An Announcement (and complementary cake)

8:22 AM Gemma Fitz 1 Comments

I'm going to camp this year (yayness!) and therefore won't be around to answer comments or anything of that sort all of the upcoming week (from tomorrow to next Saturday). And since I haven't thought of anything to write about yet STILL haven't figured out how to schedule blog posts (ARGH. Why is this so hard to do??), I won't be posting, either.

But never fear!!! I will be back to bug you again soon! And hopefully I'll be able to think of something to post that isn't too terribly cheesy. (Oh wait, I like cheese.)

Enjoy some ice cream in my absence.
Hungry?
Oh wait, didn't I say cake in the title? Eh, well-- "complementary cake" sounds better, but ice cream tastes better. (I dare you to defy either dictum.) Plus, it's summer. It's hot. Ice cream for the heat.
Also ice cream for Chris Evans.

But you can go have cake if you want it.

1 comments:

I adore comments! Just keep it clean and respectful...please no profanity and while I respect people's opinions and love a good argument, simply bashing my post is obviously not appreciated. :)

5 Unexplained Tropes in YA Fiction

11:57 AM Gemma Fitz 6 Comments

As some of you know, I've been taking an adventure lately into the dangerous territory of YA fiction, my only map the reviews and recommendations around the blogosphere. Recently on this quest, I've been noticing that wherever I go, I see some of the same geographical features, architecture, plant life, and so on. And I don't really know why.
Now, don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily have a problem with all these tropes. Some of them I dislike, some of them I like, some of them I don't care. I just think they're a bit overdone, and we seriously need some variety. So not only will I expose these cliches, but I'll give you some alternatives and variations. Let's get started!

Capture the Flag

  • Divergent
  • The Lightening Thief (Percy Jackson 1)
  • Variant
This one I just don't get. Sure, capture the flag is a fun game, but why is it such a popular component of YA novels? One would think that it's the only game in the world from the usage it gets.

Alternatives:
First off, why do you even have this game there in the first place? What purpose does it serve? And if it's to show off the protagonist's value, I'd say cut it. Put the MC in a real life or death situation, or break the abilities to us one by one, or let us know from the very beginning that he's awesome, but the whole trivial game idea is really overused. If you have some reason for making him play a game though, you have limitless options. Sardines, monkey in the middle, even follow the zookeeper to the zoo for those familiar with that game. Or why not a board game or a card game? 

Variations:
If you really have your heart set on capture the flag, though, at least give it a twist. Variant has already done a variation with paintball, and The Lightening Thief had monsters, but there are still lots of options available. You could add nerf guns to the mix, or make them play on ice skates or rollerblades, or make it a real war with guns and the intention of actually killing the opposition (this would be cool and horrible).

The Love Interest's Eyes

  • Every romance book or novel with a romantic sub-plot I have ever read
What's the first thing you notice in a person when they walk into the room? For me it's his face or his hair. For most love-sick teenage characters, it's his eyes. This really doesn't make sense to me. I don't even notice peoples eyes unless a) I'm looking really hard on purpose b) their eyes are really unusual or c) they're way to close to me to be comfortable. But every main character in a romance novel just has to notice those beautiful eyes before anything else.

Alternatives:
Be realistic. Is your character really going to notice how hot that guy is the first time she sees him? If so, would it really be the eyes she'd notice first? More likely she'd notice the hair, the smile, the way he talks, and be left with an overall impression of what he looks like, without picking out the details.
Variations:
If you really want her to notice his gorgeous eyes, though, wait til a little later in the relationship. Wait until she's already in love with him, at which point she might possibly be obsessive enough to stare at him long enough his eye colour. Or, if you're like me and enjoy making fun of tropes, do make the first thing she notices about the first hot guy she meets his beautiful eyes-- and then make him turn out to be the bad guy.

The No-Win Scenario

  • Divergent
  • The Kill Order (Maze Runner 0.5)
  • Red Rising
Here's a full description of the no-win scenario. Again, I don't really understand why this is so popular, but it is, the most common version being "kill friend or friend kills you". The protagonist usually chooses the first option, for varying reasons.

Alternatives:
Well, you could just not do it? Or you could write a possible-win scenario where there is a way out, but it would result in thwarting one of the protagonist's dearest goals, which I think could be just as emotionally powerful as actually killing the friend.

Variations:
Playing on the "kill friend or friend kills you" version, which readers seem to find the most cool, you could have the protagonist incapacitate their attacker with out killing him *cough*still-believe-Tris-could-have-done-this*cough*. Or you could have the protagonist choose to die rather than kill his friend. And he does die. And that's the end of the story.

The Love Triangle

  • The Hunger Games
  • Twilight
  • Everything ever? (It certainly feels like it.)
I am pleased to observe that around the blogosphere and the reading world in general, people do seem to be cracking down on this cliche. Not that I believe a love triangle is necessarily bad in every book, but guys. It's so overdone. Variety, people.

Alternatives:
There are soooo many ways to have romantic tension without the love triangle. You could make the protagonist have an over protective brother (or dad, but that's been done) who keeps chasing her boyfriend away. You could make the protagonist's boyfriend go to boot camp and not be able to contact her (this happens). You could do absolutely anything.

Variations:
Again, so many options. (Just please don't make one guy blonde and sweet and the other one dark and evil/mean/not the one.) Your MC could have a longstanding crush on a book/movie/TV show character and think that no man can ever live up to her ideals based on this character (this would be the most realistic, believable love triangle ever). Or there could be a typical love triangle, but both guys are total jerks/not her type and she ends up staying single happily ever after.
I have no idea what this is from.

The Identity Reveal

  • Divergent
  • The Lightening Thief (Percy Jackson 1)
  • Cinder (Lunar Chronicles 1)
The identity reveal is when a character is something special (a "divergent", a "half-blood", a lunar princess, etc.) doesn't know it, and suddenly discovers their special-ness partway through the story, usually after being told by another more experienced character.

Alternatives:
Just don't do it?

Variations:
You could always make the character fully aware of and maybe even comfortable with his identity (for example, BBC Merlin). Or you could make him normal, but he makes himself into something special through hard work.

What are some cliches you've seen and can't explain? Would you agree with my list? What are some other alternatives and variations you've thought of/tried?

6 comments:

I adore comments! Just keep it clean and respectful...please no profanity and while I respect people's opinions and love a good argument, simply bashing my post is obviously not appreciated. :)

The No-Win Scenario (and Why It's Generally a Bad Idea)

8:50 AM Gemma Fitz 6 Comments

As a special treat (and a way to give myself some space as I try to come up with and write blog posts), I have my writer friend, Lily Lindsey-Aubrey, here for a ghost post. Unfortunately, Lily does not have a blog, so I can't link to it (but she should totally get one, right Lily?).


A lot of young adult fictions these days contain a similar scenario: the no-win scenario. This is the circumstance where the protagonist of the story is faced with an impossible choice: a choice between wrong and worse, evil and more evil. Some examples of this are a) in Divergent, when Tris Prior has to kill her friend or be killed by him (and therefore be unable to "save the world"); b) in The Kill Order, in which the protagonist must kill others to stay alive and (hopefully) find a cure for a dangerous virus; c) in The Hunger Games series, in which the same sort of thing happens multiple times. 

But is this a good thing to make happen in your story? If you are considering putting this sort of situation in your novel, you should ask yourself some questions. First, is it necessary? Second, is it realistic? Third, does it help get across the message you are trying to convey through your story? 

Let's start with... 


Before we ask this, though, we should consider why you would put it in in the first place. In most cases, I think that the author inserts a no-win scenario to either put out a message or to just give his protagonist some good whump* and angst. We'll look at the message of your novel in a minute. First let's discuss the whump factor. Every main character definitely needs some whump. Not only is it good for his character development; it also makes the reader feel sorry for him, which in turn makes the reader root for him. And you definitely want your audience rooting for your protagonist. But there are other and better ways of beating up your lead, physically, mentally, emotionally, and yes, even morally. Because is it easier to shoot a friend in order to stay alive so that you can save the world? Or is it easier to sacrifice your own life to save a friend's so that he can go on to save the world? I'm not saying either is easy, but I think the second has more feels packed in and it also helps show that the protagonist knows what's really important: others, not himself. The first choice could mean the same thing, but it makes one quite suspicious about the lead's true motives. 

Now for "is it realistic". Would your main character ever really need to either do wrong or wrong? I believe very strongly that there is always a right choice. 

I'm with Kirk here. There is no such thing as a no-win scenario in real life. There may be losses of things like life, friendship, or  pride, but never will someone be forced to give up his integrity.
I'm talking from a Christian perspective here, so you may or may not agree with me. But I don't believe that God will ever put a soul in a position where there is no right, good choice. He is a God of justice and purity, and why would he require a person to go against His commands? And if it wouldn't happen in real life, you shouldn't put it in your story. Not that your story has to be entirely realistic, but why put a situation in that gets across the idea that there can be no-win scenarios, and sometimes people are required to sin? 

That brings us to the last question: "Does it help get across the message you are trying to convey through your story?"
 When I read one of these no-win scenarios, I get the idea that there are times when there are only two choices: to compromise your standards (for instance, killing a friend), or to compromise them in a different way (letting the world burn because you won't kill a man). But if that's the message you're trying to get across, you might want to rethink your novel. 

Because after all, what defines a hero? What makes him different from a villain? 

Batman seems to disagree with me about what makes a hero...
It's his choice to do right despite the odds; it's his choice to have a code, to live by his standards, to not let evil become stronger than him. A hero may be faced with the same situations, struggles, and motives as the villain, but he makes the right choice, and the villain makes a wrong one. It's why we cheer the hero on, because the right choice is always harder, and because we cannot but respect someone who will sacrifice anything to do right. If you put a no-win scenario in there, then the protagonist is no longer a hero. He may have chosen the lesser of two evils, but there is always a right choice he could have chosen, and didn't. Not that the protagonist should have no flaws; but when he makes a mistake it should be portrayed as one, and in the crucial moment, the moment that defines him, at the climax of the story, he needs to make the right choice.

I'm not saying all books with no-win scenarios are bad. Some I have enjoyed quite a bit. But I think that the no-win scenario detracts quite a bit from the book's quality. It leaves me, at least, wondering what the point was to the novel; if the protagonist wasn't fighting for good, what was he fighting for? So while you're working on your novel, or when you read one of these cases, think about the message it's getting across. Think about your protagonist's motives. Think about how he feels and why he has to do what's right. Remember what makes a hero. 

Why do you think no-win scenarios are so popular? Do you think there is ever a time when one must do wrong to do right? What do you think makes a hero? All opinions welcome!

*Whump is defined by Urban Dictionary (prestigious, I know) as "fandom term, commonly used by fan fiction authors (particularly in the Stargate genre) to describe physical and/or mental abuse laid on a character in a story." 

6 comments:

I adore comments! Just keep it clean and respectful...please no profanity and while I respect people's opinions and love a good argument, simply bashing my post is obviously not appreciated. :)

Writing for Answers: Don't be Afraid to Ask Questions

3:00 AM Gemma Fitz 4 Comments

(So, as a warning, this post is going to be really short and kind of cheesy. And it's more of a writing pep talk than advice. So I hope you don't mind that.)

Everywhere I go, I hear the questions, "Why do you write?" and, "Where do you get your ideas?" Because I've been writing since before I can remember, and every idea seems to have a slightly different origin story, my answers are pretty vague. I write for answers. I get ideas from questions.
I find out things by writing. Sometimes it feels like the paper is thinking for me. Possibly it's because I'm an extrovert and process things outwardly. Maybe it's because I'm too dumb to understand my own brain until it's on paper. I don't know. Somehow, writing helps me discover.

But the thing is, you can't get answers if you don't ask questions. If you're at all shy, you know how hard that is to do. Questions are scary. We're scared of asking the wrong thing. We're scared of what people will think of us. We're scared of the answers.

Some of the questions I've asked are things like, "Can you have a true friendship with someone with a different moral standing than yourself?", "Are men and women really equal?", and, "Is there ever a time when you have to act against what you believe is right?" Those were all hard questions for me. I struggled through an entire first draft before finding the answers to some of them. Some people might not agree with all my answers. But if I had let fear keep me from asking questions, my story would be shallow, empty, and less dear to my heart than it is now.

Don't let fear keep you from asking. If you have a question, be open and honest, and don't let what others will think or what the answer might possibly be stop you. You can't discover if you keep all your doubts shut in a closet, and fear breeds even faster in the dark.
Have some Yoda. You're welcome.
So go forth and ask!! (How's that for a cheesy closing line?)

So, what about you? Why do you write? (I'm not going to ask you where you get your ideas from, because I hate being asked that question, but if you know the answer, you can tell me.) What are some questions you have begged in your writing? Have you found the answers yet?

4 comments:

I adore comments! Just keep it clean and respectful...please no profanity and while I respect people's opinions and love a good argument, simply bashing my post is obviously not appreciated. :)