Edits and Construction

Posted: October 17, 2012 in ideas, Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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Well yestereday I edited two short stories. One was Doll’s Game, the short story I’m writing for class, though I might decide to edit it again if I can get this idea I got today for the story to work somehow. I also edited Hunt in the Slaughterhouse, a short story I wrote back in April based on a dream I had. I’ve been trying to get around to editing it for a while, but I’ve had some trouble doing that. But yesterday I had the chance and I have to say, it loooks much better. I’ll have to figure out whether or not I want to send it to a magazine right now or if I want to wait and show it to someone else beforehand.

I also had an idea for Dodi Li, the succubus story I wrote over the summer. Although the plot for that story was really bad and I ended up deciding this story was best left as a learning experience, I decided to rewrite it after my teacher in my creative writing class gave me an idea. You see, she had been discussing the story we were critiquing today, and how the author was able to make it difficult to tell what was reality and what was delusion in his story. Listening to that, I just had a burst of inspiration for Dodi Li, which I plan to get to work on as soon as possible. Got to say, those workshop critiques can do wonders for you.

On, and before I forget, remember how I rewrote the outline for my serial killer novel Snake and that I mentioned I’d set a scene in a construction site? Well today I finally reached the man who could help me get onto the site. We’re going to try and find a time that works for both of us so that I can tour a site and ask some questions. This is a big oppurtunity for me because I want my readers not to have to suspend their disbelief too much and what’s better than actual experience?

Well, hope to have more good news for you later. In the meantime, I’ve editing to do.

The President Reassured Me Tonight

Posted: October 16, 2012 in Living and Life, Politics and Leadership, Social Activism
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Thanks President Obama. You did a lot to set me at ease tonight.

This evening, the local Obama for America office and my campus group Buckeyes for Obama hosted an event at the local movie theater next to campus. You can guess the event: the second Presidential debate, hosted  by Hofstra University in New York (aka the school named after a spell from Harry Potter) and done town hall style, where undecided voters get to ask the questions to the candidates.

Well of course I’d gone. I support the President, I hadn’t seen any of the debates yet, and I wanted to see at least part of one. And around 10:15p, I decided I’d heard enough and I should head home. As I was leaving, the moderator called up a woman named Nina Gonzales to ask her question, and I stopped to listen.

The question was on gun control, particularly on military-grade firearms and assault rifles.

And like that, I had to listen.

Now as many of you know, during the summer there were a lot of incidents of gun violence where innocent people lost lives, particularly in Aurora, Colorado and in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Now at the time of the former, both President Obama and Governor Romney said they were going to follow previous gun control policies and stay along those lines.

It certainly helps.

Meaning they weren’t going to do a thing. And of course I was upset by this statement, having written several posts in the wake of those shootings asking for stricter gun control on assault rifles and laws against selling to those with criminal histories and/or serious mental health issues from the federal government.

But tonight, President Obama reassured me. He said he was going to push for stricter laws on assault rifles and try to keep guns out of the hands who shouldn’t. He would also take steps to help cut down on the other factors that create gun violence, including improving education so people don’t resort to crime and making health care more affordable so that people with mental health disorders can afford their medication.

Now I’m not going to go into what Governor Romney said, mainly because he contradicted himself and because he said something I found absolutely ridiculous (*cough cough” “marriage” *cough cough*). But I am going to tell you that that gun control question was the one question I’d been hoping to hear tonight, and I did get to hear it. And it made me so happy to hear the candidate I’m supporting give the answer I’d been hoping to hear.

Good luck to you, Mr. President. Good luck to you.

The Edits Are Done! Yahoo!

Posted: October 15, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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To get why I posted this picture, read below.

Ladies and gentlemen, get out of your chairs, and start dancing in front of your computer or while holding whatever portable electronic device you are reading this post on! I’ve finished the edits on Reborn City! I thought the editing would take a couple of months, but instead it took a couple of weeks. I wonder if my idols in the world of writing literature have it this easy with their novels when they do the final edits.

So, RC‘s at 24 chapters, with each chapter averaging about four edits total. The longest chapter is the first one, with thirty-four pages, and well over 10,000 w0rds. The epilogue is definitely the shortest, with less than a page and barely two-hundred words, if even that. All told, the entire novel, in 8 1/2″ x 11″ pages, with a 12-point font and double-spaced, is 313 pages (whistle-whistle!). The word count, which requires no calculating of page sizes or anything, is 90,850. To which I say, holy crap.

Well, now I plan to go take a nap, because it’s close to midnight right now. Tomorrow I’ll send this baby off to a friend (his email address is conveniently in the emails I got when he commented on previous posts; expect an email saying “rami ungar reborn city” in the subject line), then go to class. At some point I’ll work on editing and writing some short stories, and when November rolls around get to work on Snake for National Novel Writing Month, or as we writers like to call it, NaNoWriMo.

And what happens after I get Reborn City back from my friend? Well, I’ll do the edits he suggests, and then I’ll get to work on doing everything else that needs to be done so that you all can read Reborn City.

You know, I’ve seen this process of self-publishing Reborn City sort of like a train, and every time I get to a new milestone in the process, I’ve reached a new station. When do I get to the final stop? I’m not sure; I’m certainly ahead of schedule, but who knows how long that’ll last?

Anyway, I hope for some more good news soon. That way I can share it with you as soon as possible.

To all, a good night (or if you just turned on your computer and you’re reading this with your morning coffee, good morning. Some weather today, huh?). Sweet dreams, and happy blogging to you.

300 Comments!!!

Posted: October 15, 2012 in Living and Life, Progress Report
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Well, it’s a week of milestones. Five-thousand views, and now 300 comments, thanks to my friend Matt Williams of the awesome blog, http://storiesbywilliams.com/. Maybe I’ll get 100 followers on Thursday. Are there twelve people who like horror, thriller, following aspiring writers in college and don’t mind the occasional post on how much I support the Democrats and how I am confused by Republicans and the things they say and do?

You know, when I first started this blog, I found it inconcievable, when I was barely getting five views a week, that I could get a single comment more than once a month. Now, I’ve got 100 more comments after posting about getting 200 less than a month-and-a-half ago. This is just so incredible, I’m geeking out a little while I write this.

Thanks for all the reading and all the commenting, folks. It means a lot and it means you’re sticking with me through all my trials and tribulations. Hope to hear good news soon. Maybe I’ll finish editing Reborn City and hand it off for some edits from a third party this week. Wouldn’t that be awesome!

Talk to you later.

Chapters Rise, Chapters Fall

Posted: October 15, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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Or to be more precise, the number of chapters fall and the number of chapters fall.

I wrote a couple posts back that I’d decided to change the way the main characters of Reborn City met up with the big bad guys, so that meant tacking on another chapter. I wasn’t sure if the number of chapters would rise again or if it would drop. Wouldn’t you know it? I ended up deleting a chapter that was unnecessary with the new course of the story (which I’m glad I went with; the story’s much better this way). So I’m back to twenty-four chapters, including a nice little epilogue.

And speaking of which, I’m in the middle of editing chapter twenty-one. I’m in the home stretch, and much sooner than I expected. Who knows, if my friend who’s agreed to look over RC after it’s done (you know who you are) gets through it quickly, I might be able to get the e-book out…December or January. Either way it works out wonderfully, because RC takes place in mid-summer. When we’re freezing our butts off in the middle of winter, it’ll be nice to sit back with our e-reader and read about a gang war with a conspiracy behind it in the middle of July, right?

Hope to have more soon. Wish me luck as I do the final edits.

Review: Taken 2

Posted: October 14, 2012 in Review
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THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. PLEASE BE AWARE YOU MAY NOT WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE AFTER READING THIS POST.

Before I start, I just want to say one thing: I loved Taken. I loved Liam Neeson in that movie (he’s great in every movie I’ve seen him in, but he’s especially amazing here), I thought the story was amazing, the action was fresh and awesome, and the movie helped inspire my serial killer Snake.

So I feel a little sad that I have to write this review, and a little disappointed that the makers of Taken 2 couldn’t top Taken. In fact, they did several things that just sapped the excitement from the film and made it boring. For instance, the opening of the movie would’ve looked more at home in a sci-fi film about a conspiracy than the sequel of a thriller involving lots of shooting and killing. And then when they show the funeral, they make it explicitly clear that it’s an Islamic funeral while the antagonist vows revenge for his fallen friends. Seriously, I get that Albania’s mostly Muslim, but could you wait until after the funeral to discuss your evil plans? Or did you want the racist freaks out there to nod and say, “That’s just what Muslims do at funerals”?

Second, the action just seemed a little too…familiar. Even if Liam Neeson gets captured and beaten a little, it’s all the same, shoot people up in a foreign place, take them all by surprise, end up with very few wounds by the end of the film. And what was with the end of that bad guy? Honestly, you just kill him after offering to let him go. Makes no sense to me; I would’ve done it differently.

Unfortunately, this movie’s doing well at the box office, so perhaps some people disagree with me. However, I’m calling it as I see it, and I see this film as a 1.4 out of 5. Yes, that low! Hopefully when I see Alex Cross next week, they’ll be able to do a better job of doing a thriller than the makers of Taken 2, even if they’re not including the character of John Sampson in the former.

An Awesome Book: A Self-Publishing Story

Posted: October 14, 2012 in Living and Life, Reflections
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I saw an ad for Google Chrome today that I wanted to share with you. Normally I wouldn’t waste your time with a Google Chrome ad, especially since Internet Explorer is more my type. But this one has to do with a self-publishing success story:

In the video, Clayton Dallas wrote a children’s book for his son that encouraged him to dream big. Mr. Dallas wanted to publish his book, but publishers turned him down. He decided to do self-publishing, and over time, his book, titled An Awesome Book, caught on. Before he knew it, Mr. Dallas was touring the country and abroad, reading his book about how any child can change the future if they put their minds to it.

Well, that’s pretty interesting. Not only am I self-publishing Reborn City, but one of the overarching themes of RC and its two sequels is that one can better their lives and change the world if they work hard and they put their minds to it and never give up. I like that idea, and I think it’s one that not enough people believe in these days, and many people put down all too willingly, which may be why it can be difficult sometimes to get people to vote in elections (a possibility).

So Mr. Dallas, I wish you luck with your book. I hope it inspires a whole new generation of young people. As for myself, I’ll work to get my book out too, and maybe somebody will be inspired enough to try and make a change after reading RC and its sequels (fingers crossed).  I also hope that if publishing companies haven’t taken your book seriously yet, then after the Google Chrome commercial they are! Otherwise, they are just dense.

Talk to you guys later. I’ve got some homework to do and then I’m going to see Taken 2, which I’ll review afterwards. Spoiler alert: Someone gets taken and Liam Neeson has to go save them. But we already knew that, didn’t we?

A Nice Change to Reborn City

Posted: October 13, 2012 in ideas, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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Yesterday before the Sabbath came in and I became cut off from all electronic devices (including anything I use to edit my stories), I had a great idea on how to edit Reborn City‘s final act. I realize that the original scenario was a little unrealistic, a little in need of suspension of belief. Or maybe a lot in need.

So this new scenario will be much better. I’m not sure if it’ll increase or cut the number of chapters I have, but that doesn’t matter, when it comes to producing a quality story, right?

I’m excited to see what this produces, so I’l write you again when I have something to write. In the meantime–on to the editing and rewriting!

5000 Views! A Big Milestone

Posted: October 13, 2012 in Living and Life
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You like me, you really like me!

Yes, I’ve finally gotten past 5000 views on Rami Ungar the Writer. It’s been a year, 2 months, a week, and two days since I started this blog. There were times when no one visited my blog at all, and I worried I wasted my time writing it. Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with me or logged on or even just strayed here accidentally looking for a picture of a creepy doll or information on whether Alex Cross’s partner John Sampson would be in the new movie (he’s not). It means a lot, and I hope you stick with me while I work to publish my novel Reborn City and work to become a professional novelist.

To all, thank you.

Fall Semester 2012: Half-Time Report

Posted: October 12, 2012 in Living and Life
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You know, I just love calling these little posts about how my semester is going “half-time reports.” Must be my love of Ohio State football.

Now, onto how I’m doing. Like I’ve said in previous posts, I’m taking a creative writing class, and we’re all currently in the middle of critiquing everybody’s stories (mine’s being turned in early November). I’m enjoying that and doing well grade-wise, though last night I read one of my classmates’ stories and thought it was horrible, though don’t tell any of my classmates I said that. I’m also taking a documentary course, which I’m also doing well in, and which I have to thank for empowering me to self-publish my novel Reborn City without having to rely on a service. After all, I’ve learned to use GarageBand and iMovie. Who says I can’t learn to format my novel as an e-book?

I’m also taking a history course, and got one assignment and my midterm back yesterday. The assignment, which was for us to watch a documentary and then evaluate the historical sources used in the documentary, didn’t have a specific letter grade on it, but judging by the feedback my teacher gave me, I got at least a B+, probably and A- for going over the sources and seeing how biased against Leopold II of Belgium they were. My midterm was even better, with 92% correct answers. In addition, even the answers that were wrong got partial credit, so I’m happy about that.

I’m also taking a philosophy course on statistics, which fulflills a GEC requirement. I didn’t do so well on the initial quizzes, but I’ve been studying hard and meeting with my teacher outside of class to discuss problems I’ve been having with the coursework, and as a result my grades have gone up a lot. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep this up and get even better grades on the quiz a week from now.

Other than that, not much else to report: I watch Buckeye games every Saturday with a few good friends (we’re 6-0 right now, and I’m hoping we beat Indiana this week, if we can keep our defense strong and our offense stronger), I edit Reborn City, and I store up a few ideas for short stories that I’ll do once I have the time to do them.

Wish me luck with the rest of the semester. We only have 8 weeks to go, and that’s not including the two weeks devoted to finals (somehow I only have one final to do, and it’s on the last day of exams, in philosophy. How the heck does that even happen in your first semester?). Hoping to get all A’s this semester, keep our fingers crossed.

Oh, and before I forget, have a great weekend. Go Bucks!

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