Posts Tagged ‘authors’

Review: “Uzumaki” by Junji Ito

Posted: January 22, 2017 in Review, Scary Stuff
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I love manga and anime, but I often have trouble getting my hands on horror manga and anime that is actually scary. I’ve found plenty with ghosts, zombies, homunculi, serial killers, and death games, to name a few, but often they’re mixed with other genres to make them more palatable for non-horror fans. Other times I have heard of a scary one, but I can’t get my hands on it (still trying to get my hands on Corpse Party), and other times I just don’t know of some series that I should. So when I actually hear and find some manga or anime that is actually scary, I rejoice. Case in point, Uzumaki by Junji Ito, who is considered one of the greatest horror manga artists from Japan, and it shows in this series.

Uzumaki literally translates into “spiral,” which is the essence of the manga. The story follows Kirie Goshima, a teenage girl living in the town of Kurozou-cho. One day, her boyfriend Shuichi tells her that his father has become obsessed with spiral shapes, to the point that he is losing his grip on reality. This leads to a gruesome series of events that reveal a curse upon the town and the surrounding area, a curse involving spirals, spirals that hypnotize and entrance, spirals that terrify and excite, spirals natural and unnatural. And once the curse sets in, it doesn’t let go.

From the very beginning, Uzumaki is quite extraordinary. Ito illustrates with  incredible attention to detail, which in a horror manga  is necessary if you really want to convey a sense of terror. I mean, look at the imagery below.

Holy crap, that is both well-drawn and scary! You can see every detail, how much  work is put into each stroke of ink to make the imagery look realistic despite being an illustration. And the best part is, Ito is not concerned with aesthetic beauty. You look at most animation, and it’s meant to be pleasing to the eye. To be cool, or pretty, or adorable. Ito doesn’t concern himself with that. He’s concerned with just making you squirm, and he does that so well with his illustrations.

And on top of that, his storytelling abilities are great. Unlike other horror stories, the horror is based on abstract concepts. A geometric shape, the spiral, is what we’re supposed to be afraid of. You’d never think a spiral shape like the one below would be scary, but Ito uses his illustrations, storytelling, and the turn of a page to weave this frightening tale where we’re forced along to find out what happens, fining stranger and stranger things on the succeeding pages. And best of all, Ito just takes things in the most unexpected directions, inserting the spiral into strange places we normally wouldn’t see it. I won’t say what happens, but things like snails or pregnant women get matched with the spiral, and it becomes terrifying. It’s made even better that you don’t actually get a lot of explanation. With ghosts or vampires, you get a mythology on how they work and how to deal with them. In Uzumaki, Ito leaves it up to the imagination as to what’s happening. It’s very unnerving in a Lovecraftian sense to see how this town becomes part of some strange curse around a geometric shape, and never get an explanation.

Doesn't look scary at first. Wait and see.

Doesn’t look scary at first. Wait and see.

If there is one criticism I have, it’s that the people of the town don’t really come to terms with what’s going on as fast as they should. At a certain point, it becomes impossible not to face what’s happening in the town, but up until then, there are plenty of signs that something’s up, and not one of the main characters realize they have to get up and get out before it’s too late. Even the guy who’s constantly saying they should leave doesn’t. At least make an attempt!

But other than that, Uzumaki is a terrifying story of cosmic horror that takes something harmless and give it a weird, disturbing form that will surely stay with you for a while after you finish reading it. On a scale of 1 to 5, I’m giving Uzumaki a 4.8 out of 5. If you enjoy horror and don’t mind visual reading like comic books and manga, definitely check out Uzumaki. I’m glad I did, and I will try to track down the move version as soon as possible. Because after seeing these sorts of pictures, I’m curious as to how they’re translated into the cinematic world.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear. Pleasant nightmares.

50,000 Views!!! Plus, An Email Address and An Upcoming Newsletter!!!

Posted: January 9, 2017 in Living and Life, Writing
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Well, here’s something I didn’t think I’d get to until it became apparent in the past couple of months that it was going to happen. Rami Ungar the Writer has reached the 50,000 views milestone! After five months, four months, and seven days, we’ve reached 50K! Followers of Fear, find a partner and do the dance of joy!

I’ve always wanted to do that.

I say this every time I reach a milestone, but I’m incredibly grateful that you guys continue to come back every time I publish a post. For the first two years or so of this blog, there were times where I wouldn’t get views on my blog for several days, and then get a bump of maybe one or two, and then that would be it for a while. Likes and comments were even rarer, and followers came in at a trickle. It made me wonder if I wasting time with a blog, trying to build an audience that way.

But somehow, I persevered. And you guys kept appearing, and a good chunk of you kept coming back. Slowly, views and likes and comments started increasing. There were even times when I’d get spikes into the hundreds or even the thousands! And then the followers started to rise, and I started calling you my Followers of Fear, and none of you seemed to care one way or another on that one, so I kept going with it. And then a couple of months ago I got to the five-thousand likes milestone, and I was like, “Holy crap, I might get another one soon!” And now it’s come to pass.

Thank you, Followers of Fear. I really appreciate the continued patronage and support. I hope you continue to support me for the next fifty-thousand years (hopefully it won’t take another five years to get there) as I work on becoming a great horror novelist.

And on that subject, there are a couple more announcements I’d like to make while I still have your attention.

Firstly, look at your search bar. You’ve probably noticed, but this site is no longer ramiungarthewriter.wordpress.com, but just ramiungarthewriter.com. Yep, I updated my blog into a full website. Why did I do this? Well, beyond the fact that web address is a bit of mouthful and shortening it makes it a bit less of a mouthful, I’m trying a bunch of new strategies and tactics to increase readership both on my blog and with my books. One of those tactics is to upgrade to a full website, which gives me a couple of distinct benefits. One is now I have an official author email address. That’s right, you can now email me! With a lot of successful authors, I’ve noticed that they have more than a few ways to be interactive with their fanbases, so now I have one more.

So if you want to email me about my books, or a blog post or something, you can write me at ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com. I don’t know how often I’ll check my mailbox or how quickly I’ll get back to you, but it’s something I’m devoting effort too.

On a related note, I’m also setting up an email newsletter. This, I hope, is where people who are interested will hear first about publications and contests and other things related to my writing career. I have a feeling that people are getting tired of seeing the latest short story being finished or the latest novel review, so I think I’ll put out something separate that focuses on that, and put stuff on the blog related to the intricacies of writing and of horror, as well as the occasional post about my life or my thoughts on certain subjects.

This is all part of my New Year’s Resolution, which is to be better at getting people interested in my stories and in my writing in general. Will it succeed? No idea, but at least I’m sticking with my New Year’s Resolution and keeping things simple by going for an achievable goal with achievable steps. And I’m open to other tactics that could help me accomplish this. Heck, I may even try Goodreads again, if I can get a better handle on how to work that site.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ve kind of rambled a bit in this post, but at least I’ve gotten a chance to talk about the good news and show some of the progress I’ve made since New Year’s. Until next time!

The “First Day, First Paragraph” Tag

Posted: January 1, 2017 in Novel, Writing
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first-day-first-paragraph-tag

Happy New Year, Followers of Fear! It’s January 1, 2017, and I’ll be talking about the past year in another post, but right now, it’s time to see if I can make this tag I created catch on. It’s time for the “First Day, First Paragraph” tag. And if you don’t know the rules, here they are:

  1. Publish your own post on the first day of the month.
  2. Use the graphic above
  3. Thank and link back to the person who tagged you.
  4. Explain the rules like I’m doing now.
  5. Post the first paragraph of a story you’ve written, are writing, or plan to write someday.
  6. Ask your readers for feedback.
  7. Finally, tag someone to do the post next month (for example, if you do the tag on the first of August, the person you tag has to do it on the first of September), and comment on one of their posts to let them know the good news.

Published on January 1st? Check. Used the graphic? Check. Thank and link back to the person who tagged me? Not necessary, I created this tag. Explain the rules? Done.

Now to post the first paragraph of one of my works. As last month I did Video Rage, and the month before I did Reborn City, I think this month I’ll do Snake. For those of you who don’t know, Snake is a novel I published back in 2014 about a serial killer hunting down members of a powerful mafia family. It’s like Taken with a much more violent and horror-themed twist to it. It’s definitely one of my darker stories, and it’s also one of my favorites. Enjoy:

Paul Sanonia had been touched by a nightmare, an unbelievable disaster that had manifested in reality where it shouldn’t belong. Tonight, he was dwelling on the nightmare in St. Mark’s Cathedral—it didn’t matter that it wasn’t a Catholic cathedral, at this point a mosque would do—and no matter how many times he turned it over in his mind, he couldn’t see what the reason was behind it all, why his life had to have been touched, and why his cousin’s life had to have been touched more.

How did that opening paragraph sound? Let me know in the comments below.

And in the meantime, I’m going to tag someone to do this on February 1st. And it only seems fitting that I tag the author who helped me get this book to publication. I choose Angela Misri, author of Jewel of the Thames. Hope you decide to do this Angela, and have fun with it!

Alright, I’ve got one more post to release today, so I’m going to get to work on that. Until next time, my Follower of Fear.

Video Rage: Third Amazon Review

Posted: December 25, 2016 in Novel, Review, Writing
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Video Rage

Happy Holidays, everyone! Are you having a good time, whatever you celebrate? I know I am, and I’ll tell you why:

Yesterday I went online and found that Video Rage received another review on Amazon (I would’ve posted about it then, but I was busy last night and most of today. Holiday stuff, it takes up time). This is the third review in two weeks, which, as you might expect, makes me very happy. However, it’s a rather unusual review. Not unusual as in bad unusual, just different in a way that leaves me with a lot of questions. I’ll explain all that in a moment.

Now if you don’t know, Video Rage is the second novel in a science fiction trilogy called the Reborn City series I’ve been working on for about eight years now. The series follows the Hydras, a street gang in a dystopian future whose leaders have unusual powers, and what happens when the source of those powers comes back to haunt them. It came out back in June, but it’s only just now started to get reviews (not that I’m complaining). The review that I found yesterday comes from someone simply calling themselves Shopper (accurate title, I guess), who also left a review of The Quiet Game (more on that later). Shopper left a four-star review they titled Surprising read, and which made me think that maybe they didn’t read the first book. Here’s what they had to say:

I almost gave up on this book because It kind of has a Mad Max, post apocalyptic thing going on; dialogue is written in dialect; there are hover-bikes….I need a trigger warning for hover-bikes. I did say almost, because, without warning, there is a character named 011. The binary code moniker aside, this guy was awesome. I guess he was technically the villain, but I was totally rooting for him. I would love to read a zany road trip for him and Zahara as a standalone short story.

Okay, some questions:

  1. Which Mad Max movie? Please say Fury Road, because that is the best movie of the bunch! Seriously though, I did not expect that comparison. As I said, I’m not sure this person read the first book, Reborn City, because that takes place in a more urban environment, while most of Video Rage takes place on the road. Taken altogether, I wouldn’t compare it to Mad Max. I actually don’t know what I would compare it to, but definitely not Mad Max.
  2. Trigger warning for hover bikes? That’s a new one. Don’t know what to make of that one.
  3. Rooting for 011? That’s another new one. For those who don’t know, 011 is a character who first appeared in RC (about three years before the Duffer Brothers put out Stranger Things and introduced their character Eleven,, so I’m safe from any copyright claims) who is a nasty psychopath and likes to kill people. So yeah, no technically about it, he’s a villain. Not the kind you usually root for, either. He’s definitely no Jason or Freddy Kreuger (though he has some similarities to the latter in the second book). Not sure why Shopper rooted for him, but if they like interesting killers, I recommend reading my other novel Snake.

In any case, this is a good review, and I’m thankful for it. Especially since it matches up with the other reviews I’ve gotten recently:

From what I understand, this is book 2 in a series. That being said, I had expected a cliffhanger of an ending. I’m not a fan of cliffhangers, but in this particular book, I think the author did an excellent job of finding the balance between making the story stand complete within itself while ending the story on a note that let you know another book was coming. Personally, the ending was one of the most intriguing ones I’d read in a long time. It didn’t leave you to figure it out for yourself (which is something I hate). The author let you know what was happening and why while leaving enough to be answered in a future book.

That all being said, the overall book was an enjoyable read. I especially liked that a former bad guy turned things around and redeemed himself. Those types of characters are one of my favorites. I had hoped in Reborn City (Reborn City series Book 1) that he would, and it was very satisfying to see that fulfilled. I also liked the underlying theme in the novel that what the media tells people through the major outlets is slanted by government agendas. In this book, it was up to the main characters to find an alternative way of getting the truth out.

I think this book is best read after reading Reborn City (Book 1) because it really helped to have the background on the characters, and I think this book is far more effective if you have the foundation Book 1 gives you. The science fiction geek in me really loves the genetic aspect. And so that I don’t spoil anything, I will say the real bad guy in this series does a nice twist in this book along that line.

–Ruth Ann Nordin, romance novelist

I was really looking forward to the continued journey of the Hydras and Rami was able to produce. Zahara is my favorite character and her development from an insecure girl into a strong woman came out clearly in this book. Some other character development was really unexpected but the book moves at such a fast pace that it didn’t hold me up at all. The story line is quite imaginative and, as usual, there isn’t much predictability there. I think that is what draws the reader in – you just need to keep going to find out what weird twists and turns happen next! Looking forward to continuing this journey with Rami and the Hydras.

–Michele Kurland

Reborn City

Reborn City

If these reviews made you in any way want to check out Video Rage, or the first book Reborn City, I’ll post the links for them below. And if you do decide to get a copy and read it, please let me know what you think, either in a review or a comment on my blog. Positive or negative, I love feedback from readers, and I always strive to improve after I hear from readers.

And while we’re on the topic of the Reborn City series, I’ve got an update on the final book in the series, Full Circle. At the moment, I’ve written six out of thirty-six chapters, so I’m officially a sixth of the way done. Currently, FC stands at about 68 pages (8″ x 11″, 12-point font, Times New Roman, double-spaced), with a grand total of 19,373 words. That’s almost a novella. Imagine what it’ll be at a third of the way.

Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Happy Holidays, and a wonderful New Year.

Reborn City:Amazon, Createspace, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo

Video Rage: Amazon, Kindle, Createspace, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo

Review: “Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis” by Anne Rice

Posted: December 15, 2016 in Review
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When I first heard about Anne Rice’s new novel, I thought to myself, “Wait. Lestat and Atlantis? Together? Either this is going to be the most brilliant thing ever or this series has finally jumped the metaphorical shark.” I can now say, having read the book, that there was no metaphorical (or literal) shark-jumping. This book was bloody brilliant, from seductive opening to heartwarming and uplifting ending.

Taking place not too long after the adventures of Prince Lestat (read my review of that here), Lestat and the vampire world is slowly but surely adjusting to all the changes that occurred in the last book. Lestat is getting used to living with Amel, the spirit that animates the tribe, though that has its problems here and there. To many vampires, it is a renaissance for their kind. That is, however, until the vampires are approached by beings who look human, but aren’t. And they’re not vampires either, or spirits. This is something totally new. And they know of Amel, and of a legendary city that has permeated our legends for centuries. The revelations they bring, and the changes they want to make, will shock the vampire world forever.

First off, I love the prose. Anne Rice writes with a style that’s light taking sugar and gossamer and turning it into words: sweet, ephemeral, beautiful. And as always, her characters are full of love, love of life and love of each other. I swear, if mankind was as affectionate as the vampires are, we would have much fewer problems getting along.

But that’s standard for an Anne Rice novel. The rest is anything but standard. The plot has so many unexpected twists which always leaves you wanting to read on and find out more. With the one twist I was able to predict, I thought it would ruin the story for me, but the story is so well-written that it kept things from getting that way. I also like the new characters, not just as characters, but in how they add new dimensions to the series. You’d think twelve books in, there’s only so much innovation a universe can get, but these characters literally added a whole new sphere to the series, and I would love to see this sphere explored in later books (which I hope we get). Not only that, but in many ways, these new characters are challenging to the vampires. They put them in a whole new arena that the vampires aren’t used to, and it’s interesting to see the vampires react to these new situations.

And finally, the philosophy in this book is just out of this world. It really made me think a bit about Earth’s major religions, and about the way we interact with one another. And if a novel can make you do that, it’s definitely one you’ll want to pick up and take a look at.

I can’t really think of anything that makes Realms of Atlantis bad or is a flaw in the story. Like I said, there’s a twist I predicted early on that I thought might ruin the story, but that wasn’t the case. Anything else would really be nitpicking, and I don’t see any need to do that.

All in all, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis is even better than the book that preceded it, earning a solid 5 out of 5. It’s beautifully written, twisty, and not only reminds me that these vampires still have plenty of life in them forty years after they first graced bookshelves around the world, but inspires me to work harder so that one day I can be said to write stories so good, that even Anne Rice will want to read them.

Go check it out, and see for yourself.

Video Rage: First Amazon Review

Posted: December 14, 2016 in Novel, Review, Writing
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Video Rage

Well, I had a pleasant day today. And one of the reasons for that was that Video Rage got its first review on Amazon today.

For those of you who don’t know, Video Rage is the sequel to my science fiction novel Reborn City. The series follows the Hydras, a street gang in the dystopian city-state Reborn City whose leaders have strange and mysterious powers. When the source of these powers comes back to haunt the leaders, what happens will shake the very world they live in.

Video Rage came out back in June, but this is the first review to come on Amazon. Not sure exactly why, but I’m not complaining. Or am I?

Anyway, the review comes from Ruth, as in Ruth Ann Nordin, my fellow novelist and friend who has read some of my books before and enjoyed them (check out her blog after you’re done here). She gave Video Rage a whopping five stars (doing a little dance in my seat as I write this), and titled her review Nice Twists Ahead. Here’s what she had to say:

From what I understand, this is book 2 in a series. That being said, I had expected a cliffhanger of an ending. I’m not a fan of cliffhangers, but in this particular book, I think the author did an excellent job of finding the balance between making the story stand complete within itself while ending the story on a note that let you know another book was coming. Personally, the ending was one of the most intriguing ones I’d read in a long time. It didn’t leave you to figure it out for yourself (which is something I hate). The author let you know what was happening and why while leaving enough to be answered in a future book.

That all being said, the overall book was an enjoyable read. I especially liked that a former bad guy turned things around and redeemed himself. Those types of characters are one of my favorites. I had hoped in Reborn City (Reborn City series Book 1) that he would, and it was very satisfying to see that fulfilled. I also liked the underlying theme in the novel that what the media tells people through the major outlets is slanted by government agendas. In this book, it was up to the main characters to find an alternative way of getting the truth out.

I think this book is best read after reading Reborn City (Book 1) because it really helped to have the background on the characters, and I think this book is far more effective if you have the foundation Book 1 gives you. The science fiction geek in me really loves the genetic aspect. And so that I don’t spoil anything, I will say the real bad guy in this series does a nice twist in this book along that line.

Thanks again for the review Ruth. I really appreciate it. And to answer your questions, yes this is the second book, and I am working on the third and final book as you’re reading this.

This is actually the second time I’ve heard people talk about my endings. When Video Rage came out, my friend and fellow blogger Kat Impossible read and reviewed the book. While she had some problems with certain aspects of the book (everyone has different tastes), she did say that I had a certain talent for writing an ending, and that the epilogue helped keep readers hooked on the story. I’m glad other readers agree.

Reborn City, my first published novel

Reborn City, my first published novel

If you would like to check out Video Rage, or if you think you’d like to start with the first book, Reborn City, you can click on the links below in order to read reviews and see if either book is something you’d be interested in reading (though I’d recommend going in chronological order). And if you do decide to check out one of the books, please let me know your thoughts either in a comment or in a review. Positive or negative, I love feedback from readers.

And while I still have your attention, I’ll just end with an update on Full Circle, the final book in the Reborn City series. Currently the novel is going to be 36 chapters, provided I don’t decide to split up or merge any of them from here on out. I’m working my way through the sixth chapter, and I’ll hopefully be done with that one soon. As updates come, I’ll let you guys know.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I might post one or two more times before New Year’s, so keep your eyes peeled. Until next time, have a good one, and happy reading!

Reborn City: Amazon, Createspace, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo

Video Rage:Amazon, Kindle, Createspace, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo

Thoughts on Unsympathetic Protagonists

Posted: December 12, 2016 in Reflections, Writing
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Illustration from The Red Shoes.

Illustration from The Red Shoes.

When I was growing up, every protagonist I came across in fiction–comic books and manga, novels, TV shows, movies–were people you automatically liked. They were sympathetic, they had problems you could identify with, or they found themselves in situations and something about them made you want to root for them, even if they were just good guys set up to fight the evils of the world. At that age, I probably couldn’t have imagined a protagonist who wasn’t likable.

As I got older though, I did come across protagonists who, for some reason or another, I just couldn’t like. And I realized, in some cases, that was the intention. Their creators, for whatever reason, wanted these characters to be assholes, or losers, or just so hateful you found yourself cheering a little when they failed. This had me asking: why would you want an unsympathetic protagonist? And can you actually have a good or even a successful story based around one?

I figured out answers to these questions a while back, but I’ve always wanted to blog about them. Now I’ve got the time, so I’d like to go into the strange phenomena that is the unsympathetic protagonist.*

First, why do authors sometimes write unsympathetic protagonists? It seems almost counter-intuitive: why would you want a character whom readers/viewers might hate? Well, one reason is as a moral warning. In the fairy tale The Red Shoes, the protagonist is vain and selfish, and her attitude leads her shoes being enchanted so that when she dances in them, she can’t stop until someone chops them off. I bet a lot of kids got the message loud and clear from that! Another example is from the novel The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah, in which the protagonist, the daughter of a crime boss, tries to regain her lifestyle and reputation after her father loses his empire. However, the protagonist uses mainly crime and manipulation to get what she wants, and looks down on getting a real job or an education. The result is that she ends up in jail and loses everything she ever cared about. The lesson? Crime doesn’t pay, go legit, and listen when people try to help you on the right path.

Another reason is that creators might want to explore territory previously unexplored, and characters whom you might sympathize or consider as heroes doesn’t allow that. Ever heard of Lolita? The entire story revolves around a man having a sexual/romantic relationship with a preteen girl and his attempts to control her and keep her with him forever. It’s a strange novel about desire, unreliable storytelling, and corruption (I think, anyway. I haven’t read this one yet, and given the subject matter, I’m not sure I want to), and it’s not a story we’d usually explore through the eyes of a likable protagonist.

Lolita: a great example of a book with an unlikeable protagonist.

Lolita: a great example of a book with an unlikeable protagonist.

And finally, there’s another reason: sometimes it’s just great fun! In certain stories with unsympathetic protagonists, you get a sort of excitement  that you don’t get from other stories, and this can come from the plot or the characters. In Gone Girl, for example, protagonist Nick Dunne is unlikable for any number of reasons, but you still follow along because you want to know if he really did do something to his wife, and if he’ll wiggle out of trouble whether or not he did do something. Another example we can look to is certain horror films, especially in the slasher genre, where the only mainstay is usually the villain and a lot of gory deaths. As part of that, slasher sequels often come to focus more and more on their villains, and people come back just to see these villains. Just ask anyone who enjoys a good Nightmare on Elm Street or Hellraiser film: they’re there for Freddy or the Cenobites, not for the horny teens who happen to be starring in the movie this time around.

So we’ve established why people create unlikable protagonists. The next question is, can you have a good and/or successful story with an unlikable protagonit? Well, I think that question was also answered above. The Red Shoes has been retold and revamped hundreds of times since Hans Christian Andersen first published his little morality tale. Lolita is considered one of the greatest works of modern and modern Russian literature, as well as one of the most controversial. Gone Girl was a runaway hit with a huge movie based on it. There is plenty of proof that unlikable protagonists can still be part of very good stories.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: great series, annoying lead.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: great series with an annoying lead.

Of course, this brings up another question: what makes a story with an unlikable protagonist good? Well, I often find that either the character is doing something pretty amazing, or the story or world is so amazing that even if you don’t like the character, you keep going for that story/world. Going back to Gone Girl, the protagonist is easy to dislike, but the mystery he’s wrapped up in is so intriguing that you want to find out more. That’s the example of a character doing something interesting. With an amazing story or world, I’d point to the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion: the protagonist is seriously unlikable, but the world he lives in is so cool–it involves teenagers piloting giant robots to fight aliens–that you just want to keep watching.

So you can have a story with a main character whom people may not like. As long as you give people a reason to keep reading or watching, it’s entirely possible. And who knows? Perhaps it’ll be one of the greatest stories ever written.

Just don’t do one centering around a pedophile. I think one of those is enough!

What’s your take on unlikable protagonists? Did I miss any good examples of the trope here in this post? 

*Oh, and in case anyone who’s not familiar is wondering, there is a difference between a hero and a protagonist. A hero is just that: a hero. They save lives, they fight evils, they are the ones we root for. A protagonist can be a hero and vice versa, but a protagonist is the main character, the person whom the story focuses on or from whose perspective we get the story. And as I outline in this post, that difference is bigger than one might think.

A Summary of This Year’s NaNoWriMo

Posted: December 1, 2016 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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The NaNoWriMo logo/coat of arms.

Well, it’s December 1st. That means a couple of things: start of the holiday season and prep for the new year, the days get to their shortest point, I try to push a tag with the hope that it will become a trend (so far, it’s been hit and miss with those I’ve tagged). For writers around the world, however, it means National Novel Writing Month, and assessing how each person did and how their manuscripts turned out.

I’ve actually always found National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short, full of strange contradictions. For one thing, it takes place around the world, but it’s kept “national.” Heck, even the month’s official website puts you in touch with participants from all over the world! Why don”t we change the name?

For another thing, it’s amazing how many authors take this challenge seriously. For those of you who don’t know, during the month of November, many writers try to write a fifty-thousand word novel within 30 days (that’s about 1667 words per day if you want the math). And I’ve seen so many author friends on Facebook and in blogs lament how they only got so many words down. “I only got eight-thousand words.” “I was so close to 50K!” “This NaNoWriMo sucked! I hardly got any work done.” I don’t even want to know what they thought of the material they wrote.

Just for clarification, there’s no actual prize if you write a 50K novel in 30 days. You just get bragging rights. But plenty of authors see it as a reflection of themselves if they can’t get the words down. And I actually kind of understand this: on nights when I didn’t write anything down (and those nights occurred quite often, sadly), I felt like it was some sort of reflection on my skills or on myself as a writer. It didn’t matter if there just wasn’t enough time before bed, or if I had a book I really wanted to read, or if I just didn’t feel like writing that night. I felt bad. Maybe not as bad as I could have felt, I have a day job that takes up a good chunk of time, so I at least have an excuse for why I’m not writing more. But I bet for those who write full-time, it could be very frustrating when they didn’t reach their goals.

So how did I do, now that we’re on the subject? Well, I knew that with a job and that unfortunate habit of sleeping seven hours a night, plus eating and bill-paying and grocery shopping and everything else that goes on in my life, I had only so much time to do any work. Therefore, I decided that I would keep my expectations reasonable. I decided that I would aim to get ten-thousand words done, and if I got past that, I would aim for another five-thousand afterwards. If I somehow managed to get past that, I’d aim for five-thousand more, and so on and so forth. The result was I probably felt less stress than my colleagues, and I consequently met my first goal, and got more than halfway to my second goal.

To be exact, I got 13,821 words down by the end of the month, about four-and-a-half chapters worth of story. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to do it. How did it turn out? Well, I guess as well as a first draft can turn out. I mean, it’s only in the subsequent drafts that novels actually become the brilliant stories we all hold so dear. During the first drafts, they’re like pre-Fairy Godmother Cinderella: full of beauty and potential but in need of some serious clean up. My own NaNoWriMo project, Full Circle, has a lot of good stuff in it so far. It’s the third book in my Reborn City series, and considering that I started this series about eight years ago, this novel is already showing my growth over that time the most more than any recent story I’ve written.

Still, I think Chapter 1 could use a lot of clean-up. There’s a lot of exposition there, so making it work with the real storytelling moments is important. And possibly the prologue could use some polish as well. Yeah, I included a prologue with this book. New thing for this series, but I think it’s good for this book. Just needs some edits.

In the meantime though, I still have an entire novel to finish, and it’ll probably be a lot longer than 50K. I’m hoping that I can finish it by mid-spring 2017, and have it out early 2018 at the latest. We’ll see what happens.

Well, that’s all for now. Unless there’s something worth posting about, I’ll try to put out a Writing/Reflections-themed post out at some point during that month. In the meantime, it’s writing, writing, writing, and hopefully a lot of it.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear!

The “First Day, First Paragraph” Tag

Posted: December 1, 2016 in Living and Life, Novel, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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first-day-first-paragraph-tag

It’s that time again. Time for the “First Day, First Paragraph” Tag. This is a tag I created myself, and I’m still trying to see if I can make it take off. And who knows? Perhaps this month I’ll see this tag take off on other blogs.

So once again, let’s go over the rules. Once tagged for “First Day, First Paragraph,” you have to do the following:

  1. Publish your own post on the first day of the month.
  2. Use the graphic above
  3. Thank and link back to the person who tagged you.
  4. Explain the rules like I’m doing now.
  5. Post the first paragraph of a story you’ve written, are writing, or plan to write someday.
  6. Ask your readers for feedback.
  7. Finally, tag someone to do the post next month (for example, if you do the tag on the first of August, the person you tag has to do it on the first of September), and comment on one of their posts to let them know the good news.

As you can see, this came out on December 1st. I’ve used the graphic above, which is of my own design. I won’t thank myself, as I talk to myself too often, and I don’t need to start talking back. Explained the rules. And now to post a paragraph. Last month I did the first paragraph of Reborn City, in honor of the three-year anniversary of that novel coming out. I think this month I’ll do Video Rage, RC‘s sequel, which came out back in June. If you would like to check out either novel, make sure to head to the series page above this post for descriptions and links. Enjoy.

The sunbaked concrete and metal in the hundred-plus degree heat, the many cars and trucks reflected light off their chrome bodies like blinding beasts zooming down the highway. As truckers listened to country and rock music and children played video games on the backs of their parents’ car seats, some occasionally looked out to see a marvel of the modern world on the road. Five black hoverbikes, each with two people straddling the seats, zoomed between vehicles as they floated a few feet above the ground. Those who saw them marveled, paying no attention to the riders, who would’ve warranted their own attention if the drivers knew who they were.

Thoughts? Comments? Let’s discuss.

Okay, now I have to tag someone. This month, I’m going with a good friend who enjoys reading my books when she has the time. Ruth Ann Nordin, you’ve been tagged. You’ve got to do this on January 1st. Better schedule this post to come out ahead of time!

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I plan to have another post out later today with a wrap-up of NaNoWriMo, so keep an eye out for that. Until next time!

I’m Trying Traditional Publishing Again

Posted: November 21, 2016 in Living and Life, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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An author’s career is never a linear progression. It will often twist and turn and even take detours on occasion. It’s like driving through the American Appalachian mountains from Ohio to New York that way.

Similarly, my own writing career has not been linear in its progression. Back in college, as some of you may remember, I had trouble breaking into the traditional publishing scene. I couldn’t find an agent, and I was getting frustrated. Some friends of mine online had found some success self-publishing, so I went that route. And that’s kind of been my route since 2012 or so.

The problem is, self-publishing hasn’t gone the way I expected. I did it in the first place so that I could reach readers faster. And four books later, while I have reached readers, I haven’t reached as many readers as I would like. And while writers write to get stories out of our heads and onto the pages, and as a labor of love, writers publish because they want to share their stories with as many people as possible.

Now, one could argue that I just have to give it time, and the cosmos will make things work out. But if I’ve learned one thing in this business (and I’ve learned many things over the many years of writing), it’s that you have to try new things. And if one thing doesn’t work out, then to keep going at it just isn’t an option. In fact, that’s one definition of insanity. So, I have to try doing something different.

And I think that now is a really great time for me to try the traditional route again. Over four years, several college courses, reading works by a variety of excellent authors (and a few bad ones), and tons and tons of practice, I’m a much better novelist than I was. I think it could go well for me.

At the moment I’ve sent a few query letters out for Reborn City, which is my strongest work, and which I think, in the wake of the American presidential election, might go over well with agents. It’s a story set in a world very similar to what ours seems to be coming to, but with a bit more hope mixed in. If that doesn’t go well, I’ve got a million ideas, plenty of time to write, and a paying job to tide me over until I hit something that works.

Hey, if I can survive a nearly year-long job search and land a great job with an excellent organization, I can surely do this, maybe even over several years.

And if I’m lucky enough to get a contract with an agent and a publishing company, I might still self-publish from time to time. There are plenty of authors who do that. They’re called hybrid authors, and they usually self-publish when a story they wrote and really liked isn’t really what the publisher tends to go for. Heck, I think His Royal Scariness, Stephen King does this from time to time. Or maybe just the once.

In the meantime, I hope you continue to support me as a person and as a writer. And if you want to read one of my books, I’d be so happy if you did. It would certainly make my day.

Wish me luck, my Followers of Fear, as I set out on this latest fork in the road that is my writing career.

NaNoWriMo update: As of this weekend, I’m over ten-thousand words on Full Circle. And my God, it’s coming along great. True, it’s the usual quality of first drafts,  but I think FC really shows how much I’ve progressed as a writer from Reborn City. I can’t wait to see what people think of it when they read it.

 

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