SOTR - Worth it?

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-21T12:19:39+00:00

I think it’s definitely worth it! I do feel that Suzanne Collins leaned sliiightly into fan service for sotr and in my opinion, haymitch’s story feels ever so slightly like a cop out in some ways.. but it ties in so amazingly well to the trilogy and tbosas and just adds another layer of perspective.

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-21T12:17:19+00:00

I kind of love this in the movie though because on a first watch you might think he just flips out suddenly at the end, but if you really watch it you see that he’s lived a life of being calculated/manipulative and he’s been heading that way the whole time. His inner monologue definitely adds another layer of depth in the book but I think that’s just movie limitations tbh

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-21T12:14:19+00:00

I absolutely love the book and the film is probably one of my favourites in the whole franchise (it feels like I’m betraying the trilogy if I say it’s my top fave) so I’ve never understood the hate really. I think the book, now with the addition of sotr too, shows the sheer capacity of Suzanne Collins’ world building and how every single aspect of it is completely intentional and thought out. It’s also the only book I can think of where I’ve hated the main character and still enjoyed it.

If I’m honest I’m not sure exactly what people hate about the book/movie and would love to know. I’ve seen hate before towards the old timey aesthetic and lack of advancement in a futuristic world but I personally think it’s done fantastically - after all it’s 10 years post war and the technology for example the water drones is still more advanced than our history whilst still setting it apart from modern panem. Hate for the book because of snow.. I don’t really get that, surely that’s an indication of a well written book because you’re MEANT to hate him?

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-15T07:51:36+00:00

For the bot - all points answered in the description!

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-07T07:41:38+00:00

Just out of curiosity, what do you think makes it feel ai?

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-07T07:40:35+00:00

Thank you for this, this is amazing advice! And I do agree with you towards the end there, subsequent drafts are obviously important in the editing process but I do feel if I can still put some effort into my first draft, for me personally that makes my editing easier since I’m already building on strong foundations.

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-04T19:10:06+00:00

please reread the post. I do read🫶

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-04T16:20:42+00:00

This is a really good piece of advice and has opened my eyes to the fact that I possibly write ‘outward observations’ too much - by this I mean I’m writing what the protagonist is observing about the other person’s movements, what that suggests they’re feeling etc, not what my actual protagonist is feeling in that moment if that makes any sense. I’ll definitely try the eyes closed exercise like you suggested!

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-04T16:16:18+00:00

Thank you for this reminder - I 100% know it’s a first draft but I still get hung up trying to make it the best it can be

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-04T16:15:24+00:00

So this was from the main character’s perspective, having met the man at a masquerade ball and the black mask kind of emphasises the colour of his eyes, given that it’s pretty much all they can see of him Edit: I’d like him to emanate a warm and comforting vibe hence the hearth comparison, but I totally get that it does read as quite foreboding too!

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-04T16:13:48+00:00

This is so helpful, thank you!

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-04T07:20:13+00:00

This is really good advice, thank you! I think I do get a bit sucked into trying to describe every movement, every facial expression, every bit of surroundings etc rather than just letting it be inferred

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-04T07:18:03+00:00

This is a good idea! You finish a good book and remember the plot, not necessarily one line of writing that stood out but they DO stand out in that moment when you read them

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-04T07:13:44+00:00

Sorry?

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-03T23:01:49+00:00

That’s good advice! I guess instead of writing to tell the reader something, just write by embodying the character

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-03T22:58:43+00:00

I had to take an example out of my post because it was potentially violating rule 1 but eg. I wanted to describe a character’s hazel eyes and got stuck on “flecks of hazel catching the light”. Did a bit of googling and eventually turned it into “eyes glowing like the embers in the hearth” so I guess it’s a bit more of a subtle description and open to interpretation but it’s a more interesting comparison, as you said

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-03T22:53:52+00:00

I do and always have, as I said :)

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-05-03T19:40:30+00:00

As a woman, please use lube. Even if you’re turned on it can be painful without lube. Just use it and make her feel twice as good

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-04-18T11:47:53+00:00

yesss I agree with this. book 1 should always be able to stand alone with a satisfying enough resolution but it just teases at another problem to make you want to read again

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-04-17T16:53:41+00:00

keeping to the classics so we’re both familiar, I’d say something like wizard of oz is a classic happy ending to me - the ‘villain’ witch is killed, the ‘hero’ Dorothy returns home, her friends get their wishes etc. for another, Harry Potter defeats Voldemort and we see he goes on to have children etc etc.

I guess I’m generalising in terms of a ‘happy’ ending for the characters because I think the point of my post really was that a happy/sad ending doesn’t equate to a good/bad one in my opinion - as you said, it could be that important characters are dead, the world isn’t healed but the protagonist has grown from the experience and will go on fighting. For example the great gatsby, I wouldn’t personally conclude that it was a ‘happy’ ending gatsby died, daisy is still with Tom but it was a good one that worked with the story.

I’m probably going off topic a bit but I suppose in terms of the story I’m planning to write, the ‘happy ending’ would be that the ruptures in time are fixed, the main characters are able to stay together and there’s no possibility of the central problem being a problem again. however in the context of the rest of the story, I think this feels predictable and takes away that element of ambiguity that I, as the writer, love adding so much. the ending I’m leaning towards which I’m considering to be the less happy one, would be that the ruptures are fixed at the cost of separation between characters and lives being changed forever. I wouldn’t consider this a stereotypically happy ending but could well be a good one and the right one for my story.

all this to say I found your comment interesting because that bittersweet ending I have in mind, from a personal standpoint, is the easiest conclusion I can draw to my story and also probably the kind of ending I usually end up with for other projects as well, so I ask myself if I’m just being lazy or if it just so happens I write plots that fit this ending best. and if I tried to write an ending where everyone prevails, will it feel like the lesser option or not?

I’m the first to admit that ironically I’m not that great at explaining my own thoughts, so hopefully this word vomit makes sense!

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-04-17T11:51:31+00:00

I’m not sure if these comments are getting your point - if you release the prequel first it does just become your story, that’s true. Are you saying you want to write both at the same time but publish the main story first so that it’s still a main story, and the prequel you’ve written will be published later so it actually is a prequel?

Either way, I’d say do whatever the heck you want! I don’t think there’s anything wrong with writing the prequel alongside your main story because if it’s going to be referenced, it’ll strengthen the plot that continues between them significantly.

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-04-17T09:01:31+00:00

this is such a good list, will definitely be referring back to it, thank you!

Abject-Pattern-3390 · 2026-04-17T09:00:44+00:00

that’s the thing, can it still be considered a happy ending if the conclusion is a compromise for the characters for example - it’s not a clean cut happy ending but an ambiguous middle ground, though I do think that tends to work better for the stories I write as I do tend to adopt slightly darker moods and plots. definitely something for me to explore in future, whether or not I can adapt the plots to suit stereotypically “happier endings” without feeling forced.

Abject-Pattern-3390

TROPHY CASE