horn before I went off on my study abroad trip. And last night, after a lot of work, some hilarious SNL skits, and just the craziness that is my life, I got to that point. Chapter Thirty-Five, the perfect stopping point at this point, has been reached. And it was over twenty-five hundred words, so when I was finished, I was frankly relieved.

Also, I would’ve written about this last night, but by that time I was thinking about going to bed. Which I did.

At this point, if I manage to get any more chapters written, it’ll be a miracle, as well as icing on the cake. The likelihood of that though is pretty slim at this point, because obviously I have a study abroad trip to prepare for. But if I do, then lucky me. I still have thirty chapters left to write. Anything that makes that remaining material a bit easier to handle is A-OK in my book.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ve got to get ready for my meditation class, so I’ll be signing off. I’ll write some more if I actually get my final grades back this afternoon (God-willing).

And to all my fellow Star Wars fans, May the 4th be with you on this most auspicious of days. Or as Chewbacca would say, “Graaaaaaaaaargh!”

Rape Is NOT Funny

Posted: May 3, 2014 in Living and Life, Politics and Leadership, Reflections, Social Activism
Tags: activism, college life, comedy, ethics, government, human rights, living and life, morals, Ohio State University, politics and leadership, proper decisions, rape, reflections, sex and sexuality, sexual assault, television shows, women's rights

I’m going to share something that happened to me this morning with you all. I woke up much later than I’d planned to, made myself breakfast, and turned on my laptop to see my messages. In my inbox, I found that someone had replied to a comment I’d made to a YouTube video. The video in question was a Tibetan bowl singing meditation video that I listened to yesterday in order to relax after a long day. When it was over, I had commented, “Whoa, what did that just do to me?” (I was really relaxed afterwards). Between commenting on that video and checking my messages, some merry prankster had replied to my comment with this: “it raped you…with Tibetan singing bowls :)”.

Of course, you can guess how I replied: “not funny”.

And it’s true, rape is not funny, especially when you look at the realities of the problem. It’s estimated that every two minutes, an American is sexually assaulted. One in five female college students will be sexually assaulted before they graduate, usually by someone they know. Often their rapists are not punished as thoroughly as they should be by the university, receiving academic probation or being banned from campus for a year. Imagine having to be on the same campus as your rapist every day until one or both of you have graduated. It’s enough to drive you insane. And rapists who are let off easy like this are likely to repeat and rape again, averaging six assaults before graduation. It’s even likelier for rapists who include violent acts like strangulation in their assaults. Because of these statistics and several colleges apparently mishandling sexual assaults, 55 universities, my own included, are being investigated for mishandling sexual assault cases by the federal government. For some victims, they wish this investigation would’ve come sooner.

And that’s not the worst part about it. In some countries women are jailed or killed if they are raped, sometimes with the permission of the governments that are supposed to protect them. These “honor killings” or jail sentences are supposed to punish the woman for making herself sexually desirable to her rapist and causing him to commit adultery. Sometimes they are even married off to their rapists in order to preserve family honor! For many women, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other psychological disorders can arise from being sexually assaulted, so imagine having to be punished by law or married to your rapist in order to preserve some silly notion of honor.

Even in countries where women aren’t punished or married off on their rapists, sometimes things are little better. Assault victims are shamed or intimidated into keeping silent for a variety of reasons. They may believe that their assault was their fault, or that they’ll be humiliated or disbelieved if they come forward, or that coming forward will forever change how they’re viewed by people. In cases of pregnancy, some won’t be able to get abortions because laws make it difficult or impossible to do so.

Even in the United States, supposedly a progressive country where all are equal, most are seriously misinformed about sexual assault. They believe it only happens to others, that all rapists are strangers to the victim, that it’s a rare occurrence. In reality, rape is all too common, as well as pregnancies that result from rape, most rapists are someone the victims know, and it could happen to just about anyone. And when we do not blame the rapists but find ways to blame or hurt the victims or create reasons why we shouldn’t believe them, we only make things worse.

And so do the comedians who make fun of rape. Whether they make one single joke or an entire act out of rape and sexual assault, they are doing as much damage as some rapists. They tell people that rape isn’t a serious problem, that you can make fun of it and the victims who are assaulted every two minutes in America (there was a great Law & Order: SVU episode about this recently). And some people, like my commenter above, will take these comedians seriously. One or two may actually rape themselves, believing it’s no big deal.

I’m here saying that rape is a very big deal, and it is not something that should be made fun of or turned into comedy club stand-up. Rape is a serious problem people all over the world must face, and that unless we seriously try to change our culture, things will not improve. They’ll stay the same, or get worse.

So if you ever find yourself confronted with a rape joke or you think about making a rape joke, imagine that making such a joke makes someone as horrible as a rapist. And then ask yourself if you should really laugh at or make that joke, or if you should try and change things so that those jokes are never made again. You might get thanked down the road for that.

The 3 Basic Endings In Horror

Posted: May 2, 2014 in Reflections, Scary Stuff, Writing
Tags: authors, editing, endings, entertainment, films, horror, ideas, novel, reflections, scary stuff, storytelling, writing

Horror stories usually have three basic types of endings. At least, in my experience they do. There are variants on the the endings, but for the most part horror stories and movies tend to fall into three broad categories: the happy ending, the temporary reprieve, and the monster’s victory. I hope that in the course of this post, I can go through all three and describe the benefits and cons of using each of these methods. This may bring a better understanding not only to other horror authors, but to myself of the stories we write and why we write them and how to improve upon them.

So without further ado, let’s begin the examination of endings in horror.

The Happy Ending. This one doesn’t need much explanation, because this ending appears in most stories. Good conquers evil, the monster is vanquished, and the hero or heroine returns home, maybe sporting some very attractive partner on their arm if they’re lucky. This is a standard ending that all authors use at least once, and it’s a good one because most audiences want a happy resolution to their stories. However, the problem with the happy ending (at least in horror), is that if it is done wrong, the reader could be given the impression that all is flowers and roses and that everyone who survived the terror is left unscathed. And fans of horror have only one response to that sort of Hollywood-sweet ending: “Bullsh*t!” Even though we enjoy realms with monsters, ghosts, and serial killers, we want some things to be realistic, and that includes having your characters somewhat scarred, even after they’ve achieved total victory over the enemy. At the very least, show how the characters are haunted by their experience, how they wish they could’ve done more or they’re sad that their lives are so messed up.

A good example of a happy ending in horror that is well done can be found at the end of the novel Misery. Protagonist Paul Sheldon has barely escaped Annie Wilkes. He hasn’t even escaped in one piece! He’s missing a foot and thumbs, he’s dealing with alcoholism and writer’s block, and he keeps seeing Annie’s ghost wherever he turns. Yet at the end he finds inspiration for a story and starts to cry, because he’s able to start writing again, that he was able to get away from Annie at all, and because of what his life has become post-captivity. That is a really well-handled happy ending for horror if ever I’ve read one.

The Temporary Reprieve. Another common ending in horror, and if you ask me the best of all three. The temporary reprieve is when the hero or heroine has defeated the monster at the end and has had a few pages or minutes of screen time to recover, maybe even celebrate and have a smoke. But then evil rears its ugly head again. The monster has returned, it’s only been stopped a short while, and it plans to continue doing horrible things no matter what happens (you don’t have to end the story with the monster reappearing, though. You can show what happens after it reappears or just end it there). This is a great way to end a horror story, because it gives the readers one last scare and leaves open the possibility of a sequel.

The problem with this ending though is pulling off another good scare (I’d also include whether or not you should do a sequel, but I’ve written about that elsewhere). You want to lull a reader into a false sense of security and get them to really be terrified at the end, and doing that relies largely on your talent and skill as a writer. If you are unable to create that twist at the end, it may come off to readers as cheesy, contrived, or unnecessary. Some good examples of horror stories that do this well are the movies Insidious and Nightmare on Elm Street.

The Monster’s Victory. Strangely for horror this one is a rarer ending, and I think that has to do with people wanting a positive resolution to their stories, even in horror (I have trouble with these endings sometimes). However the monster’s victory is still a great ending, and in the right hands can be a fantastic final note to a good horror story. In it the monster of the story has won, the protagonist has been killed or been rendered a victim, and evil will continue its reign forevermore (or until a sequel is made).

Like I said, this sort of ending does have the possibility of turning off readers, but at the same time, doing it well done will create a very positive response. I would recommend practicing it as well as looking at endings that have done the monster’s victory well. Some good examples would be the movies Sinister and The Skeleton Key. Terrifying and fun.

Now, not all horror stories fall neatly into these categories. Some are a mishmash of these endings, such as Texas Chainsaw 3D, which is arguably a combination of all three endings. And some endings don’t seem to be any of these endings: the novel Carrie has everyone in it, from insane Margaret to most of the cruel and evil teens to poor Carrie herself dying at the end of the book with a bunch of carnage in her wake. How do you categorize that sort of story?

Regardless though, these endings do crop up a lot in horror, and they provide a framework for authors to work and experiment with in their own writing. Using these sort of endings or examining them and identifying their flaws as well as their positive sides can help you identify which would work best for you or your story, or if you should try some sort of different ending that is not among the ones above. And if it produces a great story, then all that examination is worth it, don’t you think.

Racism Is Not Dead

Posted: May 1, 2014 in Journalism, Living and Life, Reflections, Social Activism
Tags: activism, basketball, Cliven Bundy, comedy, Donald Sterling, entertainment, Family Guy, government, human rights, living and life, NBA, politics and leadership, progress report, proper decisions, racism, reflections, social media, television shows

Some in the American government and in the media have made the proclamation that “racism is dead”, at least here in the United States. If you ask me, the people saying this are either overly idealistic and naïve or they’re willfully ignoring facts. Because the sad fact of the matter is, racism is far from dead. It’s just not as overt as it used to be, it’s become subtler so it can thrive without being reprimanded or outcasted by the majority of Americans who don’t believe in racism or think it’s immoral.

Need proof? The Southern Poverty Law Center estimates that there are over 200 known hate groups in the United States, with Ohio having 31, New York 42, and California 77. Other large states have many different hate groups, most having racist beliefs, and the states with fewer hate groups are more likely to have groups that can be categorized as Neo-Nazi, White Nationalist, KKK, Racist Skinhead, Black Separatist, and General Hate. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Just imagine how many small or new hate groups out there the SPLC has yet to document! The numbers are scary if you think about it.

And then there are recent episodes where racism has reared its ugly head and broadcast all over the media. Cliven Bundy recently remarked that he believes that blacks (or as he calls them, “negros”) were better off under slavery than they are now, because apparently not learning to pick cotton has lead to them being on government welfare, aborting kids, and sending their young men to jail (I could write an entire post on the meshuggas of this guy if I wanted to, but why bother? He’s obviously nuts and in the end the federal government will force him to pay the money or send him to jail, possibly with his militia friends in tow). And then he acts like the victim when reasonable people are offended by his words and says MLK Jr. didn’t finish his job.

First off, Mr. Bundy seems to forget that slavery was not a walk in the park. It was inhumane, cruel, and caused the deaths of untold millions. He also doesn’t seem to realize that there is much more to why some African Americans are on welfare, mostly because they are not afforded the economic, environmental, and social resources to help them get off welfare. Plus not all blacks are on welfare, aborting babies, or in jail. Our President identifies as black*, and he’s not on welfare (unless you count living in a government building and receiving your paycheck through taxpayer money welfare), has two beautiful daughters, and has never been to jail unless it’s been to talk to prisoners.

*Yes, he identifies as black. It’s not a biological thing, but a social construct. Amazing that we make such a big thing over a construct of our minds, but there you go. (see this post for more)

And is being on welfare necessarily a bad thing? Mr. Bundy’s ancestors were brought from Nevada on a welfare program, if I remember correctly. So don’t preach like you’re better than them, because your life is the result of welfare programs, Mr. Bundy. And by the way, don’t blame a dead man for what’s in your heart. You have only yourself to blame for your racist beliefs, and if people are offended, it’s because there is still reverberations in our own society resulting from the darkness in our past. No covering up will rid our nation of that darkness, and people are right to be offended by your remarks. At the very least, you can be considered callous, if not outright racist.

And then there’s Donald Sterling, who’s been banned from the NBA and forcibly relieved of the LA Clippers because he didn’t want his biracial mistress seen with black people. Some people say he may be senile, others say he’s worried about his performance, and others just say he’s a racist pig. I think that whatever he is, he is a hypocrite because his team is mostly black and he’s seeing a woman who is half-black, and that his hypocrisy, as we have seen, is his downfall.

It is nice to know that the same weekend we all started talking about Sterling, Family Guy had a wonderful episode that dealt with racism, not just from whites but from blacks as well. And it is nice to know that we are having a dialogue about this, that we are not trying to sweep racism under the rug or deny that it exists. That’s like trying to ignore a serious medical condition or disorder in the hopes that it goes away. Just doesn’t work out in the end.

You know, the Supreme Court is right: a lot has changed since the Civil Rights Acts were passed. We are now a more technological, global, connected society. We recycle in the hopes of not accelerating the destruction of the Earth, and the idea of a black man or a woman running for President is no longer ludicrous, but the former has become a successful reality (twice!) and the latter is welcomed by a huge majority of the country.

However racism is still a problem in this country, and it is something we will have to deal with if this country is to continue to grow and prosper. So denying racism and saying it’s dead isn’t the answer. Rather, open dialogue and a lot of love and understanding is. And we need to have more of it.

Oh, and to the KKK guy in that one news clip who says he has black friends but doesn’t believe in “racial mixing”, where are your black friends exactly? Do they know you wear a KKK robe? And could you bring me an article from an accredited medical journal published in the past ten years that says “racial mixing” is a bad thing? I would love to see it!

Self-Pub Authors: What Makes A Strong Character?

Posted: May 1, 2014 in Journalism, Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
Tags: authors, blogging, characters, college life, journalism, living and life, reflections, self-pub authors, social media, study abroad trip, writing

I thought this was coming out tomorrow, but it looks like it came out today. This is my final article on Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors before I leave for my study abroad trip, What Makes A Strong Character? I wrote it because there seems to be an emphasis on creating a diverse array of strong protagonists in fiction, so I decided to write about what makes a strong character in the first place.

Honestly, it wasn’t an easy article to write. What makes or doesn’t make to be a strong character is a difficult thing to pin down. Several times writing this article I had to go back to the first paragraph and delete everything else because the definition I had just didn’t feel right to me. I’m still not sure if the definition I came up with in the end is the right one. Maybe that’s why I asked readers to give me their definitions of what constitutes a strong character.

And while you’re reading the article, make sure to check out my other articles from the past couple of weeks. I’m sure you’ll find them helpful in some way or another. In fact, check out all that Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors has to offer. It’s a wonderful site with plenty of helpful articles on everything involving writing, editing, publishing, and marketing on a budget. So if you’re a self-published author or considering self-publishing, you should definitely check out this website.

That’s all for now. I’ve got some work to do, so I’m going to get on that. Once again, have a lovely day, my Followers of Fear.

Reborn City: Six Months Since Publication

Posted: May 1, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Review, Writing
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, authors, big sale, blogging, e-book, editing, entertainment, living and life, novel, publishing, Reborn City, review, sale, science fiction, Smashwords, Video Rage, writing

It’s been exactly six months since Reborn City was released. I can’t believe how long it’s been since RC first came out. I’ve sold some copies, gotten five reviews, and I managed to get to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Not bad for a first book.

For those of you who don’t know much about RC, the novel is the first in a trilogy. It tells the story of Zahara Bakur, a Muslim teenager living in a world that has emerged from the ashes of a third world war. The society she lives in is made up mostly of small nations and independent city-states, some of which are plagued with Islamaphobia due to the role certain terrorist groups played in the war. This includes Reborn City, where Zahara lives, and this hatred gets her parents killed. Soon afterwards, she is forced to join an interracial street gang, the Hydras, in order to repay one of the leaders, Rip, for saving her life. However things get worse after that: the leaders in the Hydras all have very strange powers, and there is a rumor it’s connected to the corporation that rules over Reborn City, the Parthenon Company. The decisions she and her new friends make will impact not only her life, but the lives of so many others.

And apparently people have enjoyed reading it. Check out some of these reviews:

This is not a genre I typically delve into, but I took this book on vacation and couldn’t put it down. The plot had me turning pages at quite the clip. The characters were unique and interesting and the imagery had me creating my own visual of what Rami’s interpretation of the future looked like. For first time novelist, Rami Ungar, this was an outstanding showing of talent and commitment to his passion of writing. Looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next!

Michele Kurland

Gangland violence, superhero-like enhancements, a futuristic setting, and social commentary that stems from a semi-post-apocalyptic theme. And then there’s a story where people come together as a family to deal with mutual loss and tragedy. What’s not to like?

Matthew Williams, author of Whiskey Delta and Papa Zulu

As a reader who does not read books in this genre, I must admit that I could not put down the book. I attribute this to the talent of the author. I am looking forward to reading the next books published by Ungar. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy action with features of supernatural powers and sci-fi.

Enji

And for the six-month anniversary, I’ve done some really awesome things. For one thing, I’ve uploaded a second edition, free of any editing or technical problems with the book (I hope). Secondly, I’ve put RC‘s ebook on sale. From today, May 1st, to May 31st, RC’s ebook will be available for $0.99. That’s two dollars lower than usual. Afterwards from June 1st to June 14th, RC will be available for $1.99. So right now is the best time to get the e-book and see for yourself whether or not you like Zahara and the Hydras.

I wish I could say that the print paperback is also on sale. Regrettably though, Amazon controls that, not me. But you can still get the physical book for $8.80, which is a very good price for a book.

So if you decide to check out Reborn City, you can find it on Amazon and on Smashwords. If you’d like to read a bit of it before you do, you can read some of it by checking out this excerpt. And if you do decide to read RC, please let me know what you think. Write a review or leave a comment. Positive or negative, I really don’t care. I just want your feedback.

That’s all for now. I hope you all enjoy reading RC and I hope to do some editing on the sequel, Video Rage, this summer when I get back from Europe. Have a wonderful day, my Followers of Fear!

One Week Till My Study Abroad Trip

Posted: April 29, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report
Tags: blogging, college life, Doctor Who, entertainment, living and life, novel, Ohio State University, progress report, Reborn City, science fiction, study abroad trip, WWII/Holocaust

I can’t believe how soon it will be before I’m flying overseas to study WWII. But everywhere around me, I find the things that remind me how little time is left before I go. The constant email reminders, the calls between my medical insurance company to make sure that I have all my medication before I go, the planned shopping trip with my dad to get me some last minute clothes, the research into plugs so I know if I have to stop by RadioShack for adapters. Any day now I’m going to wake up, get dressed, and then head off to the airport.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m going on a study abroad trip to England, France, and Germany to study WWII, particularly the European theater. There’s about fourteen students, including me, and two teachers accompanying us overseas. Everyone on the trip has been studying together since the beginning of the semester, so we’ve all gotten to know each other as well. I’m so looking forward to this trip. We’ll be seeing Churchill’s bunker, the place where Turing cracked Germany’s codes, Omaha Beach and the Pegasus Bridge, the Paris Shoah Museum and the place where the Versailles treaty was signed, Wannsee and Sachsenhausen concentration camp, and so many other places. In addition, there are many places I and my classmates want to visit while we’re abroad. There’s been talk of seeing an actual Shakespeare at the Globe (we’re thinking of seeing Titus Andronicus; I wonder if my classmates realize that’s one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest and most violent plays?), and we’re in Paris I plan on going down into the catacombs (God help anyone who gets in my way). Oh, and there’s apparently an actual British police box somewhere in London. I’m so visiting that with my sonic screwdriver.

The TARDIS! Allons-y!

Sadly though, I won’t be doing a lot of blogging or blog-reading while I’m gone. I plan mostly to disconnect from the Internet while I’m abroad, so I can get as much of Europe as I can while I’m there. I’ll also be writing a lot less than I normally would (that’ll be agony in itself, but I’ll survive). However, the university is requiring us to keep blogs while we’re abroad, so I’m posting the link for mine here. And if for some reason there’s a problem with the link, my blog address for when I’m abroad is u [dot] osu [dot] edu [slash] ungar [dot] 19. So if you want to know what I’m up to while I’m abroad, just go to that site and you can read all about it.

So wish me luck while I’m abroad. I promise to come back with plenty of stories and a couple of blog posts about my time there (and whether or not I met any ghosts in the catacombs or if I managed to successfully prank anyone on my trip). And trust me, there will be plenty of photos. I even have plans to make a video slideshow of my trip once I get back. It’ll have the most amazing music too.

Oh, one more thing: I’d just like to remind everyone from May 1st-31st, Reborn City‘s e-book will be on sale for 99 cents. You read that right, 99 cents. So if you’re interested in reading the book and you have an e-reader, now would be a good time to get a copy. Once June 1st comes around, the price will go up to $1.99, and on June 14th the price will go back to the normal $2.99. So check it out while it’s on sale! And if you like or hate RC, please write me a review. I love feedback, whether it be positive or negative.

That’s all for now. I’ve got some work to do, so I’ll do some more blogging later. Have a good day, my Followers of Fear.

What’s Outside The Camera’s Borders

Posted: April 28, 2014 in Living and Life, Reflections, Scary Stuff, Writing
Tags: authors, editing, entertainment, films, horror, reflections, scary stuff, storytelling, television shows, writing

Lately I’ve been watching a lot of horror films I haven’t previously watched before, such as Insidious and its sequel, Cabin in the Woods, and the new film Oculus (if I were review that one, I’d give it a 4 out of 5. Psychologically disturbing, but the ending leaves something to be desired. Then again, I prefer certain endings, and the one they used wasn’t one of them). Besides finding these movies extremely relaxing (yeah, I wonder what that says about me too), horror movies, particularly the good ones, teach me a lot about terrifying people, and give me ideas of translating those methods to writing.

For example, in all of those horror movies I listed above, there are moments when something is happening or you expect something to happen and the camera is focusing on one of the characters. It’s in those moments you find yourself wondering, “What’s beyond the camera lens? What if there’s something there that’s about to attack and kill?” If there’s music playing in the background, the tension is heightened, and even if there’s no music playing in the background, the tension is still heightened. Because you can’t tell what’s beyond that camera’s borders, lurking with intent to terrify. Even worse, what you can see in front of you may not be all that it seems. For all we know, that umbrella stand next to the character’s foot may have a rotting arm inside that’ll leap out and grab him. Or the woman fixing her earrings on while looking in the mirror and talking to her daughter may not realize that her daughter isn’t actually behind her. It all adds to the tension, to the terror, and when something finally does happen, it is both a relief and scary enough to cause you to jump or cry out or even scream (I’ve done all but the last one in my time).

So how do you translate this whole thing with the camera into writing fiction? Well, I think a character’s point-of-view acts as a camera, especially when the story is being told in first-person point of view. All you have to rely on to understand the story is the character’s (minimum) five senses and their interpretation of what they’re senses tell them. And in some ways the character’s POV is more limited than a camera, because the character can only see what’s right in front of their eyes, leaving the reader to fill in those spaces where a camera would normally show what was happening.

Behind you!

So if one can figure out how to do this sort of storytelling with a character’s POV as a camera, I think you have the makings of a very scary story.

Do you think writing can in any way be compared to film making? Are there merits to picking up techniques from movies and TV shows, and if so, what are they?