No, I'm not writing about anything racy or inappropriate. The title merely comes from the fact that I'm going to be talking about Harry Potter something that in some ways I've wanted to avoid because though the books are amazing and wonderful and have contributed so much to YA Fantasy they were not the first books in the genre and they will certainly not be the last. Yes I love Harry Potter. Yes I've read each book (and companion books) at least 10 times and am in some ways proud to admit it. I can quote full sections, destroy any challenger in Harry Potter trivia and am still battling my way towards that perfect score on the Harry Potter Sporcle quiz. So yes, Harry Potter played a huge role in my childhood, has definitely influenced how I think about writing and if I can become one eighth as successful as J. K. Rowling has I will be an extremely accomplished person. However, Harry Potter was not the first fantasy novel I read and I know it is not the last. It comes from a background and legacy, yet at the same time, has taken this legacy and made it grow in so many ways. If I tell people that I want to write Young Adult Fantasy and they need a reference point I do slip in a "like Harry Potter."
So why now? Why is it finally time to write a bit about those seven books which I cherish? Today I stumbled on a webcast J. K. Rowling did a few month ago. (http://hpread.scholastic.com/) Firstly, if you have the time watch it because it's great, especially the part where she read from Sorcerer's Stone. However, the part that stuck with me the most is when she said something to the effect that a writer's last thought is how their writing is going to influence others because they are so much within the world that they are writing. As someone who has been going on a journey to try and figure out how to write and who I am as a writer this comment was invaluable. I should be living within the worlds I'm creating and truly getting inside my characters heads. Honestly, I don't know if I've done that enough as of late. I've been writing a lot of excerpts of whatever ideas pop into my brain (check the construction zone for updates soon) and I'm enjoying the idea that I'm creating a recipe book in some ways. I now have the ingredients to create something truly special as soon as I'm ready to. Somehow though, I think I've lost track of what in some ways should be my primary concern- Guardians. I used to think about Shana, Kalynn, Ben, and Rafi all the time and now they're just fleeting worries. I'm not within Cornerstone the way I used to be and I miss it. In some ways it's because when you're editing you don't get to create the same way you do with a first draft. And in others it's just because I've been afraid to reenter Cornerstone. Still I won't be happy until it's my characters world and I'm just living in it. I guess I have yet another reason to thank J. K. Rowling and another reason to continue to love what I do.
No comments:
Post a Comment