(1) Women in Combat: In the Hunger Games, each combatant (known as a tribute) competes to become the sole survivor. The arena for the games changes from year to year and even within each game. A combatant might face mountains, drought, fire, floods, or all of the above. Author Suzanne Collins does an excellent job of showing how each challenge requires different skills and traits. In one scenario, being a fast swimmer is the most important skill, and brute strength provides little or no advantage. In some parts of the game, a young, small tribute outwits and outmaneuvers larger, stronger and tougher opponents because she’s stealthy and quick and can swing from treetop to treetop without being noticed. Knowing what plants can be eaten and having the skill to distinguish between ones that are medicinal and ones that are poisonous also can be vital — another skill that has nothing to do with strength or size. While The Hunger Games and its sequels are fiction, they raise good questions about what makes someone able to handle combat situations or survive in hostile territory. That seems appropriate at a time when the U.S. is inching toward allowing women in combat positions for the first time.

(2) The Importance of Appearances: Before they compete, tributes undergo a rigorous remake of their images, and those images are vital in getting sponsors. Sponsors are people with money who send tributes things they need to survive during the Games. The boy tributes have style consultants just as the girls do. But the girls are subjected to more intense treatments that generally do nothing to help them in combat. While she’s being put through hours of waxing, eyebrow tweezing and skin polishing, Katniss reflects on how her male counterpart, Peeta, has this same time free. He can rest or eat during those hours to build his strength, train longer to hone his skills, or schmooze with potential sponsors. This echoes U.S. culture, though obviously the books present this in a larger and more dramatic way. But studies show that women who wear make up are viewed as more professional than those who don’t, leaving women who choose not to use cosmetics at a disadvantage. Then there’s wardrobe. For men, the standard business attire is a neutral suit and tie or, for business casual, a long-sleeve shirt and khaki pants. There is no neutral for women. A skirt suit can be too girly, a pants suit too manly, a gray outfit too boring, a fuschia blouse too frivolous. (Think of the 2008 primaries — no one commented on John McCain’s or Barack Obama’s pants suits.) My routine is pretty basic, and I still spend about 20 minutes every morning on hair, make up and clothing choices, 20 minutes my male colleagues don’t need to spend. That’s over 120 hours a year, the equivalent of 2-3 work weeks. I could take a vacation, earn another 3/4 of a month’s pay, or finish rewrites on my current novel in that time. Not to mention what cosmetics cost. I spend an average $30 a month on cosmetics and skincare. That’s $360 a year, which would buy a plane ticket for that vacation.

(3) Likeability: Much of the preparation of Katniss for the Hunger Games involves making her likeable so she can attract sponsors. Katniss is fierce, stubborn, smart, strong and resourceful. All great qualities for survival, and if she were a boy, particularly a large boy, those qualities would get her sponsors. Everyone likes to bet on a winner. As a girl, though, she needs to project vulnerability, niceness (even to the people who are orchestrating a game whose aim is to kill children), and loveability, regardless whether the boys she competes against project those qualities or whether those qualities in themselves will help her win. This reflects many real women’s experiences. Women are generally raised to place a premium on relationships, being nice, and being liked. Indeed, many women report being told by strangers on the street to smile if they look too serious or stern, something I suspect never happens to men. Similarly, when men are demanding bosses, take hardline positions, or grab the spotlight in meetings, these qualities are seen as signs of strength and leadership. Women who exhibit these behaviors are more often seen as too aggressive, and aggression is almost always viewed negatively in women. At the same time, women are instructed that to get ahead, they must adopt male body language (see, for example,
10 Common Body Language Traps for Women in the Workplace) or typically male approaches to business to succeed (see Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office).

The reality is, as in The Hunger Games, different qualities, strategies and skills work for different people at different times. There is no one “right” way to behave in every situation. But because the standard for so long has been based on how men behave, women still struggle either to show how they match the male model or why their approach is just as effective. (For a good book about women, men and leadership, check out Closing the Leadership Gap by Marie C. Wilson.)

As a writer, I aim for my work to entertain and intrigue first. Then I hope that after readers close the book, questions and ideas linger about the conflicts the characters faced and how they reflect the real world. I admire the way Suzanne Collins manages that throughout the Hunger Games books without slowing the story for a second.

What are you favorite thrillers, and how do they reflect the larger world around us?

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During the first draft, rather than get distracted by the Internet – not that I ever am, of course – if I need to research something I put a bolded note in brackets to check it later. For instance, when I wasn’t sure what the national language for Turkey was, I used “Turkish,” then in brackets said [check this]. (Turns out it’s Turkish.) 

This approach to first drafting means I spend a lot of time rewriting.  I start with the various plot lines. I did a Find in Word for Ray – Tara’s biological father, who has a small role to play. I read each scene involving Ray in order, skipping over everything else, to make sure his story fit together, then did that for the other characters.

I’m now pretty much done with that, so my next step is to look at the overall plot to be sure it makes sense, is consistent throughout, and has high enough stakes. Next, I’ll rewrite from beginning to end on the laptop, asking myself what each scene’s viewpoint character sees, tastes, smells, hears, and feels (both tactile feeling and emotion). Finally, I’ll look at the lines and words themselves. This includes lengths of sentences, paragraphs, chapters. Also actual words – is the same word used too many times on a page or in a chapter? Can I say anything more succinctly? As in, can I use fewer adverbs like “succinctly”?

Then I’ll print the whole manuscript out, wait a couple weeks, and read it. I’ll particularly look for any scene where the characters are sitting and talking or sitting and thinking. Or standing and talking. I don’t cut all those scenes, but if there are a number in a row, or one is very long, I’ll try to intersperse the dialogue with action.

I also look for too much action. Sometimes a reader needs a break to just breathe and be with the characters. After I’ve made those changes, and I feel like I’ll throw up if I look at it one more time, I’ll send it on to first readers. (That’s Mr. Bird reviewing some of my writing. I don’t always takes his suggestions, but don’t tell him, he’s very sensitive.)

So, not-so-short answer (I do like to write novels, after all), The Unbelievers (Book II of The Awakening series) is on its way. I’m hoping it’ll be ready by Christmas, more likely it’ll be somewhere between Christmas and Easter.

In the meantime, if you join my email list by 11/30/2013, you’ll be entered into a drawing to have a character in The Unbelievers named after you. Just email me at lisa@lisalilly.com with your first name and say you want to be in the contest.

Feel free to join the email list after 11/30/2013 as well. No spam, I would never do that to you. Just a short monthly newsletter discussing books in the mystery, occult, suspense and thriller genres and an occasional update on new novels or short stories I publish in between. (And as you can tell, it could be Easter before you get one of those.)

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Why the bias toward men still survives is puzzling considering the success of Frankenstein, as well as of works by other women horror writers like Shirley Jackson (The Lottery, The Haunting of Hill House). But something Carrie pointed out on our panel is that when women write horror, suspense or thrillers, it’s often called something else. I read The Lottery in English class, and a lot of people read Frankenstein in school as well.  So these horror tales are called literature, not horror.  (I don’t know why there needs to be distinction between the two, but that’s a whole other post.)  Happily, when I asked the audience of about 40-50 for our panel what they thought, most did not seem to care if authors were male or female, they were just looking for good books.  One young woman said she hoped women would not use pen names or initials because she actively looks for women writers.  She believes they are more likely to develop the characters’ interior lives than are men, and that’s something she likes in fiction.

Another thing we talked about is the portrayal of women as victims. Based on a lot of popular movies, TV and fiction, one would think strangers are a great danger to women. Curious about how reality and fiction match, I checked the FBI website. It turns out over 75% of homicide victims are men, not women.  (There is one exception. Serial killers, who are rare in real life, are more apt to target women.)  Even more interesting to me was that men, not women, are more likely to be killed by strangers.  Women are more likely to be killed by people they know. Specifically, husbands, boyfriends, and relatives. Which led me to comment that despite what we see on TV, the most dangerous thing for a woman to do probably is not to walk down a dark alley, but to get married.

The Comic Con panel attendees, many of whom are Buffy fans (as am I), were great to talk with on this point. These readers want to see strong women characters. They love reading about and watching on film girls and women who are portrayed as three-dimensional characters in all type of roles, including as heroes.

And the more such books and films and TV shows sell, the more of them there will be.

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