Things I Learned from The Hunger Games

    The Hunger Games is possibly one of the most popular series in modern day; a trilogy of books, four movies, and a gigantic fandom . . . When I finally got to reading this series a while ago, one of my first reactions was, Wow; this writing is great! I learned so many writing techniques from it, including:
    Narration. Personally, I thought it was what stood out first. Katniss's voice is clear, very distinct, and she totally sounds like a sixteen year old girl. Though Katniss is hardened by a rough life and required to know a lot more than the typical teenager does, she acts her age.One of my writer fears is that as I get older, I'll write young characters who don't act or think like actual people their age do, but Suzanne Collins clearly does not have this problem.
    Pacing. Oooh, so you don't have to describe scenes moment-by-moment. This book had fantastic pacing. Rather than write every single action that happens and every place Katniss walks through, there are some parts where it's just briefly mentioned. Like saying "they went to the cafeteria" instead of "they walked out of the room, through the hall, into and down the elevator, went through another hall, and entered the cafeteria two doors down." There was no fluff in the writing. The pacing flowed smoothly, seamlessly, carrying the reader from event to dialogue to action, and so on.
    Humor. The funny moments in this book really balance out the more grisly events of the novel. Some sources of humor in this somewhat gloomy setting were Katniss's sarcasm, Haymitch Abernathy, Effie Trinket, and some scenes where Haymitch and Effie collide. The presence of these humorous characters act as sort of an alleviation in what could otherwise be a very tight, sinister setting, and Katniss's wit is just really balanced well with other parts of her personality.
    The training scenes. In the story, Katniss, Peeta, and all the other tributes have to go through extensive training. These scenes are shown in the book, but they're not boring or too long or anything. The length is reasonable enough to show that a lot of time is invested in preparation, but not enough to make it seem like time is dragging on and on. Plus, the training scenes don't just push the plot forward, but there's some foreshadowing, added conflict, and character development. The scenes are really utilized to their fullest extent without crowding them up with information.
    Killing is not justified or romanticized. This was one of the reasons I stayed away from the series until I was older. I feared that the story was beefed up with characters who kill and then justify it with "them or me" without any qualms, but that's not the way it is. Katniss does take lives in the story, but one was an accident, and one was a mercy killing. She understands that the killings in the Hunger Games are murders, she is horrified and repulsed by the death she sees, and she's haunted by it throughout the whole series. In a story like this, death would be inevitable, but I sort of admire how Collins carefully handled the subject in this first book.
    Wounds and consequences were realistic. One of the things that's fantastic about novels is that there's more room to add and go into details. In The Hunger Games, details are definitely given attention. The arena is a synthesized forest, so Katniss has to constantly hunt for food and fresh water. The authenticity of the hunting/cooking details are also impressive, going beyond mentioning only shooting arrows and cooking over a fire. There's also a part where Katniss is very, very close to a large explosion, and she suffers the consequence of partial deafness. This kind of thing isn't always touched on in TV serieses or movies, so I found the realistic consequence almost refreshing.
    So there are the major writing things I picked up while I was reading. What about you? What's your favorite writer thing about The Hunger Games?

Things I've Learned From The Selection by Kiera Cass

    Last week, I finally read The Selection. No, not the whole series. Just the first book in the series.
    Yeah, I know. How on earth could I have not read The Selection within the four years it's been published and raved about? Just didn't take the time, I guess. But last week I finally decided to check out the legendary story.
    And wow, now I understand why it's so popular! There are a bunch of things the author did fantastically, the story was interesting from the start, now I want to completely explore this setting Kiera Cass has created, and man this book is really cool!
    Plus, as a writer, I picked up a bunch of writing things as I read (hooray, constructive writer habit!). Here are a few of them:
    Setting. It's one of the things I heard was done really well in this series before I started reading. And that claim has been proven! There isn't (at least in my opinion) an information dump on a single page. Aspects and parts of America's world and its history are explained briefly when it's relevant to what's currently happening to her--like for example, the way Illea came to be is explained while America listening to a history lesson. The explanations that America gives in her narration are naturally phrased, simple, and are connected to what she's doing/where she is.
    The protagonist America is also really likeable. Her narration isn't flawlessly grabbing in the first sentence (though maybe no book has that), but her relatable, interesting personality pulls you in. America loves her family and her boyfriend. She adores singing, doesn't whine about working all the time, and she's sympathetic towards lower "castes" in her society. We can sympathize with her when she mourns the unfairness of social classes, and by the end of Chapter Three I was glad when she was happy.
    America also does the unexpected. Knowing that she can't stand the prince at first, you might figure that she would be a little cold, but would at least be silently cold. But the way she actually spoke to him on their first meeting? Jaw drop! The part where she says she says she's going to stay to enjoy the food is one of my favorite lines in the book!
    How do you make an entire trilogy about a dating competition when the guy already likes the protagonist? I'd wondered that before reading the story. Were the parents interfering? Were there some kind of weird court rules that the couple had to overcome? Was the prince just stuck up or majorly indecisive? No. I was surprised and impressed by what kept Maxon from choosing America in this first book: America herself is an obstacle. Her feelings for a former boyfriend make her hesitate from fully loving Maxon.
    And then there's the sudden plot twist about three fourths into the story! SPOILER ALERT!!! Aspen, the former boyfriend America still cares about, shows up in court and the unsuspecting Maxon posts him right outside America's room! Oh, the dramatic irony! Didn't you just want to shout: What are you doing, Maxon? That's the guy who's keeping you from your true love! America is thrown into a spin of confusion, and new problems bubble up that will last at least through the second book. It keeps the events of the story from becoming monotonous--and it was so unexpected!
    The Selection is really cool! Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
    Any Selection fans out there? What's your favorite thing about the series? :)