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Rami Ungar The Writer’s New Theme

Posted: June 19, 2013 in Living and Life
Tags: blogging

Notice anything different? Yes, I got a new theme for my blog background. It’s called Elegant Grunge, which sounds like a heavy metal star having a tea party but it still sounds pretty cool, and doesn’t look half-bad either.

I had the previous theme since I started Rami Ungar the Writer. I thought that the black background and the orange font for the title was super-spooky and that was what I was going for at the time. Apparently though, for a number of readers it makes reading my blog difficult. So after a little bit of thought, I went looking for a new theme, one that’s easier on the eyes. The result is Elegant Grunge, which is easier on the eyes, though not as creepy as I’d like it.

What are your thoughts on the new background?

My First Article For Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors

Posted: June 14, 2013 in Journalism, Writing
Tags: authors, blogging, journalism, living and life, online magazine, publishing, writing

From now on when I announce articles for that blog, I’ll be doing some form of abbreviation.

Recently I took a position writing articles for a blog that helps self-published authors. Last night I finished my first article and uploaded it onto the blog. The article, titled “World-Building In Fiction”, talks about the importance of setting in a fiction story and techniques to improve the settings of one’s stories. I listed five points and added a photo of Cloud City from The Empire Strikes Back as an example of a complex and visually stunning setting.

To say the least, I’ve had a pretty good reaction. A couple of comments, pletny of likes. It makes me feel good, because this was my first article and I was really nervous about what sort of feedback I’d get. My thoughts basically were, “Does this sound preachy? If I say this, will someone be offended? Is the ending clear and concise? Does it even wrap up the article with any sort of finality?” To say the least, I’m relieved that nobody’s calling for me to be burned at the stake.

If you wish to read the article, you can follow the link here. Who knows? You might pick up a tip or two for your own writing.

Maybe.

Plenty of Good News To Share

Posted: June 6, 2013 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
Tags: authors, blogging, entertainment, online magazine, publishing, short story, The Quiet Game, writing

Yes, I have some good news for you, and I cannot wait to share it with you. So I shall not mince words and just tell it to you, in order from smaller pieces of news to bigger pieces of news. Here we go:

1. I finally bought a Kindle. Yes, I finally bought one. It took a lot of saving of Amazon gift cards, taking part in those websites where you fill out surveys for prizes, and more than a little resisting the urge to buy mangas I can’t get at my local library or through interlibrary loan services. But yes, I finally bought one, and it should be arriving sometime next week. I’m very excited, not only that I’ll have my own Kindle, but I can download the books of friends and fellow authors I’ve met while blogging and on Facebook. Heck, I can even download and read my own fiction on my Kindle.

And speaking of which…

2. Daisy has been downloaded 130 times. Yes, the short story I published as a promotional piece for The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones has been downloaded that many times. I’m very grateful to all those who are downloading and I hope that if you decide to do a review on Amazon or Smashwords or B&N or wherever, that you let me know so I can feature it here on Rami Ungar the Writer. And if you haven’t read Daisy yet, please do. Unless you’re easily scared to the point that you soil yourself when you get scared, in which case I don’t recommend reading.

And last, but certainly not least…

3. I’ve accepted a new opportunity. Some of you may remember I wrote an article for the blog Self Published Authors Helping Other Self-Published Authors. Well, one of the blog’s writers, Ruth Ann Nordin, emailed me and said she really enjoyed my article and asked if I would like to be a regular contributor to the blog. I had maybe a moment’s hesitation before I emailed an emphatic “YES!” As of today I am now a contributor and will have a profile page and whatnot soon. I already have a few ideas for what I’d like to write, including interviews with other self-published authors and some more articles with tips for writers on how to do this or that for their stories. I’m really excited and I would like to thank Ruth Nordin for thinking so highly of my article and for giving me this chance. I won’t let you down.

That’s all for now. If I have any more good news, I’ll be sure to share it with you. Wish me luck in the future.

Helping My School Out

Posted: June 4, 2013 in Social Activism
Tags: activism, blogging, college life, comedy, living and life, Ohio State University, politics and leadership, proper decisions, social media

Earlier this week, it came to light that E. Gordon Gee, the President of Ohio State University, had said some things about the University of Notre Dame and Catholics in jest at an athletics meeting. Some took the comments as offensive, He apologized for his comments and Notre Dame formally forgave him. Most of the Catholic students on campus and on Facebook have agreed that they didn’t find the comments offensive. Heck, I’ve heard more offensive comments from comedians on TV (Jeff Dunham and his dummies come to mind).

But today, President Gee announced his retirement, effective July 1st, because of the controversy his remarks led to.

Naturally, I and several other OSU students are devastated. President Gee was a positive influence on the campus. He brought a smile to us with his bowties and jovial nature and kind and quiet manner of speech. To many students, meeting President Gee was a milestone in their OSU careers. I even met one student who said she came to Ohio State just to meet President Gee, right before she took a photo with him at the student union. To us, losing him because of this little incident will be a big blow to the morale of the university and to the students.

This is me with President Gee back in my freshman year. He was an inspiration. I hope he stays that way.

Which is why, after discussion with some other students and a lot of thought about the subject, I started a Change.org petition to get the Board of Trustees at Ohio State to let President Gee keep his position and continue to serve Ohio State as he’s done for several years. So far, 125 people have signed, and I’m hoping that I can get that number up to 10,000, or about one-sixth of the Ohio State student population.

I’d appreciate it if you signed the petition, and possibly shared it on your own blog or Facebook. This means a lot to me, and I’m trying to make a difference as best as I can. If I can, I want to see this petition reach the goal count. If you can help me, that’d be great.

If you decide not too though, that’s okay. I respect your opinion and your choice and I hope we can find other things to agree on. But if you feel like it, please do sign the petition. You don’t even have to donate money to do it! And the best part is, you’ll be making a difference for about sixty-thousand students.

That, my friends, will be the best part.

250 Followers!!!

Posted: May 25, 2013 in Living and Life, Progress Report
Tags: blogging, Reborn City, The Quiet Game, writing

I’ve officially passed another blogging milestone on the road to becoming an author, and that is passing the 250 followers marker (in this case though I have 251, so it’s coming a bit late but better late than never, right?). I’m very happy and would like to thank everyone who’s been supporting me and following me up till now.

For most of the first year I was writing this blog, I didn’t have a lot of followers and considered it a good day when I had one view. Yes, I was that desperate at one point when it came to this blog. A few times I thought of giving up the blog because not a lot of people were reading it and authors hate it when their work isn’t read. But, whether through sheer perseverance, stubbornness, or a little bit faith, I continued writing, reading other blogs, and enjoying the simple art of writing to people across the Internet and the world. All that paid off, as this post attests.

Once again, I’d like to thank everyone for continuing to support me on the road to becoming a novelist and that you continue to support me as I await the copyright for The Quiet Game and for the final draft of Reborn City to be finished. Thanks, and I’ll write more later.

The Usefulness of Literary Analysis

Posted: May 9, 2013 in Living and Life, Reflections
Tags: authors, blogging, college life, gaming, novel, writing

I recently read a blog post (you can read it here) where the author commented on the attitudes some people have toward different academic studies. According to the author, fields of study like physics, mathematics, and biology–fields collectively known as “hard sciences” and based on reasoning and mathematical proofs–as more important and more factually true than the study of literature, which is seen as “soft” and therefore variable, indefinite, and downright false.

Now I admit that those who study literature (and those who create it) aren’t solving the mysteries of the universe, curing cancer, or creating alternative forms of energy. And I admit that you can look at a novel, poem, play or short story and draw many different meanings from the author’s comparison of blue curtains to the blue sky. And yes, fiction is, by definition, outright falsehoods. There’s no Hogwarts, the zombies aren’t coming for us, and in all likelihood Dante never visited all three realms of the afterlife.

But I don’t think that the English major is inferior to physics or chemistry or engineering. Far from it. I believe the English major fulfills a different role than the hard sciences. Fields like elementary neuroscience and evolutionary biology and botany seek to understand the physical world around us. Literature and English majors, on the other hand, seek to understand the human condition, to understand our collective soul. We’re focusing on a whole other dimension of existence, multi-layered and able to bring understanding and meaning to the lives of others. We make metaphor of life, turn it into art, show our darkest fears and our deepest desires in the struggles of characters brought to life through letters and words.

Isn’t that worthwhile in itself? To make people understand through a story not only themselves but the world around them? To feel empathy for a character, joy when they triumph and sadness when they struggle, because that character reminds a reader of themselves or what they want to be? I think it is, especially since reading and writing bring so much fulfillment to me and to the people I know who feel the same way I do.

Besides, the hard sciences may be solving mysteries and doing important work, but there is something that they lack, and that is the ability to identify with and inspire the masses. The theory of relativity will never be able to define an age like The Great Gatsby did, and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle will never have the same effect on our youth like Harry Potter did.

Sure, you can argue that the space race defined the sixties and seventies and that the Internet and technology defines us now. But let me remind you that those age-defining technologies were first dreamed about in a literature course or on a writer’s desk while his pen rolled across a page. From cell phones to space ships to the Roomba, all were first talked about and made awesome and terrible by some writer somewhere (especially if that writer’s name is Isaac Asimov).

And yet even today’s technology is influencing literature. Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress was as much inspired by the Internet as the blog and the webisode were. Several science fiction writers are now writing works on how social media and hacking are becoming a total part of our society and reflecting on that. And I wouldn’t do some of my best writing without technology.

So these fields aren’t competing with each other for superiority or totally exclusive. On the contrary, they merely handle different fields of our existence and feed each other occasionally. It’s like the relationship between bees and flowers: the bees get their food from the flowers and spread the pollen around so that the flowers can create new seeds. In this sense, they are helping each other grow.

So deride my English major anytime. I may not be solving some mysterious aspect about black holes or quarks, but I might just give you an idea someday on how to solve that mystery. And you may never be able to write your own homage to Edgar Allen Poe, but your work on cancer research or molecular genetics may give me or a friend some new idea for a future bestseller. It could happen.

What’s your take on this subject?

The Black Dragon Award

Posted: April 14, 2013 in ideas, Living and Life, Scary Stuff, Writing
Tags: authors, blogging, editing, entertainment, ideas, novel, publishing, Reborn City, scary stuff, Snake, The Quiet Game, writing

I know what you’re thinking: He got another award? But that’s not the case. You see, I made up my own award! I thought it’d be interesting if I created my own Internet meme and saw how far I went. Hence, the Black Dragon Award, an award for any author who has written any form of fiction that’s got something scary in it.

So here are the rules for the Black Dragon Award:

1. You must have written something scary or featuring something scary in the past year. (This can range from being a simple murder mystery to a full-on zombie novel with a wizard and serial killers mixed in for variety). Note that whatever work you’ve created will be the subject of several of the questions below.

2. You must thank the person who nominated you and then link back to their blog.

3. You must answer the 10 questions below on your own blog post.

4. Finally, you must nominate at least 5 other authors for the award and then notify them of it.

Okay, time for the questions. Enjoy:

1. What is the premise of the novel you’ve written? My novel Snake, which I spent half of 2012 writing, is about a serial killer hunting down members of a certain Mafia family in New York. Why is he doing this is for the reader to discover as they read. It’s pretty scary.

2. How long did it take you to write it? I spent six months from June to December 2012 working on Snake. It was a lot of fun, but I’m still on the editing phase, and that can be a pain in the ass sometimes. I’m about to start on the third draft (God help me) and I’m going to be adding a lot of material for character history and character development. It’s going to be hard work.

3. Which character(s) are you most like? I think I’m most like the Snake (he’s somewhat based on me, after all). But at times I wish I was like the female lead, Allison. She’s a tough girl, but she’s got her nice side to her. I can’t help but fall for her.

4. What’s the scariest thing you’ve read/seen lately? Honestly, it was that ghost I saw the other night. That was freaky! I wish I could show what I saw to the Ghost Adventures crew.

5. What’s something you’re reluctant to write about? I’m not sure. Perhaps rape scenes. Those are tough, and they really touch a chord that even veteran writers don’t want to touch. If I ever do write a rape scene though, it’ll probably be for the purpose of showing the horrors of rape and the attitudes around it.

6. If you could take characters from other works and insert them into an original story of your own design, who would you take and what would you have them do? I’d like to take Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Jason Voorhees and have them become reluctant allies. I’d probably kill off Clarice Starling early, though (I prefer Will Graham to Clarice Starling). Hey, that’d be the impetus for the events of the story. Jason could fall in love with Starling, and when she dies, Lecter and Jason could go on a revenge-fueled killing spree. That’d be interesting…and fun to write.

7. Do you envision a sequel to your novel? I’d like to write a sequel for Snake, but not for a long while. I like to take breaks when I’m working on a series, put some time between each book in the series. It’s good for my noggin that way.

8. What first got you into writing? And what got you writing scary subject matter? I think Harry Potter got me into writing, but it was Stephen King and Anne Rice who got me into writing scary stuff. I think my mother was happy that I loved those writers so much (we read a lot of the same things) but I think my dad was (and still is) probably worried about some of the subjects I write about.

9. What scares you personally? Spiders. Not the tiny ones, but the ones where you can make out the details on their faces. Close-ups of spider faces I saw back in 4th grade gave me nightmares for ages.

10. What are your future plans? Finish editing Snake, release my collection of short stories The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones, and also finish editing and release Reborn City. After that, I’d like to work on RC‘s sequel, if you don’t mind.

Okay, and now for the nominees:

1. Stories by Williams.

2. A Portia Adams adventure

3. nightmirrors

4. Pat Bertram’s Blog

5. self-publish bible

Let’s hope this award takes off–with your help, anyway. Congratulations to the winners and good luck with your own posts.

I’ve Been Nominated for the Liebster Award

Posted: April 14, 2013 in Living and Life
Tags: blogging

I love these Internet memes, this one sent to me by my friend Lorna (http://lornadounaeva.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/ive-been-nominated-for-the-liebster-award-2013/).

Here are the rules of the Liebster Award:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to their blog.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees;

3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been chosen (I have a bit more than 200 followers at this point, but who’s counting?).

4. Copy and Paste the blog award on your blog.

Okay, 11 random facts about me:

1. I think the best moment of my life so far was the moment I found myself at OSU, I took a look around, and I said to myself, “I’m a Buckeye. I’m an official Buckeye.” It was quite the moment for me.

2. If I had a time machine, I’d probably attend a ball and go out with some nobleman’s daughter in Victorian London. Then it’s off to Germany during World War II. I’m gonna get you, Adolf Hitler!

3. I’m an optimist. I always look on the brighter side of things. It makes a bad situation good and allows me to find some good aspect in my situation. You don’t know how helpful that can be some days!

4. My greatest passion in my life is probably my writing. No wait, I’m wrong. It’s scaring people. Without that, I’d be3 very bored and I’d have nothing to write with.

5. If I had to pick someone to write a guest post on my blog, it’d probably be Stephen King, Anne Rice, or James Patterson. That’d be awesome. If I couldn’t have any them though, any of my self-publishing or regular-publishing writing friends. Any takers?

6. If I could throw a custard pie at anyone, it’d probably be Michele Bachmann. That woman deserves it!

7. The question is “what superpowers would I have if I could have any”, but I already have my own superpowers: I am Judgment. Using telekinesis, green energy beams, and a creepy transformation, I search out the corrupt and the untouchable and make them regret ever being on the wrong side of the law…

8. I listen to all sorts of music. However, I prefer on most days music from bands like Disturbed or Marilyn Manson. Yes, you should be afraid of me.

9. If I were stuck on a deserted island, I’d take with me a book on surviving a desert island. That’s the practical thing to do.

10. I love reading, writing, and just relaxing. Oh, and if I can sit down in front of the TV and watch what I want to watch, I won’t complain.

11. I’d like my last words to be the Shema, the prayer all Jews say on their deathbeds. Afterwards, I’d like to tell all my loved ones not to worry, that I’m proud of them, and that they will do great things, whether or not I’m there with them.

Alright, time to nominate. I don’t have 11 people to nominate though, at least not off the top of my head. So if you have less than 200 followers and want a Liebster award, take it. You’re nominated.

Alright, time for the questions. Here we go:

1. Who’s the biggest strength in your life?

2. If they brought back any TV show you used to watch and enjoy, what TV show would it be?

3. If you could play on a sports team, which sports team would it be?

4. What was your favorite vacation?

5. What size are your feet (that was random)?

6. If you could have an exotic pet, what would it be?

7. Who was your childhood hero?

8. What’s your favorite movie?

9. If you could take an all-expense paid trip anywhere, where would you go?

10. What book did you read in school and actually enjoy?

11. What are your plans for summer? And if you don’t have summer plans, what do you wish you could do for the summer?

Once again, thanks for the award Lorna. I appreciate it.

Leave a comment if you feel so inclined.

It’s Lonely Sometimes When You’re Into Horror

Posted: April 7, 2013 in Reflections, Scary Stuff
Tags: blogging, college life, scary stuff

I’ve been so busy lately, that the ideas for blog posts have been piling up. I wanted to write two or three yesterday, but Shabbat came in before I could, and I had to put any post-writing plans on hold. Now that Shabbat is over and I’ve done some homework and I’ve watched last night’s episode of Grimm, so I’m good to start writing a few posts. And to start with, I’d like to bring up a topic that’s been on my mind for the past couple of days:

I’m one of the few horror fans I know. In fact, I only know one other fan of scary movies on campus, but his schedule is so different from mine that we can’t always just sit down and talk to each other about horror movies and the qualities of originals versus remakes…or in fact, talk about anything. In fact, I only found out about his love for horror films tonight! How whack is that?!

Thing is, I feel a little lonely sometimes. I can’t help but feel a little down when I see people debating the Game of Thrones‘ books versus the TV show or see Trekkies go crazy over the new movie coming out. But are there a ton of people going crazy over Stephen King adaptations coming out soon? Um…me and quite possibly my mother, I know that much. Anyone getting nuts for the third season of AHS, American Horror Story: Coven? Me and…the sister who lives on the other end of campus and whom I only see on vacations or at family or holiday events. You see how sad this is?

The thing is, I want to have conversations that are like comic book fans debating how to beat the Hulk if you don’t have superpowers or debates about whether Kirk or Picard is the better captain, only in more of the vein of horror. But there’s not a lot of people who are into that sort of stuff, at least not on my blog. The posts I do write that are devoted to horror subjects don’t always get a lot of reads or likes and rarely any comments, so I don’t always write them. And it…it makes me wish more fans of horror were on my blog.

I’m not complaining or anything about the conversations I’ve had up to this point or the friends I’ve made not being fans of scary stuff. But I do wish that I could find some more people interested in the horror scene, who go crazy for the same things I’m into or at least show some enthusiasm for those things.

Well, it’s the Internet age. I may just not be looking hard enough. Does anyone know any Facebook groups? I’m on that now, so I better get to work searching. And I’d like to say, if you ever want to discuss horror subjects, I’m always game. I love to talk about horror. So much that I scare normal people.

Okay, I’m going to stop ranting now. I just want to say, I’m going to start writing more horror posts from now on. I’m sorry if that scares you. But I must say, I want to talk about horror more often, so that’s what I’m going to do. Hope you’re okay with that. Maybe I’ll meet a few people who go crazy for ghosts and slashers like I do.

One can only hope.

Rami Ungar The Writer

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