Q1: You said from the beginning that "The Hunger Games" will eventually be a trilogy. Does it end at the same time as you imagined at the beginning?
A1: Basically the same. Of course, not every detail is the same. From fighting games to revolutions, to wars, and to the final result, the development direction of the whole story is not always fixed during the writing process.
Q2: We know that you participated in the creation of the original movie script of "The Hunger Games". What do you think is the biggest difference between writing a novel and writing a script?
A2: The two are quite different. The first is time. When you want to change a whole novel into a two-hour movie, you can't include all the details, the whole story must be compressed to adapt to this new format. Then it is how to master a novel in the first person and present tense and turn it into an excellent dramatic story. In the novel, you have been following Katniss' perspective, you know all her thoughts, so in the movie you need to magnify her inner activities on the one hand, and on the other hand you need to show the activities of other characters when she is not present. The last is how to limit the violent scenes within the limits of PG-13. Many things are acceptable on paper, but not on the big screen. However, the final decision on how to portray certain scenes is still in the hands of the director.
Q3: During the writing of "The Hunger Games", did you conceive some new books? Or will you be completely immersed in the current creation and it is difficult to generate some new ideas?
A3: I will have some new ideas in my mind, but because my main energy is still on "The Hunger Games", it may take a while for these ideas to be fully formed before I can start detailed ideas.
Q4: In the book, "The Hunger Games" is a TV show. Every year, a boy and a girl are selected from twelve districts and forced to participate in this live TV game of killing each other. What do you think is the attraction of TV programs in reality, including children's and adult TV programs?
A4: Well, they are usually set to be like a game, such as a sports game, and people want to know who wins in the end. Contestants are usually unknown people, which makes it easy for people to empathize with them. Sometimes there are very talented people participating. The second is a stimulus similar to voyeurism-watching them being humiliated, or crying, or physically tortured-I find this very disturbing. There is also a potential effect of indifference to the audience, so when they see a real tragedy unfolding, such as in the news, it will not have as much impact as it should have.
Q5: If you are forced to participate in the "Hunger Games", what do you think your specialty will be?
A5: Hide. I will climb to the tree like Katniss and Rue. I have practiced fencing, so I guess my best hope is to get myself a sword, if any.
Q6: You combined action, adventure, mythology, science fiction, love and philosophy in "The Hunger Games". What exactly influenced the creation of "The Hunger Games"?
A6: An important influence is the Greek mythological story "Tisius and the sacred cow of Crete"*[Note 1]. This mythical story tells that the Greeks were punished for past events and had to pay tribute to the island of Crete on a regular basis with seven pairs of virgin boys and virgins, where they would be thrown into a maze and then eaten by the monster Minotaur.
Even though I was a child then, I could realize that this was a very cruel thing. Crete is sending a very clear message: provoke us, we will do something more cruel than kill you-we will kill your child. The key is that this matter is allowed; the parents can only watch and can't stop it. Later, Theseus, son of the king, offered to invite Ying to make a tribute. I think Katniss, in her own way, is a future version of Tesius.
While maintaining the roots of tradition, I send my tribute to a modern version of the Roman fighting arena, which requires a ruthless government to force people to fight to death for mass entertainment. The world of Panem, especially the Capitol, is full of allusions to Rome. The name of Panem comes from the Latin colloquial "Panem et Circenses", which translates to "Bread and Circense".
Atlético de Rome, like the audience of reality TV shows, are basically a role themselves. They are fully committed and affect the outcome of elimination.
The Katniss story came up when I switched channels between reality shows and war news reports. One night I sat there and changed channels casually. There was a group of young people on one channel. I didn't know very well. It might be a competition for money, and then another group of young people were fighting in a real war on the next channel. I was a little tired at the time, and then the narratives between the two mixed up a little bit vaguely, and then I thought of this story.
Q7: The background of the trilogy is cruel, but at the same time it is handled very attractively. Is it difficult to achieve this balance?
A7: Yes, it is always difficult to write about death scenes. It is difficult to put children in a violent environment-Gregor (the protagonist of Collins's other novel The Underland Chronicles) is in war, and Katniss is in a fighting game. The character will die. It’s not interesting to write this, but I think if you can’t really write the story, you might better write some other type of story.
therefore. You must remember to whom you wrote this book. I try to imagine how I would tell my child a particularly difficult story. What kind of details they need to know to understand it, and what kind of details are unnecessary.
Q8: "The Hunger Games" explores topics such as extreme poverty, hunger, repression, and the aftermath of war. What makes you want to write such a serious topic?
A8: This is probably due to the influence of my father. He is a professional air force, a military expert, a historian, and an expert in politics. When I was a child, he went to Vietnam for a year. For him, we know that certain aspects of life are very important. Therefore, visiting a battlefield is not enough. We need to know why the war happened, how it happened, and what the final result was. Fortunately, he is very good at telling history into very fascinating stories. He also seems to know exactly how much a child can bear, but in fact, there is very little that a child can bear.
Q9: What do you want readers to get from "The Hunger Games"?
A9: Questions about how the elements in the book are related to their lives. And if they are confused about it, what will they do about it.
Q10: In the book, Katniss and Gale have a lot of knowledge about hunting, getting lost, life in the wild, and survival skills. Have you done any research on this?
A10: There are some things I know from my father's childhood. He grew up during the Great Depression. For his family, hunting is not a sport but a way to let everyone eat meat. He also knows many edible plants. He would pick a lot of wild mushrooms in the forest, and then take them home and fry them. My mother never let us touch them! But he will eat all the mushrooms and there has never been any problem, so I guess he can judge which are non-toxic mushrooms, because wild mushrooms can be very deadly.
I also read a lot of field survival guides. And what I realized is: You must be very good to survive in the wild for more than a few days.
Q11: How long will it take for North America to degenerate into the book?
A11: You have to consider the collapse of the existing civilization, the birth of Panem, a rebellion, and the "Hunger Games" of 72 years. We are talking about hundreds of years.
Q12: You have written for young children and middle-grade readers (New York Times best-selling series "The Underland Chronicles"). Why did you decide to write for a larger group? What is the difference between these two experiences?
A12: I think the essence of the story distinguishes the age group of readers from the very beginning. There is a lot of violence in The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games. But in "The Underland Chronicles", even if someone dies, there will be a lot of conflicts between different fantasy species. Giant mice, bats, things like that. You can fool some younger children in this way. But in "The Hunger Games", there is no fantasy element, it is a futuristic science fiction novel, and violence is only implemented by humans on humans, and children on children. And I think this naturally puts the target readers into a larger age range.
I found that no matter what the target age group is, the method of unfolding a story is not very technically different. When writing TV programs, it is mainly for children. But no matter which age group you are writing to, you use the same method of unfolding the plot, portraying the characters and expressing the theme. All you have to do is set up a world and be faithful to it all the time. If it is full of cute and lively animals, it is likely that no one will die. If it is a huge, fleshy, and hateful rat, violence will happen.
Q13: How did it feel to go back to the world of "The Hunger Games" and write the second "Burning Girl" and the third "Mockingjay"?
A13: Honestly, I think I have never left it. The modification of the first part and the creation of the second part overlap, just as the modification of the second part and the creation of the third part also overlap. Since each one is the support of the next one, I feel that part of my brain is always in Panem.
Q14: Do you plan every book well, or do you have a general idea and then plan step by step? Have you encountered unexpected things on the plot or on the characters?
A14: I realize that it is useful to figure out the key structural points before starting to write the story. Incendiary events, actions, breakthroughs, mid-term reversals, crises, climaxes, and the like. I also know a lot of things that happen in the space between these points, but I will also leave some room for the free development of the characters. If there is a door open next to Writing Avenue, and I am interested in where it leads, I will definitely pass through that door.
Q15: How do you usually carry out your working day? Do you have a daily routine for writing?
A15: I usually take some cereals and then sit down and work as soon as possible. The more distractions before I start writing, the harder it is for me to focus on the story. Then I worked until I was out of inspiration, usually early in the afternoon. If I really write three to five hours at a time, then this is a very productive day. Some days I just stared at the wall in a daze. This can also be very fruitful if you think about some character or plot issues. The rest of the time I will walk around and think about stories from time to time.
Q16: You must have received a lot of fan emails! What was the most surprising feedback you received about The Hunger Games? (Or, what surprised you the most about the feedback you received about "The Hunger Games"?)
A16: It's probably just how different people think about this book. Some people like this dystopian world, others for action and adventure, and still others for love. Readers are defining this book in many personal and exciting ways.
Q17: What were your favorite novels when you were a teenager?
A17: "There's a Tree in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith, "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers, "1984" by George Orwell, "Anna Calle" by Tolstoy Nina, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, Madeleine Inger’s Wrinkles of Time, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Jaap ter Haar’s Boris ", Zola's "Sprout", Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine".
[Note 1] Tisius and the sacred cow of Crete: Greek mythology. According to legend, in ancient times, the king of Crete was killed by the Athenians who hated his son for winning the competition. In order to seek peace, the Athenians agreed to regularly pay tribute to Crete seven pairs of virgin boys and virgins. These virgin boys and girls will be sent to and killed by the maze of Minotaur, the sacred cow of Crete. . One year, the prince of Athens, Thesus, took the initiative to ask his father, Aegos, to pretend to be a virgin to conquer the sacred cow of Crete. The father told Tisius to replace the black sails on the boat with white sails if he returned safely. With the help of Ariadne, daughter of the king of Crete, Tisius killed the sacred cow of Crete. But because they were overly happy, they forgot to replace the black sails with white sails. Aegus saw that the black sails were still hanging on the boat, and thought that his son had passed away. Later, Tisius inherited the throne after the death of his father and became the new king. ——Translator's Note
Translator: Nianliang
Original link: http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/media/suzanne_collins_q_and_a.pdf
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