It doesn’t matter if you love or hate it, the numbers speak for themselves. Human reaction and opinions beyond numbers proved that the TV show is a successful storyline, which I experienced when speaking to people.
The first time I heard about Squid Game, my brother, my sister-in-law, and I were having dinner while I was browsing the newsfeed on Netflix. As a result of my sister-in-law pointing out that Squid Game is trending and people are talking about it, I saved it to watch later. I didn’t get to watch it for a few days, and in that time span I noticed more people talked about it and the reactions were mixed. There are those who say it is a must-watch and the best show right now; there are those who say it is overrated and not very good; then there are those who wrote it off as being something that teens are watching all the time.
I thought perhaps it was an action-thriller that young people preferred over the elderly, and you can imagine how difficult it was to pinpoint a consensus on this variety. But one day, I opened my Facebook newsfeed and saw a couple of posts from two businesspeople I regarded as thoughtful and intelligent who praised Squid Game and recommended it to others. In light of the fact that people with real everyday tasks have rated the TV show so highly, then there might be some truth to it, and the fact that I felt the need to watch a TV show amid my own busy schedule of writing projects during the last quarter of this year prompted me to watch Squid Game following the feedback it got.
It may have begun differently for others than it did for me at the start of episode one. As it seemed like a bunch of characters were struggling at home and at work, in addition to gambling and crime, I didn’t really get into it that much. With a warm cup of tea in my hand, I rolled my eyes at this perhaps being another cliché narrative about a man gambling and getting into debt, and some random mobs are chasing him. So why did I keep watching it?
The reason I watched this show was probably because I was curious as to why so many people loved it. Squid Game, as it turned out, was a cliché of adults racing against each other for their selfish gains while struggling to pay off their debts. But in spite of being rejected in the last decade for its grotesque and unrealistic scenes, the author/director’s storyline reveals a dark and realistic aspect of human nature, where the second half of episode one kicks off the series’ shocking and disbelieving story line, which continues with each subsequent episode. In case you struggle to find time to write, or feel you cannot afford to publish an epic storyline, the author of Squid Game was in your shoes more or less himself when he began writing the script while living with his mother and grandmother. In the end, he sold his laptop for money, and he stopped writing his script as a result. The next hurdle to overcome – and one where many writers give up – is rejection when you finally muster up the courage to sell your work. Squid Game was rejected several times before it made a big impression on Netflix because of how the show’s plot is heavily influenced by the socioeconomic disparities that were similarly experienced during COVID-19’s pandemic.
You could say that there is a right time and place for a story you have written to find popularity, but the purpose of Booklarity is to cut out all the nonsense you could waste time on acquiring and simply focus on the essentials that shape solid plotlines. In other words, it doesn’t take a global crisis for you to be recognized as an excellent writer with an innovative story idea. What steps can you take to develop your story and make it ready for literary agents and publishers? While you all can be the judge of whether Squid Game was truly as good as it’s cracked up to be or not, I’m concerned with sharing my editor pearls of wisdom on the techniques which Squid Game used to gain success. I hope these writing lessons will help you with your next big writing project.
Lesson 1: The power of contrast
Squid Game beautifully explores themes of human nature and gives the audience a sense of themselves through the use of mind-boggling twists and turns. By pulling us into the film with familiar children’s games and then transforming it into a bloody, murderous marathon, the author/director makes us understand a difficult-to-digest aspect of human nature in a disturbing, yet intriguing way. Children’s games are associated with bright colors and soft textures, vibrant scenes and melodious sounds, as well as with innocence and purity. Yet, imagine being forced to accept bloodshed, cutthroat competition, and trickery simultaneously? Try associating those soft colours and the sound of gentle music with such scenes of violence. That is the power of contrast and I recommend experimenting with it when writing.
Lesson 2: Create urgency sooner rather than later
The mistake some people make when writing is thinking they can become the next Stephen King. He has a talent for vivid description, after all. This is a great fit for his books, but it’s not ideal for most other writers. Readers will soon get bored and stop reading. Despite the fact that some readers love stories and enjoy reading in their spare time, other readers may simply be looking for something worthy to read, which will enable them to unplug from the stresses of everyday life and be entertained. When that happens, you must stop being descriptive and get to the point more quickly. Squid Game starts off with generic topics so the audience can relate to it before giving viewers more than they expect in the second half of the first episode. It wasn’t necessary to wait for episode 2, 3, or 4 to surprise and entertain the readers. It happened as soon as the expectations were low and the author reeled the audience in with a twist they didn’t expect. In the game, players were promised the chance to win millions of dollars and they assumed they were just gambling for cash, but to their surprise (and ours), a handful of participants were brutally killed. We can learn from this that you should make your readers feel a sense of urgency to learn who your characters are, where they’re from, and what could happen to them.
Lesson 3: Tell the story
Putting your characters to work and creating an action-packed TV show with memorable fight scenes can be fun, but the fun can dry up if the show becomes predictable. How you can prevent this from happening and keep the attention of your readers is by explaining why your main characters face the problems they’re trying to solve. Make sure you don’t just give your characters a superficial explanation of a situation, but also reveal their “people problems” which your readers or viewers can have empathy for. In turn, this will lead to a stronger connection to the characters and a more lasting impact, whatever their future may hold. To summarize, create interesting characters, then breathe life into them and highlight their individuality with their own quirks. Then connect those traits with the storyline.
Lesson 4: Tragedy is the name of the Squid Game
How does tragedy affect you? Is it defined as when something bad happens, like when the bad guy shoots the good guy dead and wins the battle between good and evil? Cut, cut, cut. That was a long time ago. Nowadays, tragedy really switches it up a level or two. A tragedy does not occur when a bad guy kills a good guy. An act of tragedy occurs when a good guy kills another good guy. Tragic stories require a sense of hope that is somehow swept away by the story.
The example of the final game in Squid Game shows that it’s debatable whether Cho-Sang-Woo is really a good guy, but he isn’t exactly a terrible one either. The viewers know that he has done some shocking things and betrayed a lot of people’s trust who relied on him to protect them. But if you follow the rules of the squid game, he isn’t a bad guy. He was simply doing what it takes to win the game that everyone had signed up for. Outside of the Squid Game, he was also a good and helpful person and was willing to do something as small as give Abdul Ali money for food and travel if it was in his means to do so. Hence, it’s safe to say that he and Seong Gi-Hun were good guys who faced each other and one killed the other. Another example is Sae-byeok needing money desperately to provide for her brother and rescue her mother from North Korea, but the audience witness her die. In a nutshell, make a tragic situation out of something hopeful.
There’s no rule that says you have to write about tragedy in every storyline, because it depends on the themes you’re exploring and what the key messages are, but we can learn from Squid Game that it’s okay to write about failures, but make them sound raw. In other words, ultimately, the main character in fiction, or the main subject-matter in nonfiction, must be responsible for his or her own downfall through his or her actions. In fiction, this is accomplished through showing the protagonist reaching their goal, but at a cost. Nonfiction writers can use this to reveal a vulnerability which is then overcome by presenting a solution they want their audience to accept and buy.
Booklarity can help you develop your story or provide you with an idea for a story based on niche research and the ability to sell. Contact us today and have a chat: info@booklarity.com
