tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post4613573431760993570..comments2023-12-26T18:33:04.681-08:00Comments on Writability: So You Want to Write YA Dystopian? Gabe (Ava Jae)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04778524723148508140noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-90977734649742211342014-11-08T06:26:37.916-08:002014-11-08T06:26:37.916-08:00Hi there, Kelsey!
So it sounds like your main pr...Hi there, Kelsey! <br /><br />So it sounds like your main problem lies in worldbuilding. I've actually got a whole post dedicated to some worldbuilding details that might help you with your brainstorming (you can find it <a href="http://avajae.blogspot.com/2013/09/world-building-tip-15-details-to.html" rel="nofollow"> here </a>). I also wrote a post on the <a href="http://avajae.blogspot.com/2014/04/world-building-tip-ripple-effect.html" rel="nofollow">ripple effect</a> of worldbuilding, which you may also find helpful.<br /><br /><br /><br />As for the actual brainstorming itself, I can really give you ideas, per say, but I recommend you think about what you like about other novels/movies/whatever, take a look at where your interests lie and ask a bunch of What If questions to help determine how you want your society to be (i.e.: for Hunger Games, a What If question might be "What if every year, kids were randomly chosen to fight to the death in a public arena?"). <br /><br /><br />I hope this helps! If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. Good luck! :)Ava Jaehttp://avajae.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-8722463452667915392014-11-06T13:25:25.807-08:002014-11-06T13:25:25.807-08:00Hello!
So I've read your post and I've go...Hello!<br /><br />So I've read your post and I've got to say, it helped a lot but I'm still having trouble. I want to write a YA Dystopian like the maze runner series, the hunger games series or Divergent and Matched Series etc... but I have no ideas. I'm trying to make it into a full out fiction, sci-fi and dystopian world but I have trouble figuring out the Society and what it's about. <br /><br />I was wondering what are your thoughts on what I should do?Kelseynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-91585344505720466472014-10-12T15:19:49.098-07:002014-10-12T15:19:49.098-07:00Hi Sabrina!
So, this isn't going to be hugel...Hi Sabrina! <br /><br />So, this isn't going to be hugely helpful advice, but I tend to be a firm believer in not worrying about the details until you've finished the first draft. The important part of the first draft is just getting the whole story down, <i>then</i> you can go back and worry about getting it right. <br /><br />That being said, I've actually done a critique on a post-apocalyptic opening that you might find helpful: http://avajae.blogspot.com/2014/08/fixing-first-page-feature-3.html. I also wrote a post specifically on <a href="http://avajae.blogspot.com/2013/08/book-beginnings-where-to-start.html" rel="nofollow">where to start your WIP</a>. <br /><br /><br />I hope this helps!Ava Jaehttp://avajae.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-32822545763506022092014-10-12T01:08:14.340-07:002014-10-12T01:08:14.340-07:00Hello, Ava!
I'm currently in the middle of w...Hello, Ava!<br /><br /><br />I'm currently in the middle of writing a dystopian, pre-apocalyptic story. Thing is, I'm stuck to how I should begin, though I have all the characters and setting laid out for the first chapter. Any tips on how I should make it, say, eye catching on the first word? Thanks in advance!Sabrinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-18463439511133228192014-07-07T05:44:57.687-07:002014-07-07T05:44:57.687-07:00Haaa. Like vampires. Nice one. :D
Thanks, Leandr...Haaa. Like vampires. Nice one. :D<br /><br /><br />Thanks, Leandra! It's definitely tough when the book you need to write is in a dead genre (I've done that with paranormal...several times), but the good news is even if you can't get representation for it right away, you can always hold on to it for after the genre has recovered a little! :)Ava Jaehttp://avajae.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-21140956132010486152014-07-06T20:41:32.643-07:002014-07-06T20:41:32.643-07:00I'm almost done w/a dystopian right now, and s...I'm almost done w/a dystopian right now, and sometimes I cringe inside, thinking- What have you done?! Don't you see all those agent websites saying no dystopian? Blegh. But they say to write the book that demands to be written and it was pretty demanding soo...yeah. But after that, I'm going to make sure I write something that isn't overcrowded or all tired out. Like vampires! ;) Anyhoo, great post!Leandranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-47303992943475959662014-07-06T13:03:52.263-07:002014-07-06T13:03:52.263-07:00Thank you! Faking It was my favorite of the series...Thank you! <i>Faking It</i> was my favorite of the series, too, and it remains one of my favorite Contemporary NA reads. Glad you enjoyed the post! :)Ava Jaehttp://avajae.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-53968215082834830042014-07-06T12:54:32.972-07:002014-07-06T12:54:32.972-07:00I loved Faking It (the best of the series) and Eas...I loved Faking It (the best of the series) and Easy! I'll have to look at the other ones. This is some great stuff, btw.ecnewmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-63494674600340311572014-07-06T06:04:05.529-07:002014-07-06T06:04:05.529-07:00I can definitely understand how that could happen ...I can definitely understand how that could happen and be potentially problematic. My guess is if you have to call your Dystopian novel Sci-Fi, then so does everyone else with a Dystopian novel, so hopefully readers won't get too put off? Dystopia is a subgenre of Sci-Fi so it's not inaccurate...<br /><br /><br />But labeling in general can be pretty tricky the publishing world.Ava Jaehttp://avajae.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-68486674084754447022014-07-05T09:47:08.313-07:002014-07-05T09:47:08.313-07:00I had the opposite problem: marketing my novel as ...I had the opposite problem: marketing my novel as a Dystopia, but sometimes having to shoehorn it into Sci-Fi as a category when Dystopia wasn't available to select as a category. While my novel is Dystopia, it's very light on what the typical reader would consider to be Sci-Fi elements, so I'm always nervous that Sci-Fi fans will think it's misleading to call my novel Sci-Fi. <br /><br /><br />They say to stand out in a crowded field, you have to make your story unique the only way you can--but sometimes it's that effort to give it your own unique spin that can introduce these kinds of, "Well, how do I label this??" challenges :).Jennifer Ibarranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-77245364837419949512014-07-05T05:48:35.444-07:002014-07-05T05:48:35.444-07:00Thanks, Jen! Good luck to you, too (if you're ...Thanks, Jen! Good luck to you, too (if you're participating)!Ava Jaehttp://avajae.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-43128522457178600552014-07-05T05:47:49.169-07:002014-07-05T05:47:49.169-07:00Well Dystopian novels fall under the umbrella of S...Well Dystopian novels fall under the umbrella of Sci-Fi, because they're a Sci-Fi subgenre. So technically, you <i>could</i> say that all Dystopian novels are Sci-Fi novels (though not all Sci-Fi novels are Dystopian novels). If your work is getting labelled as Dystopian, it's possible that your setting is throwing people off (as setting is a pretty important staple for labeling novels as Dystopian).Ava Jaehttp://avajae.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-61455181111997165232014-07-04T21:23:58.591-07:002014-07-04T21:23:58.591-07:00This post is a beautiful summary of the dystopian ...This post is a beautiful summary of the dystopian genre and what to look out for! I couldn't have said it better myself. :D <br /><br /><br />Though I feel like the market has a tough time discerning between science-fiction YA and dystopian YA these days due to the overcrowding of the latter. It's frustrating as someone going through the query and submission process because I don't write dystopias specifically (more sci-fi thriller--which I know is close, though not the same), but a lot of my work seems to get labeled as dystopian regardless.Hannah Hunthttp://www.hannahhuntwrites.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606209712314101104.post-33314674894174725022014-07-04T16:30:56.285-07:002014-07-04T16:30:56.285-07:00Yay, Camp NaNo! Those are some fabulous links wit...Yay, Camp NaNo! Those are some fabulous links with good advice. I'm so bad with my organization, it seems like I hobble myself.<br /><br /><br />Best of luck!Jen Donohuehttp://authorizedmusings.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com