If you’ve noticed, Ringdom launched Escaping Suspense/Thriller Writing Contest on Sep 28! A total of 18 competitors will be awarded, and the first-place winner will take home a $6,000 cash prize!
Participants can pick one of the three themes to develop stories. The following 7 questions will help you better understand Theme 1, Battle Royale!
1. Three “Ws” help you quickly understand Battle Royale (Theme 1 of Escaping Contest)
What – What is Battle Royale game?
A Battle Royale is a game of survival, the winner lives, and losers die. The manner of the game has varied forms.
If you want the cruelty of the game to be evident, you can set a plot like that of the movie Battle Royale, in which players are given weapons to use against each other until only one survivor remains.
You can also arrange a series of games for players to finish, like Squid Game, and the final survivor receives a huge reward.
Please note that the rules of such games should be simple and easy to understand so that readers can quickly be pulled into your story. The rules of the games in Alice in Borderland, a work of the same genre, are more complicated, which may hinder itself from reaching more audiences.
Where – Where does a Battle Royale game happen?
The game can take place in a castle besieged by a blizzard, or a villa surrounded by monsters. Most Battle Royale games take place in an isolated and closed environment, which ensures the smooth progress of the game and improves the tense atmosphere.
Why – Why is there a Battle Royale game?
Maybe the organizers dislike the selected contestants and want to use the game as a means of revenge. Maybe the organizers just want to watch a cruel game for their own amusement, or they want to use the games as a way of screening who would be useful to them.
This is the case with the movie Battle Royale, in which the purpose of the brutal killing game hosted by the government is to cultivate a younger generation who are loyal and persistent in the face of adversity. While you can freely interpret the background of the death game based on your inspiration, leaving readers a surprise.
Squid Game, which recently swept the world, conforms to the three “Ws” mentioned above.
Ⅰ. “What” – What is Squid Game?
It is a survival game in which hundreds of people are forced to complete a series of games. The winner gets a huge reward, and the losers are killed. In order to provide the audience better viewing experience, Squid Game uses children’s games such as Red Light- Green Light, Sugar Honeycombs, and Squid Game as stages, which contrast strongly with the cruel punishment – the failed players end up with death.
Ⅱ. “Where” – Where does Squid Game take place?
It is carried out in a closed space built on an island.
Ⅲ. Why – Why does Squid Game exist?
Squid Game is used to please the rich and powerful high-ranking people, who regard other humans as pawns for fun and seek excitement through watching them struggle to survive.
2. How to arrange an opening plot?
The most important thing for novice writers is to cut into the topic in a fast and simple way so that readers can quickly find themselves caught up in the story.
In general, we recommend that you write the following necessary content clearly in the first 3 chapters:
Information about the protagonist: What is the identity of the protagonist? What difficulties does the protagonist meet? What is the ultimate goal of the protagonist?
Information about the game: What are the rules of the game?
The reason why the protagonist plays the game: Why must the protagonist participate in the game?
Note: Based on our analysis, it’s better to introduce no more than 3 big roles in addition to the protagonist at the start in case readers get lost without knowing who to follow.
In the first 3 chapters, arrange at least one dilemma for the protagonist such as debt collection or being hunted, who preferably supports at least 80% of the plot. Readers will be distracted by too many other characters or excessive plots unrelated to the protagonist.
In simple terms, the beginning of the story should be unfolded around the protagonist, who deals with at least one dilemma, so that readers can quickly enter the plot full of tension. Necessary information should be made clear in the first 4,000 words.
3. How to set the protagonist?
The reason why the protagonist participates in the game should make sense, which can make readers feel related to them.
Maybe the protagonist is desperate for the rewards of the game. For example, the protagonist can be a gambler who has a huge debt and needs the cash bonus to pay off the debt, just like the protagonist of Squid Game.
Maybe the protagonist is a policeman who joined the game to solve the frequent disappearance cases.
Of course, regardless of the protagonist’s background, he must have his unique advantages to distinguish him from other contestants. He may have a very high IQ, a strong fighting ability, or superpowers, or maybe he just has damn good luck.
Different settings lead to different directions in subsequent stories. The character personality and ability of the protagonist are closely related to the plot of the story. Just allow your imagination to take over as you present your unique story to readers.
Here is all we got today! The rest 4 questions will release soon.
Hope the examples above could bring you more inspiration. Leave your comments below or submit an application for your story. We are looking forward to your brilliant ideas!
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(By Alan & Chris)