The cynic who still carries a childhood stuffed animal.

The liar who craves honesty.

The overthinker who makes reckless decisions.

The heartbreaker who believes in soulmates.

The pacifist who holds lifelong grudges.

The tough guy who cries during old movies.

The thrill-seeker who's terrified of commitment.

The grump who’s unfailingly polite to waitstaff.

six months later i re-read the essay prior to the final exam, went 'ohhhh yeah i remember this', got a question on that topic, and aced it.

Think about it: they both grew up poor and deeply vulnerable, losing parents at a very young age, with a matriarchal adult (Katniss' mother and Coriolanus' Grandma'am) who fails to provide for them emotionally and physically. They intimately understand the threat of starvation, even developing with stunted growth because of it, and their narrations in the books share a fixation on food. Throughout their childhoods, both experienced constant fear and suffered a fundamental lack of control over their circumstances. Because of this, they're inherently suspicious of the people around them. They resent feeling indebted to others, especially those who have saved their lives. They're motivated almost entirely by family and deeply connected to their communities. Both are used and manipulated by the Capitol, both are forced to perform to survive and despise every inch of it, both are thrown into the Arena and made to kill. Both have a self-sacrificial, genuinely sweet sister figure acting as their conscience. Peeta and Lucy Gray - performers and love interests with a fundamental kindness and sense of hope about them - fulfill markedly similar roles in their narrative. Both contribute to the development of the future Hunger Games, Snow throughout tbosas and Katniss towards the end of Mockingjay.

It's easy to ignore these similarities because, as mirrors of each other, they are exact opposites. Katniss is from District 12, viewed and treated as less than human; Snow is the cream of the Capitol crop, given the privilege of a name with social weight, an ancestral home, and the opportunity of the Academy despite having no more money than a miner from 12. Katniss has no agency over her life, and responds by being kind whenever she's able, while Snow justifies horrendous evils in order to continue his quest for complete control. Katniss does everything she can to protect her family; Snow does everything he can to protect his family's image as an extension of his own ego. Katniss loves her District and connects with its inhabitants on a meaningful level, but Snow is indifferent at best to his peers - the apparent "superior people" - and only engages with his community for personal gain. Katniss emerges from the Arena horrified at herself and the system, but Snow takes his trauma and turns it into an excuse to perpetuate the violence with himself at the top. Katniss cares for Prim until her death and then snaps at the loss of her little sister, while Snow survives on Tigris' blood, sweat, and tears and then torments and abandons her, presumably because she calls him out on his insanity. Snow actively adds to and popularizes the Hunger Games because of his vendetta against the Districts following his childhood wartime trauma - Katniss briefly agrees to a new Hunger Games (which is arguably a facade to trick Coin), but later definitively stops them from happening by killing Coin and choosing a life of peace and privacy. Snow is obsessed with revenge, but Katniss empathizes with the Capitolites and does what she can to keep them from suffering. He exists in a cruel system and selfishly upholds it; she exists in a cruel system and works to dismantle it for the good of her family and community, at great personal cost. And Peeta and Lucy Gray are incredibly similar, but Katniss and Peeta forge a relationship of genuine love and understanding that shines in comparison to Coriolanus' obsessive projection onto Lucy Gray.

(A.K.A. Before You Even Touch That Shiny Blank Page)

↳ What You’re Actually Obsessed With Stop trying to write what’s trendy. What do you spiral about at 2 a.m.? What ideas make you grin like a gremlin and mutter, “Ohhh, that’s juicy”? That’s your story. Chase that weird, niche, can’t-let-it-go stuff. Your obsession will be the fuel that drags you through chapter 27 when everything sucks and you kind of want to fake your own death.

↳ Your Story’s “Why the Hell Should Anyone Care?” Not in a mean way. But genuinely—why should a stranger give up sleep to read this? What itch does it scratch? What feeling does it deliver? Figure that out early and let it guide you like a tiny emotional compass. If you can’t answer it yet, cool. But keep poking at it until you can.

↳ A Character With Big, Messy Feelings Don’t start with a plot. Start with a person. A disaster with a wound and a want. Someone who wants something so badly it makes them do unwise things. Get to know them like a nosy therapist. Let them tell you what kind of story they want to be in.

↳ Conflict That Isn’t Just Vibes Mood boards are fun. But conflict is what makes a story move. Make sure you’ve got some stakes, emotional, relational, existential, literal. If your idea doesn’t have anything to push against, it’s not a story yet. It’s an inspiration board.

↳ A Rough Emotional Shape Not an outline. Not yet. Just… the feeling. Where does it start (lonely)? Where does it go (rage)? Where does it end (hopeful)? Think of your book like a rollercoaster. You need the high points, low points, and those slow creaky climbs that make people scream. If it’s all flat? Snoozefest.

↳ The One Vibe You Want to Nail Every great book has a thing. An atmosphere. A flavor. Your job during brainstorming is to catch the scent of it. Is it spooky and tender? Funny and tragic? Cozy but secretly brutal? Whatever it is, write it down. Tattoo it on your brain. Let it infect every scene.

» They witness a crime but helping the victim means exposing a secret that could ruin someone they love.

» They could save someone’s life… but only by hurting someone else.

» They’re offered everything they’ve ever wanted, by the worst person they know.

» They have to lie to protect someone, but the lie costs someone else dearly.

» They can bring justice, but only by breaking a promise.

» They’re given power, but to keep it, they have to become what they hate.

» They have the chance to take revenge, and it would be so easy. So satisfying.

» They’re the only one who knows the truth, but telling it would destroy someone’s faith.

» They could protect the many, by sacrificing the one. And the one matters to them.

» They promised not to get involved, but walking away would haunt them forever.

» They were wrong  and admitting it now will shatter their credibility.

» They’re asked to forgive, and they know the person doesn’t deserve it.

» They have to pick a side, but both sides are flawed. Both will cost them something.

» They want to help, but they’re not sure it’s their place.

» They said they’d never become their parent and now they’re staring in the mirror, wondering if they already have.

» They catch their friend doing something terrible, but they owe them everything.

» They can’t tell if they’re protecting someone, or controlling them.

» They get what they want, but someone else suffers for it.

» They promised to keep a secret, but now someone innocent is getting hurt.

(How your character defends their soft core and what could shatter it) Because protection becomes prison real fast.

Anyway, one of my favorite little winks is when a perspective character is unknowingly referencing someone they and the story haven't met yet, positively or negatively. In original fiction, a reader gets this joke on the reread. In fanfiction (or in sequels or companions or anything where the reader might have a greater familiarity with the world), a reader gets to relish the dramatic irony more immediately.

Miami and the Gold Coast (in Aus)

New Zealand and Oregon

The great plains and the Russian steppe

India and fiji

Napa Valley, California and Tuscany, Italy

Appalachians in America and the Grampians in Australia

Black sand beach in Iceland and New Zealand

Aurora borealis and australis

Congo and Amazon rainforest/river

Mountains in France and Korea

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