How The Hunger Games Affected My Writing

Rebels. A dystopian world. Children forced to fight to the death...

No wonder The Hunger Games by Suzanna Collins has become a hit among so many readers. The suspense, the character development, and the details are not to be taken for granted. The books are constantly being checked out at my library. There's fan clubs, fan art, and fan fiction going on (Team Gale or Team Peeta, anyone?), and it makes me wonder why people are so obsessed with the series.

(Now, don't get me wrong. I love the books, with Catching Fire being my favorite and Mockingjay being my least favorite. But I'll touch on that below.)

I first read the pain trilogy earlier this year after getting permission from my parents. The first book was a hit—I was immediately sucked into the world of Panem. I was new to dystopian, and as both an avid reader and writer, the genre fascinated me. As soon as I was able to borrow Catching Fire from my library, I finished it in a few sittings. It was a few weeks before I could get my hands on Mockingjay, but despite having read the first two, that book took me the longest to finish.

Now, I've read some pretty sad books in my lifetime, but Mockingjay... wow. It put a hole in my heart. I don't think I've ever read something so depressing. The ending... it just left me feeling empty. Hopeless. Devoid of life. And for a few weeks after, I couldn't bring myself to write or even read. I could've easily given up on writing then and there.

I almost did.

That circles back to my main point, how The Hunger Games (mainly Mockingjay) affected my writing.

As I look back now, I realize that the reason it sucked all my joy in writing for a short while was because I don't want to leave my readers feeling so hopeless. If that was the case, then what was the point of writing? My goal in life is to bring hope to my readers, but if it all ends up like that—then it's best to drop writing altogether, right? I was afraid that somehow, I'd leave my readers feeling as hopeless, empty, and devoid of life as I had been.

It took me a few weeks to convince myself that my writing wasn't in vain.

Because, despite all the evil in this world, there is hope. And that Hope, our Savior and King, gave us the ability to write so we can bring hope to others. To let our readers know that they're not alone in this fight. That there's more to life than just death and sorrow. That there's a deeper meaning behind all this hidden beauty and pain. Life. Hope. Truth.

Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't read The Hunger Games. If you're good with sensitive topics, or just want a well—written story to read, then yes, you absolutely should. I believe that all writers, despite the genre/s they write in, should branch out and read different kinds of stories in different kinds of genres. And yes, both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire hold a place of honor on my bookshelf. I don't know if I'll ever read Mockingjay again, but if I do, I want to be prepared to take a healthy break from my writing and spend some time with the Lord. Because, even in all hopelessness, there is hope. And even when I put my characters through tragedy, I don't want to leave my readers without hope.

No, I want to give them the hope to carry on.

~Maya