1989 Taylor's Version, Out October 27th.

I've been obsessed with how the first ten Hunger Games were in an actual arena, like with seats and an event floor and turnstiles and everything. Something that was so clearly human-made, without so much as a weed growing inside of it.

Then Coriolanus goes off to Twelve and has his own private Hunger Games with Lucy Gray in the middle of the woods and comes to the conclusion that humanity is violent, and it must be contained by the Hunger Games. Some point after that, the arenas are still human-made, but mimic nature like Snow's own Hunger Games with Lucy Gray. Some are deserts or tundras or jungles, but all are made to appear like a natural environment. Only they're nature that's been constructed and manicured by humans, just like the Games are.

Fitting, then, that the first hit against this arena is made by a boy from District Twelve. Then a quarter century later, this arena is destroyed by a girl from District Twelve who learned to shoot arrows in the very trees that saw the future dictator of Panem emerge from it with his worldview now set against the natural world.

A Writer's Guide to Character Development

I don’t know about you guys, but I can only answer “what’s your character’s favorite flavor of ice cream” so many times before I realize those lists are not going to help me actually write the character.

So, instead, I like to drabble practice. Answer these ten key questions about your character (answer in character). Then, after you know them a little better, write ten scenes (NOT part of your planned story) with the ten prompts below. Set it in your world, but it can be whenever you want—pre-story, or post-story, or mid-story. You could even write two scenes for one prompt, contrasting where your character starts the story and where they end up, or write one in first person and then write it again in third.

Just has to cover events that are NOT plot points. The point of the exercise is to come up with scenes you can toss out as soon as you finish them. You might end up using some of the lines or scenes you come up with, but for now you’re just playing around. 

QUESTIONS

What does your character tell everyone is their greatest fear? What is it actually? Is it the same? Why or why not?

What is their greatest strength and greatest weakness? 

Name the most important people to this character. All of them. Family and close friends and lovers.

Does your character have enemies? Who and why?

What is your character’s favorite holiday and why? 

How does your character like to present himself/herself? How do they dress? How do they act? Are they friendly or standoffish? Do they like to make a scene, or are they a wallflower?

What is their love language? How do they express it, and how do they best receive it?

What is their highest virtue? What is something that peers would praise about your character? What do they value most in other people?

Are they messy or neat? Why or why not?

If your character could change one thing about their life, what would it be and why? And, conversely, if they could only save one thing from their life, what would it be?

PROMPTS

Your character has had a bad day. What happened?

Your character’s loved one is sick. What do they do?

It’s your character’s birthday.

Someone is hiding something from your character. How do they uncover what it is?

Your character has just heard the news. A character they loved is dead. Describe the rest of their day.

Your character is on their own for dinner.

Your character has the day to himself/herself. No responsibilities, nothing. What do they do?

In the middle of the night, your character hears a noise in the house.

Your character knows they will die at midnight. What is their last day like?

Your character suddenly develops amnesia. Their loved ones try to jog your character’s memories by taking them to familiar locations and reminiscing. 

New Year's Day is my comfort song the moment I find the live audio I am listening to it nonstop and crying I swear

i respect people who want to keep their menstruation to themselves but i have to make it everyone's problem. Literally if it was socially acceptable to lead every conversation with "I'm menstruating" i would.

Tumblr is the only place where I can execute an anonymous rein of terror and I'm here for it

If you’re like me and you have the debilitating habit of beating yourself up over things, look yourself in the mirror and just go “I am young and I am allowed to make mistakes. It’s not that serious.” Bc it really isn’t. It is not that serious at all. This is not our second time living. We did not have a rehearsal for what the correct way to live is. This is our first time and we are allowed to stumble. It’s fine. It’s not that serious.

Katniss describing Peeta:

“Medium height, stocky build, ashy blonde hair that falls in waves over his forehead.”

“For the first time, I look at him and realize that ablaze with the fake flames, he is dazzling.”

“He looks so clean and healthy and beautiful.”

“I like to watch his hands as he works, making a blank page bloom with strokes of ink…”

“I also become a little fixated on his eyelashes, which ordinarily you don’t notice because they’re so blonde. But up close, in the sunlight slanting in from the window, they’re a light golden color and so long I don’t see how they keep from getting all tangled up when he blinks.” (girl you’re obsessed)

“My eyes travel up to where the flames licked across his forehead, singeing away his brows but just missing his eyes. Those same blue eyes that used to meet mine and then flit away at school. Just as they do now.”

Katniss describing Gale:

“Gale does look striking in the uniform, I guess.”

reblog if you’ve read fanfictions that are more professional, better written than some actual novels. I’m trying to see something

Part of the writing process is listening to the same song on repeat until the words are absolutely meaningless and you're absorbing the pure, undistilled VIBES.

And then you go adding that essence to your draft like motherfucking vanilla extract, baby.

girls don’t want boyfriends girls want taylor swift to run towards them during the bridge of august