Nof

Nof

Currently a senior at Cortland State, majoring in Professional Writing with a concentration in Editing, Publishing, and Creative Writing.

Contributor I

  • Lurker
  • Pssst
  • Hand Raiser
  • Sharp-Eyed Citizen
  • ?
  • Articles
    2
  • Featured
    0
  • Comments
    45
  • Ext. Comments
    42
  • Processed
    4
  • Revisions
    4
  • Topics
    4
  • Topics Taken
    0
  • Notes
    8
  • Topics Proc.
    7
  • Topics Rev.
    0
  • Points
    698
  • Rank
    176
  • Score
    379

    Latest Articles

    Literature
    26

    Joyce Carol Oates and Ethical Writing

    For many people, writing is a passion, a hobby, a way to express themselves, a habit. For most people, their...

    Nof

    TV
    21

    “Weeds”: How TV Affects Modern Society

    There are many shows that have the ability to grasp the attention of its audience right from the start, to...

    Nof

    Latest Topics

    7
    writing
    Write this topic

    How do you know you're a writer?

    This question lingers in every single person's mind if they're on a writing career path. There are many famous writers today that strongly believe if you're not writing every single day or if you don't write every minute you have free, then you're not a writer. Should this advice or this way of thinking be what people look at to decide if they're writers? There's no one who can truly decide this for you, but this advice can be very discouraging. Also, possibly tie in the growing industry of self publishing (with the intense competition of writing and publishing). Is it working? Is it worth it? Or do we stick to agents who have connections?

    • I think defining oneself as a writer is dependent on two things: self perception and publication. Some people don't consider others writers unless they are published or making money from their writing in some way, it's not a career otherwise. If that criteria isn't being met it's all about your own perception, do you feel like a writer? In the eyes of a famous writer you might not be seen as such, but if you're asked by someone who does not know what defines one "oh, are you a writer?" do you say yes or no? It's an intuition thing though it can be a wide grey area. I feel this way with art as well, but that's much simpler because everyone writes at some point in their day but only "artists" tend to doodle regularly. – Slaidey 9 years ago
      2
    • Definitely a lingering question for anyone committed to writing. You pose some good questions, but I feel this can turn into two separate articles. The advice writers give to other writers varies, and an article analyzing a few select quotes would be interesting. What about focusing on a few quotes from some of your favorite writers? As for the world of publishing, an article detailing what a good query letter looks like and how the nuances of publishing contracts are trickier than most think would be compelling. There's so much legwork to get through after the writing itself is completed. – RobertCutrera 9 years ago
      1
    • These are questions that I have posed. Some advice that I've received from publishers is to write when you feel very passionate. You can write everyday, but sometimes you're writing about "nothing," granted that nothing could one day become something. I would say that writing comes from within, if you're passionate about it and love literature, you love telling narratives, all of that is what constitutes a good writer. – jeffbis11 9 years ago
      1
    • I've been asking myself this question recently, since I haven't been writing in a while and get writers block easily. And on a website like this, I think that this topic can be reassuring for a lot of people. – Samantha Brandbergh 9 years ago
      0
    • The noun implies a verb, if you don't do the verb you shouldn't use the noun. – ChrisKeene 9 years ago
      0
    • I like to think I am a writer, but my inspiration strikes me very erratically. There is no pattern and it certainly does not happen every day! – Natasha 9 years ago
      1
    • One of the hardest assignments I've had as Creative Writing major is to tell people that I'm a writer when they ask what I do. It's easy for me to forget that this is what I am, that I'm not just a teacher or a student, I'm a writer. As a writer, I think it's important to write everyday regardless of content or outlet. There's poetry out there in the form of text messages, and of course the six word memoir. I think it's the writer who has to take ownership of their craft and their passion and be willing to say, regardless of the response, that "I am a writer." – Spayne19 9 years ago
      1
    • I strongly believe that we are all writers--we all have stories. We convey them through different mediums, either unwritten or documented. Now, if a person wants to make a career out of writing, then (s)he needs to understand that it takes commitment of at least 40 hours per week. I know it's hard, especially when one needs to be in the creative mode, but here's the thing: if you love it, its not work. Its life :) – sbermudez 9 years ago
      0
    • You will know that you are a writer when your brain will be pressed by enormous quality of strange ideas when your hand reach out to pen or keyboard. – LauraJonson 9 years ago
      0
    Add Note
    1
    film
    Write this topic

    Trailers: Marketing Over Quality?

    There are so many trailers and other film marketing apparatus that portray a film in a different light than it should be in order to sell the film and bring in viewers. For instance in other countries, Brad Pitt was the only face of the poster for 12 Years A Slave, when his appearance was only a few minutes towards the end of the film. The trailer for Click tried to sell the movie as a comedy, when the movie turned out to be a sad film, arguably not for children. This second part might be a completely different article, but many trailers now, because of the time/length requirement, give away too much of the film and perhaps when trying to avoid this, they sell it as a completely different movie. Discuss whether marketing gets in the way of quality of trailers. Trailers are perhaps the most important part of the movie because they are the first impression.

    • Trailers really do make or break how people will perceive the movie. There have been a few times where I watched the trailer and thought it looked good, only to have it completely blow up in my face and the movie was nothing like the trailer. An example of this is Spring Breakers. The trailer made the move seem like a fun, cliché college spring break trip amongst friends, but that was not the case. The girls robbed a restaurant to pay for this trip, then when they get there, get involved with some very sketchy people that ends in a shoot out. Not to mention, Selena Gomez's face was all over the movie because she was the most famous person, besides James Franco, to appear in it, and she ended up leaving like half way through. I think marketing does play a role in the quality of the trailer. Like you said, time and length requirements definitely affect how the trailer will turn out. – diehlsam 9 years ago
      0
    Add Note
    16
    tv
    Write this topic

    The Different Types of Television Comedy

    There are so many different ways a comedic TV show can reach its audience, and each one draws in a different audience because each one is comedic in a unique way. For instance, How I Met Your Mother and Friends are comedic in a way that make you want to join in on the friendships they share — a more realistic comedy. There is also Stand Up comedy TV that draws in a variety of different watchers who all like to watch one person but differ based on the jokes (Lisa Lampanelli is a very different type of stand up comedy than Jeff Dunham). I am sure there are other types of comedy TV shows. It would be interesting to examine the different types of TV comedy and its elements and what type of audience does each type of comedy attract.

    • A black comedy like Shameless would be interesting to examine as well. – Luthien 9 years ago
      21
    • A black comedy of British and Muslim characters like the original Shameless, would provide global cultural values to deem what is comedic. – Venus Echos 9 years ago
      9
    Add Note
    4
    writing
    Write this topic

    Taboo Topics in Novels

    I am currently reading a book called "Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness" by Jennifer Tseng in which she writes about a middle aged woman who becomes involved with a high school boy. Of course this sounds sick, but the elegance of Tseng's words almost make you forget the strange nature of their relationship. It would be interesting if someone could explore the influence of writing and style on taboo topics that make readers less offended or that make it possible to sit through a book like this and enjoy it. I am a big fan of Jodi Picoult and I know she often tip toes on boundaries as well, if you wanted to explore more than one author.

    • Spoiler alert* A mainstream example to use would be Game of Thrones. Reading about the Lannisters and hearing things from Cersei's POV makes people more understanding as to why her and Jaime resorted to incest (which is a highly taboo thing, made almost worse because they are twins). Not to mention characters who do awful things are not always punished, seen in the Mountain winning against the Dorne Prince in a duel, getting to kill the fan favorite fighter while admitting to raping his sister and slaughtering her children. It's awful but I'm sure some people were amused at how badass the execution of the death made the Mountain seem, and then he gets to be reborn through his injuries as a Frankenstein-like character. There are so many corrupt characters it's hard not to be compelled to favor some of them. – Slaidey 9 years ago
      3
    • I have found that not being too crass or graphic with the writing helps readers accept the taboo topic. – Nocturna32 9 years ago
      1
    • I can't help but think of Mortal Instruments, where it is briefly believed that the main character and the love interest are siblings... and they still love each other romantically. – SpectreWriter 9 years ago
      0
    • One of the prime examples I can think of is Middlesex, which has become a pretty high-profile book despite it discussing some very taboo topics in great detail (puberty, lesbian sex between minors, and incest, to name a few). To a certain extent I think these books become popular because readers are curious about the topics, but get embarrassed to read about them unless they're wrapped up in an artistic, literary package. – Grace Maich 9 years ago
      1
    • While more manga-based I read "Bunny Drop" which explored love between relatives, in this case a man and his young half-sister. In Japanese culture in general their is a trend of relationships like this (Ghibli's "From up on Poppy Hill" etc.) which like to straddle the line of "we could be brother/sister and lovers but there's a side way out!" and then find a way to avoid being completely controversial. A good side to explore is the public (whether American or international) opinion on literature with incest and other taboo subjects as part of a story of fiction. What is it that makes authors and editors so afraid to go the whole nine yards? Has this always been the case and which novels have shone through which have been far more controversial? Also are taboo topics used more as a source of generating interest? (Monty Python's "Life of Brian" used the taboo of poking fun at events from the bible to get notoriety and sell much better.) Anyways, just a few ideas that might help in looking at the topic. Interesting choice also of the words "of course this sounds sick", that very sentence sums up the generalisation being explored here. – smartstooge 9 years ago
      0
    Add Note

    Sorry, no tides are available. Please update the filter.

    Latest Comments

    Nof
    Jun 7, 2016
    Nof

    Trailers have become ridiculous and I find myself stopping them after 30 seconds. The funny thing is, trailers, like some other forms of advertisements, can be misleading if they’re too short. However, I still think longer ones ruin most of the experience. This is such an interesting topic.

    		 Time to Trim Trailers? The Death of Surprise in Modern Hollywood
    Nof
    Mar 30, 2016
    Nof

    Great article. It’s intimidating when everyone else is doing it and there’s no room for more, but I am thinking of starting a youtube channel. A good article to read in that case!

    		 Vlogging: The New Genre of Television Entertainment
    Nof
    Feb 17, 2016
    Nof

    Although a controversial piece, I thought it was well written despite what my opinions are. It’s scary and sometimes difficult to put ourselves out there as writers to be subjected towards a lot of criticism. Well done.

    		 Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, Violence and Racism in The Last Days of Obama
    Nof
    Jan 4, 2016
    Nof

    great article. I’m very much involved in the makeup / beauty community on youtube and makeup artistry is a hobby of mine! It’s awesome to see it intersecting and growing with other aspects such as an online magazine!

    		 The Feminist Makeup Culture: Reconsidering Cosmetics
    Nof
    Nov 16, 2015
    Nof

    The rhetoric of posters I would think would actually have a lot of sway in how well a movie does. For example, the poster for 12 Years A Slave in other countries had Brad Pitt on it because his face is well known. An interesting read and a very cool topic! I would not have thought about the actual history, but studying rhetoric, I should have and this is a great example.

    		 The History of Film Posters
    Nof
    Aug 20, 2015
    Nof

    These moments, though very mature for some audience, balance out the movie’s humor or comic relief. These are well done, but it should be considerate of all audience. Great article – it has a new viewpoint.

    		 10 Mature Moments in a Pixar Film
    Nof
    Aug 14, 2015
    Nof

    This is a great article! I like that you inserted excerpts from fan fiction, it helps bring the image into the reader’s mind of what you’re talking about. Fanfiction, for a long time, was something I didn’t quite understand. It’s great that this article is informative.

    		 Fanficton: A Practice in the Art of Storytelling
    Nof
    Aug 12, 2015
    Nof

    This article is shocking but not surprising. There have been many movies and shows glorifying these situations and jobs and they perhaps make us aspire to something that isn’t real. That is, of course, with most television. Almost everything is fabricated or glorified and it’s disappointing when we begin to desire unrealistic things for ourselves.

    		 "Cultural Labour": The Fabricated Fantasy of NYC Fashion Culture
    Load More Comments