How Hunger Games hooks readers: Bringing a premise to life (video essay)

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

If you have a question about how to bring a concept to life in the early part of your story, leave a comment and I'll try to offer some feedback.

[@Viewable11]

The begin of The Hunger Games book was one the best world building I ever witnessed on page, plus it intertwined that with the description of a multifaceted character (Katniss) that creates interest. Collins is a big fan of "1984" and "Brave New World", and it is obvious that in Panem, the people in the districts live in Orwell's dystopia while the inhabitants of the Capitol live in Huxley's dystopia and they communicate with each other via Golding's dystopia of "Lord of the Flies". Collins picked the most fascinating parts of three major dystopias of the 20th century and married them in an adaptation for the 21st century.

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Absolutely! When I did this video, I really got to appreciate just how phenomenal the technical aspects under the story actually were, in terms of world and character. And I agree, the parallels to "1984" are very strong. I love your observation of the different people living in different dystopias.

[@sasavlog03]

The movie is great, and has been my comfort movies whenever I need to feel something. But it would've been better if it was made into limited series in Netflix. There was too many cruelty that they had gone over; District 13's lack of celebrations and festivities underground, so much that a small wedding, even if made from the simplest outfits, is a big joy that brings the district around. Finnick's dark secret about Capitol selling the desirable Victors as a sexual toy, and in return, he receives secrets from them. Coin's cold and heartless tortures in the chambers on the people of Capitol. And Katniss discovering them in the dungeon, and did not want to talk about the sole drain by the corner. The value of food that means nothing to Capitol, who eats and eats everyday from the labor of the district, and drink a small glass of liquid that makes you sick so you can throw up and eat more. I really like the book, and that few points is what I could write for now, since I wrecked my dreams re-reading it.

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Thanks for sharing! Yeah, in the case of film adaptations, there's always something lost in translation.

[@kathleenschwab4645]

These videos are helping me so much! I'm about 50 pages into my first novel.

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

That's very exciting! I'm glad the videos are helpful!

[@Tony-cw1cx]

This kind of production quality deserves more support. Awesome video/channel.

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

That means a lot, thank you :)

[@wmiller2811]

A comment for the algorithm.

[@imbuffysummers]

It took 4 years but finally this has reached me. I thank you

[@footh1013]

Great video! Your effort in making this video is very appreciated

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Thank you for the lovely comment! 🥰

[@ChrisOvens51]

This channel is phenomenal

[@Air_Serpent]

I always have trouble starting my stuff, so these videos will be a good help! This was a good analysis

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

I'm glad it was helpful!

[@ThiozerNunes]

Great video! I hope more and more people see this. I was searching for hunger games video essays and luckily found this one.

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Thank you! Happy you enjoyed the vid! ;)

[@d_dave7200]

I think the other thing about The Hunger Games is that the sentences are structured in a way that maintains a constant feeling of tension. First person. Fast paced, with lots of short, staccato sentences and fragments. A "long" sentence in that first chapter is around the length of a small-to-medium sentence in a lot of books. So even if a lot of information is being imparted, you might not even notice. I remember initially feeling like the way it was written was a little jarring, but it was very immediate, and once I got used to it a few pages in, I was completely hooked.

[@d_dave7200]

Compare this to, say, the Fellowship of the Ring. While the world Tolkien built is so incredible that it remains one of my favorite books, by modern storytelling standards it's not that well written. There's a lot of information imparted that would be better imparted differently, and the pace is slow. A lot of people try to read LotR and get bored for that reason. That doesn't mean it isn't a work of genius, of course... just that it's not a work of /storytelling/ genius. More like world building and mythology genius, with some engaging characters thrown in.

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Great observation. I love your focus on the sentence construction. I think a lot of writers (especially those interested in fantasy-scifi) get hooked on worldbuilding, but you have to get the writing right at sentence level.

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

That describes my motivation for focusing on mostly 21st century fiction on this channel. I love my Tolkien, but he intentionally wrote in a mythic style that was even out of step with mid-20th century fiction (Hemingway was more indicative of the dominant style of the time). By today's standards, LOTR is even further outdated-if you were submitting something like that in this market. It's still a wonderful book and a classic, and we should read the classics, but the style of today is different. To make it out there as writers, we have to understand our competition.

[@NoverMaC]

Opening chapters are truly hard to write. Great video!

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Oof, yeah, I write and rewrite and re-rewrite... And keep learning along the way!

[@snailart9214]

I really hope you keep making content. I got here from the Coraline video which was excellent btw.

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Thank you! I'm currently working on my next video ;)

[@monetsanchez6543]

Brilliant

[@brandoncargill6135]

Fantastic video. Very well researched and thought out. Thank you for your insight.

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Thank you for the kind words! Welcome to the channel :)

[@nickollabossert153]

These videos are great

[@MichaelBrunerMusic]

This is great! Solid analysis. Subscribed:)

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Awesome, glad you like it!

[@RachaelLBu]

The explanation in the beginning of what the tribute wins was a bit lacking. Them and their district being showered with food for a year? Yes, but they are set for life with wealth if they win, given a lavish home in Victors Village. But overall I liked the summary.

[@tillie-tmb4808]

This rocks!

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

No, you rock! :D Thanks!

[@tillie-tmb4808]

@@HowTheNovelStarts Thanks for the reply. Honestly though, your vids are helping me write my comic lol

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

@@tillie-tmb4808 That's awesome! Glad to hear the ideas work for other genres.

[@avagodden4134]

Music is kinda load and hard to litsen to but great vid

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Thanks for that feedback, will take that into account in future videos ;)

[@orangeflower2797]

"Their kindle store, so basically, all of literature"... seriously?

[@Viewable11]

The author of this 10 minute video fails to explain any of the many reasons why the Hunger Games book hooks the reader immediately. Following techniques by Suzanne Collins maximize reader immersion: First person point of view storytelling and present tense. Language complexity level which is easily digestible for the 12y+ target audience and realistic for the 16y/o protagonist. Following story elements maximize reader identification with the protagonist: Female protagonist, which matches the biggest reader demography. Absent father of the protagonist, which matches large parts of the target audience, who suffers from losing the father via *divorce* or *abandonment* or war deployment or death. Protagonist suffers from poverty and exploitation by the rich ruling class. Protagonist and other characters are subjected to omnipresent surveillance and propaganda. Protagonist's body and behavior are commodified by society and subjected to permanent and strict assessment.

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

All those are valid points, thanks! I do talk about first-person and reader-character relatability in a few other videos, but these are still good points for Hunger Games. My main idea here was to highlight one aspect of the craft. Hopefully others will see your comment and have a greater sense of the complexity behind what seems like a simple chapter. ;)

[@Viewable11]

@@HowTheNovelStarts Thank's for the encouraging answer.

[@RG-un7cv]

Can i communicate with u? You are brilliant

[@RG-un7cv]

Either here or in any app

[@HowTheNovelStarts]

Thank you :D You can message me on Twitter twitter.com/hownovelstarts

[@RG-un7cv]

@@HowTheNovelStarts i did ❤️❤️