A Writing Journey: The Hunger Games GIF Edition

With The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 being released very soon (November 20th in the UK and November 21st in the US), I decided I'd do a little GIF post

Those moments where fragile inspiration begins:

Where finding/developing a new story is precious:

Image via http://gifthg.tumblr.com/

When the progress of writing feels like:

To those moments where you push to keep going:

To the hard, often destructive, task of editing : 

Then making sure your book baby is the best it can be:

Celebrating the triumph of a completed manuscript:

And the moment you start the query journey:

With highs of success:

And the tough moments of doubt:

And there are times where your writing journey stalls. Times when the words won't flow. Where your creativity feels blocked. Some days are harder than others. Can you write today? Love of writing means  you open up that document and say: 

Image via http://gifthg.tumblr.com/

Because writing, telling stories, is what we do. And... : 

Image via giphy.com 

All images via http://gifthg.tumblr.com unless stated. 

Happy Wednesday.

Peeta Won Me Over

I went and saw Catching Fire for my birthday. I was very excited as this is one of my favorite series and book 2 is (by a small margin) my favorite book of the series. Watching Gale and Peeta strut their hotness across the screen got me thinking about bad boys vs good guys.





When I first read The Hunger Games, I was totally Team Gale. By the end of the book, I was on the fence. Peeta was just sooo sweet. By the end of book 2 I was even more conflicted because Gale is just hot and fiery and a bit of a bad boy (and I love me some bad boys). But Peeta...OMG Peeta. With the nighttime cuddling and constant sacrifice and his whispered "Always", he was just killing me. In a good way ;-) By the end of book 3, I was firmly entrenched in the Peeta camp and haven't budged since (though Gale can still make me drool a little) ;-)



I found this a bit curious because I'm generally a bad boy lover through and through and Peeta is anything BUT a bad boy. He can fight when he has to, he is definitely strong, courageous. But he is NOT a bad boy. Not even a little. Not even in the midst of the games or at the end after everything he's gone through. But you know, that unswerving devotion (minus his Captial-engineered freak out) is just hard to resist. :-) After reading the whole series, I think book 2 became my favorite mostly because that is the book where the Katniss and Peeta get a little lip action and snuggle time :-D It takes a special kind of character to woo me from the dark side, and Peeta Mellark is just such a character :)

Are you Team Peeta or Team Gale? Like good guys or bad boys? Or a bit of both? ;-)

(originally blogged on The Naked Hero)

Secondary Characters Who Sizzle: Georgia McBride

This may seem like a cop-out, but when I think of great secondary characters, I think of Harry Potter and Twilight. These authors knew what they were doing when they expertly chose certain secondary characters as plot catalysts, plot resolution agents, and characterization reinforcement. However, you aren't JK Rowling or Stephenie Meyer, so I have some advice for writing secondary characters who sizzle. When writing a novel, why should the main character have all the fun? It is impossible (and frankly lazy) for your main characters to drive the plot alone, develop character in a bubble and offer authentic and believable resolution to the story all on their own. And, even if (s)he does, the only way to make it interesting and richly layered is to have amazing (think scene-stealers and best supporting award roles) secondary characters to break up the obvious awesomeness of the main character. Why? Because all awesome all the time is BORING. Below is a list of some of my favorite secondary characters from the aforementioned series and why I like them.

  

The Dursleys by Harry Potter Wikia

Harry Potter 

The Dursleys – hardly major characters, their decisions and actions played a major role in driving the story forward, and sending Harry on his quest in book one. Without the Dursleys, Harry likely would have been resolved to staying under the stairs until it was time to move away. Preventing him from using magic made his interest in his ability and heritage even greater. I dare say their distaste for all things magic was instrumental in driving Harry to want to learn the truth. Through the introduction of these secondary characters the author was able to offer solid character motivation (what drove Harry to want to leave initially), characterization (via Harry’s reactions to the Dursleys and their treatment of him), story set up (this story is about x), the Muggle world (subtle worldbuilding), and also give us a hint of the young man Harry would become.

Twilight by Twilght Saga Wikia

Twilight Saga 

One of my favorite secondary characters in the series is Renesmee Cullen. So it’s the worst name in history, but Renesmee influences the plot and characters like no other. Just by existing, she cements the bond between the vampires and werewolves, reduces the Volturi to nothing more than mall cops and helps Team Jacob members feel better about their loss. No other minor character in recent YA history has had such an influence on the outcome of a novel, the main character’s ultimate development, or the resolution of conflict that had been building through four novels in a series.

Cinna by hungergamesmovie.com

So, when writing sizzling secondary characters, remember those who have gone before you. You have wonderful examples here and in many other popular titles (Think Cinna and Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games). What it is it about these characters that makes them memorable even after you finish reading the book? What makes them secondary characters who sizzle?

 If you have other examples, please comment below. Write well!

*******

Georgia loves a good story. Whether it’s writing her own, or publishing someone else’s, story is at the heart of everything Georgia does. Founder of Month9Books, YALITCHAT.ORG and the weekly #yalitchat on Twitter, Georgia spends most of her days writing, editing, or talking about books. That is, of course, when she is not blasting really loud music or reading. She is represented by Tamar Rydzinski of The Laura Dail Literary Agency. Her debut YA novel, PRAEFATIO releases May 2013 from Month 9 Books

Visit Georgia online at: www.georgiamcbride.com or www.month9books.com

Facebook: facebook.com/georgiamcbride

Twitter: @georgia_mcbride

Pinterest: pinterest.com/georgiamcbride

Instagram: IamGeorgiaMcBride

N*ked, Light, and Furniture: Adding symbols during revision

Symbols are amazing things. Not only will they allow scholars to study your work someday and proclaim your genius, but they reach the everyday Joe or Mary on a personal level, sometimes even on a subconscious one.

Some people are expert plotters and can plan these right into the first draft.

Not me. I have to weave most of my symbols in later on. It's the fun part of revision for me. It's a great way to insert clues about the story's theme without having a character blurt out a moral (although I did love Dumbledore's adages in Harry Potter).

Source

I read an article once about how The Hunger Games includes many layers of symbolism. There are obvious symbols, of course, but there are also subtler ones. The example they gave was when Katniss first meets Cinna. She's totally naked, having just been painfully waxed and prepared for this moment. Then the text goes on to read:

"Pulling on my robe, I follow him through a door into a sitting room. Two red couches face off over a low table. Three walls are blank, the fourth is entirely glass, providing a window to the city. I can see by the light that it must be around noon, although the sunny sky has turned overcast. Cinna invites me to sit on one of the couches and takes his place across from me."

If the author of this article hadn't pointed out these symbols, I'd never have given them my conscious attention. They were just pieces of the setting to me after all her introspection about how simple Cinna seems compared to the other designers. But looking at this paragraph in isolation, I see how rife with symbols it truly is.

Naked = vulnerable
Two red couches face off over a low table.
Red = the color of struggle or anger.
Facing off. <-- she didn't use these words by accident.
Cinna takes the couch opposite her, but it's clear by the surrounding internal monologue that he is not her enemy.
The three blank walls draw her attention to the one glass pane overlooking the city.
There is her true nemesis. 
It's about noon, which should be the brightest time of day, and yet the sky has "turned overcast." It isn't just overcast, but has turned overcast.

Weather becomes the harbinger of a great change, not only in Katniss' life, but in their shared world. In this moment, already, it's Katniss against the Capitol.

Interesting.

Maybe some of these symbols are merely happenstance. The more blatant symbol of Katniss as the Mockingjay is larger than life, and even explained at different points in the books. But these small symbols in the weather, the setting, and the light fascinate me. They reach us on a primal level without the need for conscious analysis. They bring the story to life with detail, yes, but also with depth of meaning.

And the great thing is that they're SO easy to slip into your writing in the revision stage.

At this point, you know your story's themes backward and forward. It's the perfect time to add layers and depth:

• Ravens on the lawn when she leaves her house the morning of the last day of school.
• The lights go out during a brief power outage that means nothing at the time, yet foreshadows something sinister to come.
• The flame on the candle seems to lean toward her outstretched finger.
• Her favorite chair sits beside the window, facing an oversize portrait of her late husband.

Details, symbols... depth.

What's one of your favorite examples of symbolism in story (movies, books, comic books, whatever!)?

THE HUNGER GAMES Full-Length Trailer!

The trailer. Is. Finally. Here.

What do you think? Is it what you hoped it would be or not? Let's discuss in the comments!

When Characters Come Alive

Katniss brought to you by Entertainment Weekly

For obvious reasons (see above), I've been thinking about the relationship between characters and readers. We hear all the time in this business about that relationship, whether it's, "I just didn't connect with your main character," or, "I can't wait to find out what happens to [insert character name here]." 

But it's even more clear how personal that relationship is when the big screen reenacts a beloved book. From Pride and Prejudice (all twelve versions) to Twilight to Eragon to The Hunger Games, literary fans become hyper critical movie fans. Why? Because nobody can reach into your imagination and pull out the character you envisioned. Nobody. And to expect that, we know, is folly. 

And yet, when I saw these stills of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, a little happy butterfly leaped and fluttered in my tummy. I can't say it's exactly how I saw her, but it's SO close. Even better is the exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly that goes with this mag shots wherein Katniss--I mean Jennifer--talks about how hard Oscar season was for her with people putting dresses on her and doing her makeup, how she'd just raise her hands over her head when they wanted to try another dress, and then pout her lips when someone wanted to apply lipstick. It was soooo Katniss. 

It's really fun to see this series come alive in the film medium. So what is it that makes a connect-able character like Bella or Katniss? (And please don't say Bella is a blank slate because I totally disagree.) Dig deeper. I want to know what it is you loved about these two heroines who are so vastly different from one another and yet have garnered a similar level of fan-doration. 

The floor is yours, ladies and gentlemen. 

What makes a beloved character beloved?

Casting Choices & Audience Pitch Forks...

Some of the posts around the blogosphere suggest fans are ready to light the torches and sign the petitions in the "Edward Cullen has been cast" circa 2008 style. Why? The Hunger Games male leads have been cast.

Amparo did an awesome post yesterday about the casting of Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson as Gale and Peeta from The Hunger Games.  Check it out here.

You back? Good.

And she got me thinking about books -V- movies.

Casting choices for popular books are hard. No, they probably seem impossible. Three or four people have to see hundreds of actors and actresses to embody the role millions of people have read, love, hated or fought over with T-shirts proclaiming their love (Team Edward -V- Team Jacob anyone?).

The problem is that one person will never match the image of a character millions of people have created in their heads. The author gives us the tools to show their personalities, looks and voice, but I can bet the Edward, Peeta, and Gale I have in my head are nothing like you imagine them.

And, for me, book Edward doesn't look like Robert Pattinson... but he is movie Edward.

And that's my point -- the movie is the movie. The book is the book (and I do love The Hunger Games series). Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I'm interested to see how these casting choices play out. So long as there is something to embody the characters -- and they don't take huge liberties with the story -- I'm happy. I'll give 'em a shot.

And Suzanne Collins is happy.... and she wrote the books!

Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins is also thrilled with Hutcherson's portrayal of Peeta. When asked to respond to the casting news, she had nothing but praise. "I was fortunate enough to be in the room with Gary Ross when Josh came in to audition," Collins said. "Three lines into the read I knew he'd be fantastic.  Josh totally captured Peeta's temperament, his sense of humor and his facility for language. I'm thrilled to have him aboard."

And, hey, there is always hair dye and contact lenses -- it worked for KStew, right?

It's amazing what Photshop can do, right?