I started writing a novel a couple of months ago about a dystopian society in the midst of a war between the government and rebels. and I'm on 10, 793 words. Which is awesome, but now I'm a little discouraged. I just finished the Hunger Games series. It was amazing and thought provoking and probably pretty high on my mental best books list. Like, ever. I'm worried that the genre is overdone, or has been done so well that my novel will never stand up to something of that caliber. I'm also worried that it will be too similar and will seem like I'm trying to imitate the Hunger Games. Do you ever get this feeling of being totally overwhelmed or intimidated? How on earth do you deal with it? Also, what do you think? Is the genre overdone?
I don't bother with if my novel is going to be as good as ... because if I wrote it I'll be subjective, and I'm the type that puts myself down so I now think everything I write is bad. Just think this: it'll be different, no matter what, if it's good or bad difference, it's still difference. And that can be nothing but a good thing. If you are worried about your book not being presented as well as The Hunger Games then I suggest read around the genre: books like Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World, WE, Children of Men, Battle Royale, things like this. See how they present their world, and their fictional details, and then come up with something yourself. If it's about the overall quality of the writing then I say: learn from the best: Nabokov, Pynchon, Salinger, Hemmingway, people like that. I know a lot of people rave about these writers, but they do it for a reason.
No genre is overdone. A genre can be glutted with unimaginative writers, but there is always room for someone who can bring in fresh characters and sparkling writing. For example, I have little to no interest in vampire romances or zombie apocalypses, because there are so many "me too" pieces churned out as if from an assembly. But that does not preclude the possibility of a brilliant new story in one of those subgenres.
Rip off Hunger Games all you like. At worse you'l be called a spinoff, at best you'll be compared favorably to it("Suzanne Collins, step aside" "Suzanne Collins has been dethroned" "This piece belongs in the same category as the Hunger Games" "The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter"). EDIT:As long as you don't plagiarize.
