Agency in The Hunger Games – Available for Pre-Order!

I was scrolling through my Facebook yesterday when I came upon this . . .

Yup! It’s “Facebook Official!” My book, Agency in The Hunger Games, three years in the making is finally going to be released to the public this Spring 2020! You can even pre-order your copy now!

It’s been a long road and I know there is still one last stretch before I hit that finish line, but I can already see it in the distance.

Thank you to all of you who have encouraged and supported me the past three years!

The Agency Games: An Update (4)

Well it’s that time of the month again, time for my monthly update on my work in progress:

The Agency Games

(a working title)

The Agency Games is a nonfiction book which analyzes human agency within the popular Hunger Games trilogy. I will be doing in-depth character analyses of individuals such as: Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Haymitch Abernathy, Cinna, Primrose Everdeen, and more in trying to understand how human agency is discovered, maintained, tested, lost, and regained in a dystopian society and how that relates to us as readers.

The goal is to write approximately 500 words per day so that I can meet my goal of 75,000 wordsby May 31st to send to the publishers.

• On January 22nd, 2018, I posted by first update. I was at a total of 22,000 words.
• On February 22nd (after a VERY productive month having written 19,000 words), I was at a total of 41,000 words having written 3,500 words more than my original goal.
• On March 22nd, I surprised even myself at being able to meet by quota and had a total of 55,200 words.

In sticking with my original plan to write 500 words a day, I needed to write 15,500 words by April 22nd (meaning I should be at a total of 70,700).

Well, let’s see how I did . . .

On April 4th, 2018, I finished the last chapter of my book and I was at only 62,000 words. Not quite my goal.

So, I decided to take my own advice. Remember when I encouraged you to NOT edit, but to RE-WRITE instead?

Well, that is exactly what I did and am still doing. I pulled up a blank word document, set it next to my current manuscript, and I started over, re-writing every single line. And along the way, I found places that naturally needed expansion. Sometimes, it was a single word or a single sentence. But sometimes, it was a whole paragraph. So after two weeks of rewriting, I have re-written the introduction, the first six chapters and started working on my appendixes.

I have a total word count of . . .

70,000 words!

I didn’t quite hit my goal of 70,700 words, but I’m pretty proud of what I have accomplished! Plus, it’s a little slow going with re-writing everything.

I still need to finish re-writing the last six chapters and the appendixes which should push me to the 75,000 goal!

I’m getting closer to completing the fourth draft of this manuscript and then I plan to print it out and double check errors before sending it out. I won’t lie, some days I really feel like this . . .

But I am going to push forward and I really hope to get this manuscript sent out within the next three weeks!

Thank you to everyone for your continued support! I can’t believe this is almost over!

Meanwhile, I’ll just be over here like . . .

Haymitch Abernathy

Haymitch Abernathy is known by every single person in Panem as the Drunk Mentor for District 12. One of his most infamous moments is when he took a head-dive off the stage during the reaping for the 74th-Hunger Games. To most he is a fool, a drunk, and a blubbering, staggering idiot. But is that all he is?

If you love Haymitch, you will want to read my chapter on his character titled, “It’s All a Big Show” to learn the truth behind Haymitch’s clandestine motives and hidden agency in a society of “un-reality”!

BONUS: This is one of the GREATEST FAN-MADE videos of content from The Hunger Games. MainstayPro portrayed the Second Quarter Quell in which Haymitch is the winner and let me tell you, it does not disappoint. All images and content from the below video are property of MainstayPro, I am just sharing their magnificent work.

WARNING: Graphic images for young or sensitive viewers.

Haymitch Approves this Post!

©KaylaAnnAuthor

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Writing Tip: Allow Your Book to Evolve Naturally

When writing your book just know that your book WILL change.

Perhaps not a ton, perhaps only a little, or perhaps it will be a completely different book than the one you intended on writing in the first place.

This isn’t a bad thing though. As you write, your ideas will grow and form. You might realize that what sounded like a great idea before doesn’t really work well in application. You may be hit with a sudden inspiration to go a different direction.

My advice?

But in all seriousness, go for it! If you feel your book changing, you need to allow it. If you stick too tightly to your original plan, your writing will come out forced and it will sound that way to your readers. Take the new path and see where the new ideas lead you. If you hate them you can always go back and try again.

In other words, planning and outlining your book is important. But it is also just as important to allow your book to change and evolve as you write.

Just this week I was working on my chapter on Gale Hawthorne. I have been struggling with this character for awhile. However, as I was writing, I had new ideas come to my mind and realized that those ideas were more interesting for readers than my original. It meant immediately changing gears, but my book will be better for it!

Happy Writing Everyone!

***Enjoyed today’s tip? Check out my main page for more under the tab “Writing Tips”! Have any questions about today’s tip or writing in general? Leave your comments below!

 

©KaylaAnnAuthor

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Agency Games: An Update (2)

Hey Everyone, here is my monthly update on my book: (working title) The Agency Games!

The Agency Games is a nonfiction book which analyzes human agency within the popular Hunger Games trilogy. I will be doing in-depth character analyses of individuals such as: Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Haymitch Abernathy, Cinna, Primrose Everdeen, and more in trying to understand how human agency is discovered, maintained, tested, lost, and regained in a dystopian society and how that relates to us as readers.

On January 22nd, 2018, I posted by first update. I was at a total of 22,000 words and 88 pages.

The goal was to write approximately 500 words per day so that I can meet my goal of 75,000 words by May 31st to send to the publishers. As you might remember, I had a slight bump in the road when I had to completely re-do my Cinna and Haymitch chapter.

There were 31 days in between January 22nd and February 22nd, meaning that at 500 words per day, I should have written approximately 15,500 words with a grand total of 37,500 words. So, let’s see how I did. . .

 

As of February 22nd, 2018, I have a grand total. . .

41,000 Words!

I knew I was on track, but it turns out I was actually doing more than I thought. Between January 22nd and February 22nd, I wrote 19,000 words!

The red shows my word count for January The blue shows my word count as of February The Green shows my Goal for May 31st

I am over halfway to my goal! And it feels a lot like this:

 

As great as this feels, I cannot slack off now! I still need 34,000 words and that requires the same level of dedication and accountability as before. I would love to finish all the rough drafts early so that I have more time to go over it as a whole before sending it to the editors, but we shall see!

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me, supported me, and reminded me to write.

**A Special Shout-out to TShaw who has been my writing buddy for months and  E. Michael Helms who continuously reminds me to stay on track with my writing goals!

Writing Tip: Five Essential Elements to Every Story

If you are a writer, you most likely have already hear of “The Story Arc” and have probably seen a similar picture to that below. However, it is always good to remember these five crucial elements to any story: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.

Step One: Exposition

Every story begins with exposition of some sort. Think of it as your background, or the introduction to your story. Who are your major players in this game? What is their world like and how is everything about to change? Consider “The Hunger Games,” in the exposition we learn about Panem and the districts. We learn about the reaping and the relationship between Katniss and Prim, but nothing of huge significance has happened yet.

Step Two: Rising Action

The Rising Action can begin immediately, it can coexist with the exposition, or it can wait until a few chapters in to occur. These are the events that occur that really get the story going. While we were already introduced to Katniss and her family, the Rising Action truly begins once Prim’s name is called at the reaping. After this moment, Katniss is thrown head first into the crazy, fashion-obsessed Capitol and then forced to survive the Games.

The Rising Action can continue on for quite a long time and makes up a large chunk of any story. All of these events snowball onto one another and lead to the climax. For example:

Katniss does well in the events before the Games, gaining the title “Girl on Fire”

Next, her popularity leads to sponsorship that aids her in the Games

Because of the sponsorship, Katniss survives long enough to find Peeta

Because she finds Peeta, Katniss and Peeta can gain even more sponsors through pretending to be star-crossed lovers which enacts the rule that more than one tribute can survive

Peeta and Katniss are able to survive together which leaves them as the last pair to face off with Cato.

Every step, every action that happens within the rising action leads to the climax of the story.

Step Three: Climax

Next, we have our Climax. The Climax is the culmination of everything that you have been leading up to in your writing. It is the big event, usually toward the end of your story (however, it is NOT the end). Using “The Hunger Games,” the climax can be seen at the end of the Games when Peeta and Katniss must battle with the brutal, bloody Cato.

Step Four: Falling Action

However, the climax, as I briefly mentioned, is not the end! Indeed, in the moments after Cato’s death, we have our Falling Action (these are events that often comes after and because of the climax). In this case, the Falling Action consists of the Gamemakers attempting to force Katniss and Peeta into killing one another. However, when they refuse, Seneca Crane is forced to allow them to live, which leads to our resolution.

Step Five: Resolution

The Resolution does not have to be happy, it does not have to answer every question and it can leave readers on a cliffhanger. For instance, although Katniss and Peeta are allowed to live and the Games have concluded, Katniss is aware of the danger that still surrounds her. When they head home, Katniss and Peeta’s relationship is hanging on tethers. She survived the Games, but Katniss is still not safe.

So there you have it, the five essential elements of a story! Have questions? Hit me up in the comments!

Happy Writing Everyone!

***If you liked today’s writing tip be sure to check out my home page for more! Underneath the main menu there is a tab that says “Writing Tips,” be sure to take a look! Have questions? What would you like me to write about next time?

©KaylaAnnAuthor

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Peeta Mellark

Who is Peeta Mellark?

The Boy with the Bread?

A Tribute?

A Victor?

A Lover?

A Mutt?

A Hufflepuff? (We all know it’s true)

With so many different roles, it may be hard to discern who Peeta Mellark truly is. In Chapter 5 of my book “The Agency Games” I will demonstrate exactly who Peeta is and how his identity relates to agency.

 

Who do you think is Peeta Mellark? 

The Agency Games: An Update

Hey Everyone! I have a favor to ask!

My rough draft for this book is due to the publishers on May 31st and so to help keep myself accountable, I will be posting my progress here. Every couple of weeks, I will do my best to give an update on my book, my chapters, and my word count. SO, what is this favor you might ask?

Help keep me accountable. If you happen to realize that I haven’t posted an update in awhile, nudge me. Remind me to be accountable to my followers. I would greatly appreciate it!

So here it is, my first update.

The word count goal for my book is 75,000 words or approximately 300 pages.

Currently, I am at 22,000 words and 88 pages. I have 130 days until May 31st when my book is due.

That means that I need to write approximately 500 words a day.

So here I go! Wish me luck and please help keep me accountable!

 

Investigating The Hunger Games

“Welcome, welcome, welcome! Happy Hunger Games and . . .

Words cannot begin to express the love I have for this series. Reading them in High School, I originally took the books at face value, but as I grew older and more scholarly, I realized the magnitude of the series itself. Desiring to learn more and investigate this series more thoroughly I wrote my Master’s Thesis on Human Agency within the series. However, this was not enough for me. I researched a combination of over one hundred books, articles, essays, and online forums. I discovered a lack in the scholarship. While many scholars analyzed Katniss Everdeen, Collins’s protagonist, few to none examined other characters such as Prim, Peeta, Gale, Haymtich, Cinna, Rue, or Finnick.

Noting this gap, I wrote a query letter and proposed a book idea to investigate agency throughout this multitude of characters. I am pleased to share that I signed with McFarland & Company Publishing to publish this book in late 2018. While it is still considered a “working-title” with the publishers, I hope to title my scholarly book The Agency Games: A Character Analysis of Human Agency.

Therefore, over the next year, I plan to regularly share Hunger Games themed posts. I hope you enjoy them!

My first Hunger Games themed post will be published tomorrow and will discuss the differences between the first novel and movie!

Let me know, what do you think of The Hunger Games?

Team Peeta or Team Gale?