(I apologize that this entry is being posted late. Between family obligations and exhaustion from preparing for a marathon, I have fallen slightly behind.)
I recently came across the following list on Amazon: “100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime.”
As a fantasy writer myself, I decided to spend the next few years reading every book on this list and record the lessons I learned from each volume on how to be a great writer.
PLOT: The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The ‘tributes’ are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.
When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. She sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature. – from Goodreads.com
WHAT I LEARNED: The Hunger Games has a very intriguing plot, but the story wouldn’t have amounted to much if it hadn’t also had an equally intriguing narrator. There are many reasons why Katniss Everdeen is the ideal hero for this story. She is an underdog challenging a fascist empire. She is complex in that she is at times achingly vulnerable but at other times fiercely savage. And (arguably most importantly of all) she is introduced in the most perfect way possible.
The first chapter of The Hunger Games paints us a portrait of “The Reaping,” an annual event in which “Tributes” are selected via lottery to be sent to the capital and fight to the death. When I first read the book I was expecting Katniss to be chosen right away. The author hints at this by mentioning that her name has been entered twenty times. Also, Katniss is clearly the main character. Of course she’s going.
However, it is Prim, Katniss’ kid sister (and whose name has only been entered once) who is chosen. Katniss is stunned at first but almost immediately steps forward and volunteers to take her place.
Had Katniss been the tribute chosen, the reader would shrug and say, “Guess she’s unlucky.” Throughout the rest of the novel she may have achieved the status of hero through her actions but she would always be in the situation due to misfortune rather than anything she has done. Because Katniss sacrifices herself for her sister (who she has raised) she immediately becomes a hero in our eyes. We the readers respect her considerably more.
I recently wrote a post entitled 8 ½ Things I Learned at THRILLERFEST XIII. In it, I shared one of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard regarding introducing a character. If your novel follows the adventures of an ordinary, “average” hero (a bullied student, a middle-class housewife, an accountant etc.) they need to do something heroic within the first few pages.
Katniss begins the first chapter as just another face in her society. Yes, she is a talented hunter and she is the reason why her family has survived, but the world at large ignores her (and that’s the way she likes it). However, by making her step forward and sacrifice herself for someone else, Collins instantly turns Katniss into a hero we want to follow for the next 300 plus pages.
Other Thoughts: After The Hunger Games came out it was immediately compared to the book and movie Battle Royal. These works both tell the story of teenagers who are forced to fight to the death. Some went so far as to say Collins stole the idea.
Personally, I roll my eyes at these accusations. Don’t get me wrong, Battle Royal is a fantastic movie and you should definitely watch it, in fact it’s a better film than any of The Hunger Games movies (I haven’t gotten a chance to reading the book yet), BUT the two works are so far removed from one another that any accusation of plagiarism has no ground to stand upon. You might as well say that Back to the Future ripped off The Time Machine.
The reason why I’m getting into all this is because no matter how original you think your idea is, I can almost promise you that someone else has published a similar story. It might be a relatively obscure work, but it’s out there, and someday someone may tell you, “You can’t write that, it’s already been done.”
Ignore this person.
Unless the plot, the characters and the setting are all the same they are giving you bad advice (and if that is the case you can change the characters and setting and alter the plot the differentiate your work).
There is no such thing as an original idea. All stories have been told, but they have not been told the way YOU will tell them. That’s the key, tell your story the way you would tell it. Write the freshest, most original story you can but just because someone else has come up with a similar concept doesn’t mean you should turn back. Besides, the people who whine that your story isn’t 100% original are probably not writing much themselves.*
*This should go without saying but just to prevent anyone from jumping to conclusions I’ll say it. I’m (obviously) not suggesting you commit plagiarism. If you’re writing a vampire romance called Dusk where the main characters are Ella and Bedward, yest, you need to go back to the drawing board. All I’m saying here is, don’t get scared away just because someone else has written a story with a vaguely similar plot.
DISTINCT PASSAGE: The following is the opening of the second chapter. The first chapter ends with Prim’s name has been pulled from The Reaping.
“One time, when I was in a blind in a tree, waiting motionless for game to wander by, I dozed off and fell ten feet to the ground, landing on my back. It was as if the impact had knocked every wisp of air from my lungs, and I lay there struggling to inhale, to exhale, to do anything.
“That’s how I feel now, trying to remember how to breathe, unable to speak, totally stunned as the name bounces around the inside of my skull. Someone is gripping my arm, a boy from the Seam, and I think maybe I started to fall and he caught me.
“There must have been some mistake. This can’t be happening. Prim was one slip of paper in thousands! Her chances of being chosen so remote that I’d not even bothered worrying about her.** Hadn’t I done everything? Taken the tesserae, refused to let her do the same? One slip. One slip in thousands. The odds had been entirely in her favor. But it hadn’t mattered.
“Somewhere far away, I can hear the crowd murmuring unhappily as they always do when a twelve-year-old gets chosen because no one thinks this is fair. And then I see her, the blood drained from her face, hands clenched in fists at her sides, walking with stiff, small steps up toward the stage, passing me, and I see the back of her blouse has become untucked and hangs out over her skirt.*** It’s this detail, the untucked blouse forming a ducktail, that brings me back to myself.
“Prim!” The strangled cry comes out of my throat, and my muscles begin to move again. “Prim!” I don’t need to shove through the crowd. The other kids make way immediately allowing me a straight path to the stage. I reach her just as she is about to mount the steps. With one sweep of my arm, I push her behind me.
“I volunteer!” I gasp. ‘I volunteer as tribute!'”
**Collins set up the previous chapter so the readers don’t worry about her either. Prim’s name being called is a shock for everyone.
***A small detail that is mentioned in the first chapter. It triggers both the narrator and reader’s memories, reminding us that Prim is an innocent going to the slaughter. Use small details like this one to anchor large/powerful scenes in your writing.
