writing | Rami Ungar The Writer

Posts Tagged ‘writing’

New & Old Work: Getting It All Done

Posted: April 15, 2012 in Living and Life, short story, Writing
Tags: college life, editing, milestone, short story, writing

Well, this is my fiftieth post. A milestone by anyone’s considerations. And like all milestones, this is a time to look both back and forth. Which is what I’ve been doing lately:

These past two weeks or so, I took a look at some old short stories back in high school, one of which happened to be inspired by a very creepy dream I had. Neither one got accepted for publication, and after so long I could see some of the reasons why they were rejected. So in the meantime, I thought I’d edit them and maybe see if they were any better after a good editorial bath and polish. So far, I’m thinking they may be more appealing to publications, but I’ll have to wait and see if they actually get published, because I may just be taking too much pride in my own work. Anyway, fingers crossed.

Also, after I’ve finished editing these old stories and have found time in my busy collegiate schedule to sit down in front of the computer, I plan to pen (or type, actually) some new stories. One will be based on that Law & Order: SVU dream I had a week and a half ago, though it’ll probably end up being more of a thriller story involving events after the key evidence has been collected than your typical police procedural (I’m not sure I could write that sort of story in under 20 pages anyway without making the story too complex or full of technical details).

The other story will be based on the concept of kotodama, which is a Japanese belief that words have power and can affect the lives of people around us. This belief is found in many other cultures besides Japan, and we can see throughout history and up to today how accurate a belief it is (I tend to think that what happened to Rush Limbaugh and Sandra Fluke after Limbaugh said some very nasty things about Fluke is an example of kotodama on a large scale). I will be blending this concept with a very dark event that happened in my life recently, though I haven’t figured out how this will blend yet or how it will end up coming out. But I’ll figure that out when I get to it.

Thanks for sticking with me up till the fiftieth post. I’m so glad that people are reading Rami Ungar The Writer and I hope to bring only good news to you in the future. (wouldn’t it be nice if kotodama could take effect with that last part, huh?)

I Almost Lost It All! Why You Should Back Up Your Files If You Don’t Want To Lose Them

Posted: April 11, 2012 in Writing
Tags: computer, God, writing

I’ve always maintained that God has a horrible sense of humor (my evidence: Rebecca Black’s “Friday”). He played this prank on me today:

I was having a comments chat with one of my followers who also follows me (there’s a technical term for that, I just haven’t heard it yet) and we were discussing how frustrating it is for writers to lose something they’ve poured their sweat, blood and tears into because of a computer error or some such reason. I told her that it had happened to me, though not in a while.

Later that day, I go to put my flash drive in my computer to work on something, but the flash drive doesn’t register. I think maybe it’s just a glitch, and I go off to watch the latest episode of NCIS. On the way back, I try the flash drive on a friend’s computer.

It doesn’t register there either. (cue annoying soap opera organ music)

So I rush upstairs, feeling my heart beat, praying to God that He lets my flash drive work.

It does. I thank Him, but then I realize He’s playing another prank on me. Ha ha, Sir. You got me.

So lesson to all you readers out there: whether you’re a writer or not, BACK UP YOUR DOCUMENTS! You may end up regretting it later if you don’t.

Dreaming Up Ideas

Posted: April 8, 2012 in ideas, Living and Life
Tags: dreams, Law & Order: SVU, writing

I read when I took AP Psychology back in high school that dreams–while still so mysterious and strange–can be places to figure out problems or come up with new ideas, thanks to the fact that in dreams the rules of reality do not apply. Well, let me tell you something: the other night I had a really awesome–and vivid–dream and I think it makes a great story idea.

This isn’t the first time I’ve come up with a story idea through a dream. A while back I came up with a very disturbing kidnapping story based on a dream I had (and I should really take a look at that story again, I’m sure with some edits it could really get published). What never fails to get me though is how creepy or bizarre these dreams can be, but how helpful they are.

Anyway, the dream from the other night. I dreamt that I was a guest star in an episode of Law & Order: SVU (before you take that the wrong way, let me tell you what my part was). In the dream, I was John Munch’s distant cousin (we’re both Jews) and I was visiting him. Munch and the other detectives were trying to get proof that some teens from a neo-Nazi group had committed a rape and murder of a Jewish girl. I volunteered to go undercover because I look very much not-Jewish and infiltrated the group. Not only did I get evidence against the teens, I showed that the leader of the group–a man with a history of racism and violence–had known about the rape and kept silent. I helped to bring down the group and give justice to the family of the girl. When I woke up I said, “Man, that was a good dream!”

Anyway, I’m pretty sure I can turn that dream into a short story, if not a novel. I’ll see what I can do when I get the time.

Writing Stimulant: A Good Horror Movie Goes A Long Way

Posted: April 5, 2012 in ideas, Living and Life, Writing
Tags: films, ideas, inspiration, writing

It’s amazing what happens when you see a good movie and it just makes you want to write. For instance, I just saw The Woman in Black with Daniel Radcliffe in it at my school’s union and was totally freaked out by it (I would write a review on it but it’s just too soon after the last review). Even while I was watching the film though, my head was swirling with inspiration. Horror is my craft, and I was carefully noting what the filmmakers had done, how they built up tension in this or that scene, how they symbolically signaled that Radcliffe’s character had discovered an important clue, and basically how they told the story (you can learn a lot about storytelling just by watching a good scary movie).

In addition to noting these things, I was also coming up with ideas, ideas for my own stories that I’d like to write someday. When I do come up with stories based on films I’ve watched, it usually has to do with some element from the movie that really stuck with me or something that I’d like to use myself someday, or even just some stray thought that goes through my head while I’m watching. For example, when I saw Taken with Liam Neeson back in high school, I thought how cool it was that he was taking out everyone and anyone with guns, and that led to my idea for a story on a serial killer who tracks down and kills mafioso (do not take that idea!). I also thought that when he was chasing down that punk from the airport, how much Neeson would have it if he was a werewolf, and that led to an idea about werewolf spies/detectives (don’t take that idea either, I will know if something similar is published after this blog post! Just kidding, I know you wouldn’t do that.).

I’m not going to go into details about the ideas I had in my head when I left the theater. I will say though, that once I’m done putting them down on the ideas list I have on my flash drive, I’ll get to work on finishing my new short story. I am in such a writing mood. Wish me luck.

Unlikely Advice (And Where I Got It From)

Posted: April 3, 2012 in Living and Life, short story, Writing
Tags: Once Upon A Time, short story, writing

Okay, so I’m watching Once Upon A Time on Hulu yesterday and one of the characters, August, who’s a writer, says that whenever he has writer’s block, he goes back and looks at what he did so that he can find “a nugget of inspiration” he may have left behind. Yeah, it sounds kinda funny to hear, but that’s what he said.

Anyway, I’m writing this new short story, and boy do I have such a case of writer’s block. I just can’t figure out how to make the story flow. I have the idea, I just can’t make the words come out. So I thought, “Hey, why not? I have to find something to help me get this out.” So I’m reading what I’ve already written, and then I think to myself, “You know, I don’t really like how my narrator is telling the story.” So I go along and change the style of narration and pretty soon the words start to flow again! Before I know it I’ve got three-and-a-half pages written and a few more on their way.

Has this happened to anyone else? Have you heard advice from some weird place and just found out that the advice is legitimate? Please tell me, so I’ll feel less embarassed.

Reborn City: The Final Edit

Posted: March 29, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report
Tags: editing, Reborn City, writing

Ladies and gentlemen, I have finally finished the last edit of my novel, Reborn City! I had some free time today, so I sat down at a computer and just started editing. I got through the last four chapters and guess what? It almost edited itself, it went by so fast! I’m happy now, because now, I’ll be able to seriously consider finding an agent. Or maybe I’ll submit Reborn City to a contest, see if the judges like what I’ve written.

Whatever happens, I’m not going to stop until I’ve gotten published, and hopefully with Reborn City as the first in a long line of horror/sci-fi/fantasy novels. Until then, let’s keep our fingers crossed and praythat I’ll find someone willing to take a chance on a manuscript written by a college student from Ohio.

I’d like to find an agent now, but I don’t have the book I got from the library with the listings for good agents with me right now. Instead, I think I’ll work on a new short story. I had a great idea for this story the other day and I’ve been itching to write it. Now that the edits for Reborn City are done, I can finally scratch that itch.

Wish me luck!

Reborn City Chapter Twelve

Posted: March 22, 2012 in Novel, Progress Report
Tags: editing, Reborn City, writing

I finally got around to editing the twelth chapter of Reborn City (and for those of you just tuning in, Reborn City is the novel I’ve been working on for the past couple of years). This puts me officially at the halfway point in the editing process. I’m glad I finally got to work on it and that it’s done. In the story, we’re steadily speeding along to the events that will lead to the climax of the novel and set up for the two sequels I have planned.

You know, I really hope that I am able to find an agent once I’m done with the current edit I’m going through. If I can’t find an agent immediately, maybe I’ll try a writing contest. Anyway, I’ll keep trying, and hopefully I’ll get it published someday.

All for now, bye.

Winter Quarter Wrap-Up

Posted: March 20, 2012 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, short story
Tags: college life, editing, Kony 2012, Reborn City, writing

I know, that title sounds like something after a NCAA basketball game, but I’ve already used “update” twice in relation to winter quarter, and I don’t want to be redundant.

Now on to the news. Well, I had a slightly lower GPA this quarter, a 3.1, but I’ve got less classes next quarter and despite the reviews of some of them, they don’t seem too difficult or terrifying to me, so hopefully I’ll have a higher GPA than this quarter. I’ll even be taking a class on the search for extraterrestrial life and ways of going about it (yes, my school offers a class on that, you can take it to fulfill a science requirement). Although I don’t believe in alien visitations, I still think the class will be interesting to take. Though if we’re going by what our book teaches, it’ll mostly be what allows life on Earth and how we go about looking for that on other planets.

And as for writing, I’m still working on the final edit for Reborn City, but I hope to get some more of that done. I also wrote a new short story based on the Kony 2012 video I mentioned in my last post. I hope, after that story’s been edited, that a certain magazine I know might want to take it. Fingers crossed, right?

I’m looking forward to spring quarter. More flexible schedule, more time at work, what could go wrong? Wait, don’t answer that.

See ya next post, when it strikes my fancy to write one. Have a good spring break.

The Pulse: A New Oppurtunity

Posted: March 6, 2012 in Journalism, Politics and Leadership, Progress Report
Tags: activism, college life, journalism, online magazine, writing

Good news, ladies and gents: today, just barely two hours ago, I met with the Pulse, a social action magazine for students here on campus. According to their website, the Pulse “gives a voice to Ohio State Progressives, enhancing the intellectual and political consciousness of Ohio State students, and changing the culture from one of apathy to one of activism. With accurate coverage of current events in news and politics, as well as campus life, The Pulse will provide thoughtful analysis of important contemporary issues. We, the youth, speak for ourselves.” Yes, that is a long statement, but it gets me pumped just reading about it!

I learned about the Pulse through an email from the English department, where the Pulse was asking if anyone was interested in doing some writing for them. I thought to myself, “Why not? It sounds like the kind of stuff I’d be into, and besides, it’d be something I could add to my resume of publications.” I sent a reply listing what little I’ve already written, and got an email back. Today we met at the Union and discussed the section I’d be working in, The_______Generation, which is meant to talk about the many facets of the generation of today.

I’m super-excited to be working with the Pulse, and I hope to have an article out soon. I’m hoping to do something involving social media, it is pretty pervasive in our society today. I’ll write a new post soon when I get my first article out.

To visit the Pulse’s website, follow the link below.

http://thepulse-mag.org/

All for now. See ya next time!

Rami Ungar The Writer

Follow Blog via Email

Archives