Rami Ungar’s On Facebook!

Posted: December 22, 2012 in Living and Life
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I’ve always been against Facebook for personal reasons. It’s a long story, so I’m not going to bore you with the details. But guess what? I’m now on Facebook. Why? Because it’s a great way to let people know I’m a writer and I’m going to let everyone know when something comes out. I don’t know how active I’ll be with FB, but I’ll definitely use it as much as I feel comfortable. So far I have 60+ friends and counting. Soon I may have even more.

If you’d like to friend me, please do so (but send a message first so that I know who you are). I’d love to have you as a friend. And could someone tell me how to link my blog to my facebook? I’ve no idea how to do it.

Oh Look, The World Hasn’t Ended

Posted: December 21, 2012 in Living and Life, Reflections
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I’m not going to say “I told you so” to the people who were expecting earthquakes and meteors and gods attacking and whatever. Instead, I’d like to quote Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory: “I informed you thusly!”

Let’s face it, the world has been predicted to end several times over the past 2000 years. It’s not going to end, at least not on some prophecy. If it does end, we won’t see it coming. Luckily, I don’t expect the world to end, so I’m not too worried about something happened. We just need to start a revolution in Iran to elect a true democratic government, bring preace between Israel and its citizens, and I think we’ll be fine.

However, some people believe that the date the world ends isn’t for another ten days, on New Year’s Eve. So unless the ball in Times Square is laced with explosives, I think I’ll ignore this date too and just spend time with the family.

So Happy Solstice, and I hope the worse weather you’re having is some snow. That’s what I’m getting, and the worse it’s doing to me is keeping me indoors.

The First Short Story For The Collection Is Finished

Posted: December 20, 2012 in ideas, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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And what a short story it was! It scared me a little during the writing process. Me! And I’m the guy who thanks Mrs. Voorhees for her hockey-masked son Jason. Tells you what sort of a story it is.

Now, how can I tell you about this short story without giving too much away? Well first, it’s longer than the average short story. But then again, this is for a collection. Most writers who release collections will make their short stories a little longer than usual just because they can. Stephen King definitely does it a few times, even if his stories end up as novellas in the collection. Thankfully this one didn’t get to novella length (20k-40k words) but it’s longer than usual.

But like I said, this story scared me. Why? Well, imagine yourself placed in a situation like The Hunger Games, where you’re in a battle you don’t want to be in and someone else is controlling everything that’s going on. Even worse, it’s a psychological battle. No weapons, just some crazy crap that’s messing with your head. It can be taxing, especially if you’re in a space that doesn’t get much bigger than your high school campus.

And then I added a few other things. For one, I added a religious zealot with a bit of charisma and a thing for power? Well, after every disaster–real or just percieved in your head (I’m talking to Clint Eastwood and Chuck Norris on the latter)–there’s always someone saying the world’s about to end and we better do as s/he says or we’re all going to hell in a shopping cart. And occasionally, people believe them. Which leads to a bunch of problems.

Add a little doom and gloom, a bit of Celtic/English mythology, and my disturbed mind, you get a rabbit’s hole that scares the person who dug it. Nice!

Oh, I forgot to tell you the name of this short story. It’s called “The Quiet Game”, and I think I’ll also make it the title of the collection. It feels like the right thing to do, and it was the right choice to write this story first. I like it, and I can’t wait to share it with you.

But first, I’ve got some editing to do, including turning a male character into a female character, because if the character’s male, there’s a romantic element in this story, and I just don’t want that there. So I’ll take it out and turn the character female. No romantic element, but still plenty of emotion and psychological terror. It’ll be awesome.

Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a shower and then watch the original Die Hard movie, because the new one is coming out in two months and I’m psyched to see it. Tomorrow I’ll do the editing, send it off to a friend, and then I’ll start on something else.

Trust me, this next story will be something else. It’s based on a friend’s experience, but it’s given the Rami Ungar treatment, so you know it’ll come out twisted and freaky!

It’s The Day Before The World Will End (Not Really)

Posted: December 20, 2012 in Living and Life, Reflections
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So it’s about 24 hours before the Mayan calendar is supposed to wind down and the doomsday naysayers crap their pants with worry. Given the lack of scientific evidence that there is something to make the world end, the fact that the Mayans weren’t thinking about fire and brimstone when they created their long-count calendar, and the fact that prophecies of doom have come and gone without a hair falling out of place (most recently May 2011), I think it’s unlikely the world will end.

In fact, I plan to act like the world won’t end. I’ll get up, wonder if there’s still time to go to the Christmas party at work even though I’m not scheduled to go into work today and therefore slept in a little, write, remember the world’s supposed to end, shrug and get back to whatever I was doing, bring in the Sabbath, and laugh as nothing happens.

You guys get where I’m going with this, right? The world’s not going to end. There’s nothing to make it end. I know things have been crazy the past week in the USA because of all the shootings and attempted shootings. It’s enough to make you think the world might actually end. But it won’t; the world’s going to keep spinning, I’m going to keep writing, and on Christmas I’m going to order Chinese and watch a movie, as many Jews will do during the holiday season.

But if you’re still scared, please watch this music video by British artist Jay Sean, featuring supposedly-Trinidadian-but-possibly-from-outer-space artist Nicki Minaj. If this doesn’t convince you the world’s not ending, you’re a lunatic:

Posted: December 18, 2012 in Uncategorized
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A friend of mine who works as a freelance journalist for several prominent newspapers and who’s published two excellent books, one on gun control, recently wrote a few pieces about the ongoing issue of gun control vs. Second Amendment rights in light of the Newtown Massacre. Here she offers one way of tackling this multifaceted problem while also telling women who are afraid to speak up to just go and shout from the rooftops their opinions on the subject. A great read, and I encourage you all to give it your consideration.

broadsideblog's avatarBroadside

It’s been a busy few days!

I did an interview with BBC’s Newsday, one with a German freelancer, and wrote two op-eds on this story, both requested.

For anyone who wonders how I get to speak out publicly like this, it’s a matter of relationships. All four opportunities came to me through long-held relationships with editors or these institutions.

I also, which I really value, am essentially asked to explain this specific example of American exceptionalism to other nations who find Americans’ attachment to gun ownership truly bizarre. If you have never visited the National Rifle Association’s website, you must do so, no matter how repugnant you may find their views. Their appeal is emotional and clearly, to its members, very powerful.

If you have no idea what they are saying to their members — and do not understand how organized and well-funded they are —  it’s more difficult to…

View original post 515 more words

Autumn Semester 2012: The Wrap-Up

Posted: December 18, 2012 in Living and Life, Progress Report
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Well folks, I got all my grades back from this past semester, so you know what that means! Time to tell you how I did, what I wish I could’ve done, and what I hope for the coming semester. Oh, and this was Ohio State’s first semester, so the fact that I managed to survive the extra six weeks and did so well is a good sign. Oh, and for those of you who are new to Rami Ungar the Writer, I’m double majoring in both History and in English. I think those are great majors for a writer to have, don’t you?

Okay, so my classes: I had Documentary, Creative Fiction Writing, History, and Philosophy, and all but Philosophy I got A’s in. Documentary was a sort of experimental class, where we spent time around computers creating audio and video recordings about our writing styles, along with creative art projects meant to explain our connection to a certain book of literary renown (I did John Milton’s Paradise Lost). Creative Friction Writing, although more literary than I expected, was interesting, and it gave me a short story I plan to submit to a certain magazine right after I finish writing this post. History was about the discipline of Historical Studies and explain how historians went about their business. I probably did the best in that class, getting A’s on nearly all my assignments, and doing a kick-ass project on the history of Holocaust awareness in America. I passed Philosophy with a grade lower than I’d hoped for, but my final paper got an A-, which was higher than I expected, so hurray for me. Also, I’m now able to point out how a certain article may have dubious statistics in it, so that’s a useful skill.

I also went to my first home football game this semester, and I got to see President Obama speak. These were all very special occasions for me, and I totally enjoyed myself.

Next semester I’ll be taking four classes: another Creative Fiction Writing, which I had to apply for to get in (it’s that special, apparently); a History class on World War II, which is a part of my History focus; an American Literature course, which may encompass anything from Washington Iriving to Catcher in the Rye; and as an elective, I ‘m taking Abnormal Psychology (aka Where Everything We Learn Could Potentially Be Applied to My Family). I’m certainly looking forward to this coming semester, especially since as time goes by the weather will get warmer.

Or maybe it won’t get warmer; Ohio weather is often strange and unpredictable.

All for now. Tune in next semester to see how I’m doing.

And I Heard Something Dumber Than What Huckabee Said

Posted: December 17, 2012 in Politics and Leadership, Reflections
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During the election, I got incensed when politicians and media personalities said idiotic crap about women’s bodies. Now, I have plenty of material on politicians and gun control! For example, Mike Huckabee said that “systematically removing God” from public schools was the reason behind the massacre, and that he “wasn’t surprised” that the shooting happened. He tried to clarify his views later by saying that he meant “God’s name is only invoked after the tragedy”. That’s sometimes true, but we all understood what you meant the first time you said it.

However, I just heard something worse: Representative Dennis Richardson of Oregon said that teachers should be allowed to carry guns on campus and in the classroom, and if he’d been a teacher, he’d have shot Adam Lanza. Yes, he is a Republican, and no, I have no idea if he’s had psychological testing.

Still, I have to ask: WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING?! DID YOU GO UPSTATE FOR SOME WEED THIS WEEKEND?

If you didn’t get that last question, you haven’t been paying attention to the drugs debate enough and you need to brush up on your US geography.

But seriously, what the heck are you suggesting? That teachers have guns? That’s a stupid idea. A tattoo or a piercing is okay, it may be a little garish or obscene to some people, but tattoos or piercings don’t have negative effects on children, they don’t harm children. Guns though, can harm children. And even if you lock the guns up, there’s always the one kid, even in kindergarten, who can get into places they shouldn’t. And every time a gun gets in a school, it always causes chaos, as this past weekend demonstrated well enough. How does putting guns in school for the teachers supposed to protect anyone?

I really don’t understand how giving people more access to weapons of death and destruction is supposed to protect others and stop the killing that comes from these same weapons. It’s counterintuitive, if you ask me, and I also think Representative Richardson is not going to be reelected because of this comment. If anything, we need less guns, especially the powerful assault rifles. Like Senator Feinstein from California said, those guns aren’t for hunting deer, they’re for hunting people!

Posted: December 17, 2012 in Uncategorized
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A friend of mine wrote this article about how we shouldn’t worry that we’re going to die Friday as the Mayan calendar winds down. Instead, let’s party because it’s just the solstice. Check out the article, check out the video, and just check out his blog in general.

storiesbywilliams's avatarStories by Williams

Worlds CollidingIt seems NASA spends untold resources trying to debunk conspiracy theories and doomsday predictions. Sad, when you consider all the wonderful uses this time and energy could be dedicated towards, like putting people on Mars! In any case, and in anticipation for this coming Friday (and Saturday, if all goes well!), I thought I’d share this video NASA released to put people’s minds at ease. The world will NOT end on Dec. 21st, 2012, it claims, and presents the scientific findings that say so.

Set on Dec. 22nd, 2012, the video approaches the apocalypse as if it is something that has already come and gone and proceeds to explain how the myth of the 2012 End of the World scenario began in the first place. In examining the actual Mayan Calendar, the reasons for why the calendar ends when it does, and taking a look at all the stellar and…

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I’ll Write A Collection of Short Stories

Posted: December 17, 2012 in ideas, Progress Report, short story, Writing
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“Doth quoth the raven, ‘Write some short stories. CAW!'”

With the first draft of Snake done, I want to work on short stories for a while. And since Reborn City is taking a little longer than expected. I don’t want to work on RC‘s sequel until RC actually comes out, and I won’t get to Snake for a while, I’ve decided to take the short stories I write during this period and make them into a collection, which I’ll release as an e-book for a $1.29 download fee–the same price as a song by a popular artist on iTunes. In addition, I also plan to publish each short story individually, though if you get the whole book there will be extra goodies that don’t come with the short stories alone.

What sort of extra goodies, you may be asking? I’ll let you know another time. First, I got to get to work on the five short stories I plan to include in the collection. Then I have to have the short stories critiqued and edited, then I have to come up with a name for the collection, get some illustrations, purchase copyrights…you understand where I’m going with this, right? Publishing is never easy, even with free e-book creation and distribution.

Oh well. That’s the price we pay, and I’m certainly happy to pay it. Wish me luck and I hope to have more news soon.

Snake: First Draft Done

Posted: December 16, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I saved the best for last: a Biblical snake!

I don’t like doing online rants about gun control. It’s something I’m passionate about and that I wish more people backed, but I don’t like doing it. I prefer to talk about my writing, about the short stories and novels I write and the ideas I come up with. I love discussing the writing process and nitpicking my work and others’ work. Why else is my blog name Rami Ungar The Writer?

This is why I’m happy to say that this post isn’t about gun control or Newtown or asking people to contact their representatives. No, this post is about how I finally finished my thriller novel Snake, about a serial killer hunting mafioso in New York and the reason why he hunts them. It took me about six months and four days to write this novel, a personal best for me, and I’m really satisfied with this first draft. I think it starts out like a regular thriller in the respects of James Patterson or Stephen King, but then it morphs into something else, especially when we start to realize that the Snake, the titular killer, is actually the protagonist and not the antagonist!

How is this possible and why do I do this? Well, you’ll have to read the novel when it comes out to find out. However, that won’t be for a while; I first have to put off editing Snake for a few months. After I edit it, I’ll see if I can find someone who’ll take a look and critique it. If that happens, I’ll incorporate their suggestions into the text and then I’ll start the process of copyrighting the novel and then releasing it as an e-book online. Of course, no idea when that’ll happen, so don’t go onto Amazon looking for my name.

I enjoyed writing Snake; it was scary and exciting at the same time. The plot changed several times throughout the writing process, and it’ll probably change a bit more when I get to editing the story, but I think every change made the story better. I had the oppurtunity to write in ways I’d never written before, like writing a thriller instead of a regular science-fiction or horror novel and writing a sex scene that I planned to keep to the final draft. I also was challenged to write my female lead, whose head I sometimes had trouble getting into, and I got to practice writing fight scenes, which are not always my specialty.

All in all, this novel has a special place in my heart, and if I ever write a sequel (which I have an idea for), I will enjoy writing that too. Of course, it’ll be a long time before I write the sequel; my philosophy on sequels is to take a break and work on something else between books, or you’ll find yourself in a creative rut staying in the same fictional world for too long.

Now for the page and word count. Remember, I write my drafts in 12-point font, Times New Roman, and double-spaced. When the final version comes out, the page count will be a lot shorter. Now the Epilogue, the final part of the novel, was 23 pages and 5,164 words. Let’s add that to the other parts: the Prologue was 14 pages and 3,979 words; Part I is 41 pages and 10,177 words; Part II was 96 words and 23,801 words; Part III was 126 pags and 30,733 words; Part IV was 86 pages and 22,288 words; Part V was 29 pages and 7,576 words; and Part VI was 28 pages and 7,095 words. Total it all and…

Holy long thriller, Batman! This first draft ends at 443 pages and 110,813 words. Hope you like drawn-out storie, because I definitely succeeded in that capacity!

Well, I have to stop writing for now, because I have to get up early for work. But wait for tomorrow; I’ve got a special announcement to make. Thanks for staying with me so far and I hope to put Snake, my sci-fi novel Reborn City, and a whole bunch of other stuff, out soon.

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