Teens Writing for Teens, issue 6

Hi, guys.

Tally: I say the same as HR.

Has anyone else changed character names when they've redone a project or is it just me?

lisalulu09 said:

Hi, guys.

Tally: I say the same as HR.

Has anyone else changed character names when they've redone a project or is it just me?

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Never. I've changed character names in revisions before but that's usually because I call that particular character by multiple names. (Skylar's friend back home in BB had like three different names over the course of the story.)

And I changed Klaine's name in CT to Keith in revisions...

Good to hear about your sister's operation, Tally.

Meanwhile, I'm drafting a letter attempting to tactfully ask a local coroner if I can pick their brain for "research."

Questions like "How do you scientifically describe someone who has been mangled by gravity?" are why I like being a mystery novelist.

Oh and PS--it's okay to not like Katniss. I can't force you to have good taste. (Kidding!)

Eh, when you've changed a character's gender in revisions, changing their name is nothing.

CharacterInWhite said:

Oh and PS--it's okay to not like Katniss. I can't force you to have good taste. (Kidding!)

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For moments like this, instead of just saying it, I use this photo:



Anyway, I didn't love the Hunger Games.
I mean, it was entertaining enough, but didn't wow me as much as it did for everyone else.

I agree with Tally--although I was able to stand her, Katniss' character was annoying because she went along with what everyone else did and made next to no decisions herself.

What really bugged was that she mentioned her father in the mines too many times, in my opinion. And Gale. He bugged me a lot, especially in Mockingjay.

I need to write as much as I can today.


Now watch me procrastinate and not write anything. *facepalm*

I disagree with these opinions on Katniss--as far as 17 year-old war icons fighting an oppressive government go, I thought she acted as can be reasonably expected.

The real reason I love The Hunger Games is its applicability as an allegory for the current political climate. Like how privileged first worlders (citizens of "The Capitol") either overlook the travesties of the developing world or glorify them. See Kony 2012.

That's why I love THG. I think the characters were done well, but the real substance is in the story's numerous messages about war and human nature.

Katniss bugged me because of things like:

She would spend ten pages talking about her clothes, and then Johanna would compliment her outfit and she'd be all "omg you guys i'm so bad at girl talk about fashion."

or she'd be like "omg cinna this magical coal miner outfit is just what I need to face the others" NO KATNISS YOU NEED A FUCKING BOW AND ARROW

"omg this girl underneath me lit a fire imma murder her" SOCIOPATH

And then, she villainized all of the other tributes, especially the careers, as though they were the bad guys. Like, today I was at the theatre, and when Glimmer died a friend near me was like 'fuck yeah take that you bitch!' pumping her two middle fingers in the air, and all I could think was "this is a girl. this is a child, thrown into the childmurder games, and now she is dying while all her supposed friends abandon her and you're cheering?

And Katniss overreacted to everything. Especially Johanna. I could never understand why she immediately assumed that Johanna was plotting to kill her the same way she was plotting to kill Johanna. And she wanted to shoot Johanna for slapping her. like, what the actual fuck.

and Enobaria! See, Katniss hears "This girl was forced into the childmurder games and ended up ripping out another kid's throat with her teeth to try and survive" and goes "OMG WHAT AN EVIL PERSON" whereas I think "oh my god, that poor kid".

And she overreacted to Coin so much. Honestly, I don't think Coin was all that EVULZ. at all. I mean, if you really analyze it, she doesn't like Katniss, and Katniss immediately decides she's a BAD PERSON OMG. Coin doesn't say she wants the Capitol Kids Games, she says she thinks it's only way to please the most people with the least deaths.

Peeta bugged me so much, because he was angry at her for not being sure of her feelings after she had put on a show of being in love to SAVE BOTH THEIR FUCKING LIVES.

and then both he and Gale tried to guilt her for kissing the other, despite her not being in a relationship with either! I mean, newsflash, a girl can kiss multiple guys without being a slut.

and there were some grammatical things that made me groan.

So that's just how I feel, though.

Wow... Discussions are great, they make you see things that you didn't see.

Iiiiiiiii am so excited about my book. I must tell you all about it. ALL ABOUT IT. *talks*

maenad36 said:

I need to write as much as I can today.


Now watch me procrastinate and not write anything. *facepalm*

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Story of my life.

Parametric said:

Iiiiiiiii am so excited about my book. I must tell you all about it. ALL ABOUT IT. *talks*

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Yay!

*delurks*

Hi, Ely.

Hey lisa!

How's it going?

I'm okay.

My mom just ordered my prom dress so I'm really excited and my spring break starts next Friday, which means that I will finally have time to sit and write.

I tried writing today but I feel like what I'm writing is crap. I also think I need to start reading again but all of my books are packed away in the back of my closet.

How are you?

I'm good.

I'm sorting out my playlist and plot notes for Script Frenzy. I'm going to start outlining once some stuff arrives from Amazon.

I don't think Katniss overreacted to Coin's suggestion at all. She had just endured two (three, if you count the Capitol's defence mechanisms) death match arenas where she was convinced she'd have to kill everyone in the competition and Coin's first idea after "winning" was to perpetuate the monstrosity that symbolised the District's oppression in the first place.

Katniss' initial distrust of Coin could be chalked up to a knee-jerk response after hating the government for so long. But did I feel it was unjustified in the end? Absolutely not. Coin got exactly what she deserved, especially if you believe she was indeed responsible for The Order (you know the one I mean). Whether Coin was being pragmatic or vindictive, the mere fact that she could suggest it made her a monster.

I'm not even touching the Peeta vs Gale end of the argument, mostly because I don't think there should even be one. It's far less important than learning about revenge or war or politics or symbolism or... you get the idea. There's a lot of meat in the story. Peeta and Gale are little more than ketchup.

Ooooh, it's so tempting to have Beth singing "What The Hell" by Avril Lavigne at some point...

I think Coin was rationally, to be honest.

I mean, think about how many people were calling for Capitol blood. She may not be a particularly good person, but she isn't the OMG HORRIFIC EVUL that Snow was. Besides, I'm pretty sure she didn't actually come up with the idea.

As for Peeta vs. Gale, what bothers me in that storyline is that, while I didn't actually care or want her with either (KATNISSxJOHANNA), the relationship between her and Peeta is clearly unhealthy in some ways but broadcast as ideal TRUE LOVE. And people buy it. THAT's why it matters.

but she isn't the OMG HORRIFIC EVUL

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Totally pulling a Godwin's law, here:

Coin suggesting a Hunger Game with Capitol kids is like executing Nazis by shoving them into a gas chamber.

At the end of the day, Coin wasn't any better than Snow no matter how you interpret her. She was either being vindictive, or as you think, pragmatic--in which case she's not principled enough to lead a government out of a dystopia. You need someone with a strong moral compass, and Coin was not that person. "Just going along with the suggestion" instead of confronting the moral atrocities such a Game would imply makes her an enabler. She'd be just as guilty as the people actually orchestrating the Game (which, incidentally, is how the Game contestants felt about the Capitol people when they ran the show).

You study the Treaty of Versaille in history/social yet? That's kinda the same thing here. Being an ass after winning a war is never a good idea. Coin may not have been "bad" for the same reasons as Snow, but she was still toxic in her own way.

I only leave for a few months and there's a new thread lol

I shall be going to bed in a minute.

Reading short stories and things that I wrote four years ago and...I used to be great at writing stories in third person. Now I suck. Grrr.

Who the hell is Rose?

Listen, I said if you think she's evil, that's great for you. I don't. End of story.

I would say more, but it's the middle of 'welcome to the sixties' and I gotta go!