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I Want to be J.K. Rowling When I Grow Up
A Texas town has banned the Harry Potter books because they glorify magic, and learning to read.
~Craig Kilborn
I read this book (okay, I skimmed it) called “Rules of Thumb” which I checked out from the library. My weakness, a book of writing advice: pithy little articles about writing better, writing more, you name it. One lady had four rules (clearly she wasn’t one for following the rules of the assignment, which was list one rule), and she had me until she mentioned she had the first three Harry Potter novels, but was currently using them as doorstops because she found them boring. Dull. Vapid and limp as milk toast.
It became obvious that nothing this woman had to offer after this point would matter to me. Even if she offered me the secret to plotting, her advice was tainted by the fact she didn’t get the magic that is J.K. Rowling.
Now I wasn’t always a Harry Potter fan. I came lately to the church of Potter, but I have all the zealot enthusiasm of a true missionary. So even though this poor, misguided author had no more use for Ms. Rowling’s writing than for keeping her bookends in use, I have to say my writing has very much improved due to Harry Potter. May you also benefit from Ms. Rowling’s advice, even if you never read her books.
First, be yourself. Write what you’re passionate about and what interests you, even if boy wizards are not the hip new trend on the publishing market and it will never sell. Believe in yourself first. Writing what you would like to read instead of focusing on writing "what is selling" is a far better goal--and far more likely, I believe, to get you published. Writing, as with most things, works better when you work to please yourself before you set to pleasing everyone else. You have to learn to trust yourself first.
Second, be quiet. Ms. Rowling is not a blabbermouth. When she started writing her series, she didn’t tell everyone and the milk man she was writing a book. No. Why? Because too much talking diminishes what you’re doing. You either spend all your time talking about the book you’re going to write (instead of writing it), or you tell people about your dreams, and they in turn give their well-meaning advice how you should do something more meaningful with your life rather than writing goofy novels. They’ll tell you to be a teacher…or an astronaut, anything but an author. And it’s usually those closest to you who give this advice because they don’t want you to fail and they don’t want you to waste your life on dreams that can never come true. So for God’s sake, don’t tell just anyone you’re a writer. Screen your confidants. You’ll thank Ms. Rowling later.
Third, be a failure. (Hey, she said it in her Harvard commencement speech.) Okay, she didn’t say be a failure, but she did say, don’t be afraid of it. Failure can be a good thing, a great thing, though it might not seem so at the time. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Be messy. So when you’re looking at your hideous first (or fourth) draft of your Great American Novel, going, why the hell didn’t I become a teacher?, revel in your Great American Failure. Ms. Rowling said she found out a lot about herself when she failed on the scale she did. She found out about her will to succeed, and that she had more discipline than she realized. She also found out who her true friends were. So when the rejects come back from your queries, they’re just there to remind you why you’re doing this—because you know you’re a writer and this is what you were truly meant to do. Right? Right.
Fourth, be empathetic. That’s the true gift of a writer, the ability to draw us so deeply into a character we truly believe they exist. We couldn't imagine a world without them. Their hopes, fears, triumphs and mistakes are as well known as our own. If you want to create an unforgettable character, tap into your empathy. To be a writer, you have to be willing to feel so you can share the human experience through your words.
Fifth, be a friend. This probably seems a weird writing rule, but it’s invaluable. After all, you will need to have someone you can tell your secret to; but also, you can’t live your life in a fishbowl. You need someone who can take you out of your writer geekiness and shake things up a bit. You need someone to challenge you; and you need someone at your back. Friendship is so important throughout the Harry Potter novels—and it’s important in your writing. You need a support system.
Sixth, be courageous. Harry Potter went to a forest and faced death. Luckily as writers, we don’t necessarily have to be that literal, at least not right this second. But the Fear is always there. Fear of being rejected by every single agent in New York and fear of letting down your friends who do support your wild dreams of NYT's bestseller stardom. Fear that your family will read your work and see just too much of you in the pages. It’s like being naked in public. Streak, baby, streak. There is something very freeing about being naked. You’ll survive the Fear. Harry did.
Seventh, and finally, be consistent. In the second novel, Harry despairs that he’s not a true Gryffindor because the Sorting Hat wanted to put him in Slytherin, and wise, old Dumbledore says, “And why is that?” Because, Harry confesses, I asked to be put in Gryffindor. “Exactly! It is our choices, Harry, far more than our abilities, that show us who we really are.” How many talented writers do you know who give up because it was easier? And how many published authors do you know that you wonder how on earth did they ever get an agent? Talent is important, yes; but luck and perseverance is even more important. And Harry would be the first to say that. There will be days where you ask yourself, “Am I really a writer?” It’s not about whether you have the talent to write; there isn’t anyone who’d deny it—it’s about if you do it. Writers are writers because they write.
Okay, come out of the closet: have you or have you not read the Potter books? What’s your favorite childhood book, and how does it inspire you in your writing or life? And do you agree that it’s our choices far more than our abilities that show us who we really are?
Books by the Crew
54 comments:
This post looks like a cue to be philosophical!
I think that the first step to discovering your self is to find your natural talents.
If these are in Science or Philosophy or Painting or Writing or Sport then that's where you should concentrate developmental effort, together with earning a living.
When you have a natural writing talent, above average performance should come easily with only a little practise. Reading 'how to' articles may help a bit when relaxing over coffee but are not essential in my view. You will absorb the essentials painlessly and enjoyably by reading the works of authors that you enjoy.
My advice would be to read Rowling's fiction, absorb her techniques into your own style if they fit and just WRITE.
If you have 'fire in your belly' and you truly have talent it will work!
I have enjoyed all of the Harry Potter books and some fan-fic versions.
Favourite childhood book was 'Prince of the willow' about cricket.....though my ambition then was to play cricket for England.
Neither of these have inspired my efforts at fiction and I strongly believe that its our abilities and talents that best reveal who we really are.
Great blog Cap'n :D
Excellent post. But who would expect anything less?
I read the first 3 Potter books aloud to a 4th grade class right after recess. All the fights and sturm und drang quieted right down. I read the fourth myself, perhaps the 5th...cannot remember. Stopped, though. Life happened. Cheated at an airport when #7 came out and read the last pages to satisfy my curiosity.
This week during Banned Books Week, I've put all the Potter books out on display. Kids keep asking, "Really? Somebody banned them? Why?" Almost all the books I loved as a kid had elements of magic. I loved, loved, loved Edward Eager's series (Half-Magic, Magic by the Lake, etc.). If you ever have a chance to read any of them, do so. Witty and smart. Come to think of it, I think I developed my humorous literary sensibility reading those books.
Great blog. You always bring such great lessons to the decks. As you know, I have NOT read the Potter books. However, I LOVED Rowling's commencement speech to the Harvard graduates. As I read it, I laughed and cried and by the end was totally inspired. That's one amazing woman.
I don't remember a favorite childhood book, though our room was filled with tons of them. I'm guessing I was around 10 or 11 when I read a condensed version of Hound of the Baskervilles by Doyle. From that moment on, I loved mystery. But oddly enough, I don't write mystery.
But I do write real characters with real flaws and my characters always figure out the mystery (of love) by the end. So that's where Doyle influenced me. Kinda cool. :)
First of all, I love all seven of the HP books. I've read them all at least five times and probably more over the years. In fact, I read them all at least once a year, it seems, and I think I'm coming due. Maybe after I get revisions done....
I think that the best advice I heard about writing was from a published author (who I can't remember now) who said (and I'm going to paraphrase) that if you're a writer you have two choices: publish or stop writing. And since stopping isn't something I'm willing to do, I guess I'll have to publish. It's the when that snags me up.
Finally, my favorite book growing up was "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin. Anyone else read? If not, you should. I usually pick the whodunits pretty quick out of the gate, but this one is a tricky one.
Ter, that's exactly how Rowling writes. You laugh, you cry, at the end you're equally amazed and inspired.
Oh and Fran, the forest scene.... *sniff sniff*
I've never read the HP series and I haven't read the commencement speech either. Never read an interview with JKR. I did see the last HP movie after stern insistence from one of my BFF's (and it actually wasn't Hellion. I imagine she just fainted upon hearing I've seen an HP movie) and *shrugs* it was okay. I wasn't bored and I wasn't wowed out of my seat. Maybe I just need some warming up.
Q, feel free to be philosophical. *grins* I agree about the talent--it doesn't do any good to pursue careers in something you have no talent for, but I think it needs to be more than talent. The "fire in the belly" is more than talent--that's passion. You have to have a passion for whatever you're doing more so than talent. You can LEARN to write; hell, I could probably learn math if I had any sort of passion for it. But if you don't have passion, then you're not going to keep with it. Hanging in there and not quitting is the bigger deal.
I guess it's like being married. (Being I haven't been married, I'm speaking from speculation. Correct me if I'm wrong.) You get married because of the Fire in Your Belly (or in the case of some people, the fire about five inches or so lower...whatever.) But the real marriages last because you hung in there and didn't quit, even if the fire in your belly wasn't quite as ardent as when you first started. (I'm not saying it doesn't exist. I'm just saying, it's maybe not quite as shiny...or something.)
Or as my Chair said: Talent is cheap. Doing something is what matters.
Maggie, I love Banned Books week! *LOL* Our library guru downstairs has set up a display of banned books. The 10 most challenged books of 2007. I think I read The Color Purple (or at least part of it) in college; and also part of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.
It's amazing what they ban! It kills me some outsiders want to ban what kids read--lazy parenting.
Besides, you want to make sure nobody reads your book: Make it part of the curriculum. These guys are totally approaching this the wrong way.
Sin - the movies aren't even a fraction as good as the books, though they'll do in a pinch. And I think the first couple books are good, but I think they really start to get great at the third one. And the seventh book has to be one of my favorite books of all time.
I agree that I think it's the choices we make in life that shows our character far more than our abilities. If you stick to what you know you can do, you'll never know if you could do more. But if you just make the choice to do something regardless if you know it's in your capabilities then it shows your willing to take a chance on yourself to learn something new. But there are different strengths with each one. Depends if you have self confidence or trust yourself or believe what others have said about you and stay in your comfort zone. *shrug* Life is all about choices. It's the tough ones that you have to make that define your character, not your abilities.
Unless you're a hero and can walk through fire, generate fire, generate electricity, sound, elements, fly, kill people with a look. That's a little different concept then.
Lord, Terri, at least sit down and watch the movies. Put them in your freaking Netflix. Geez. They're still not as good as the books, but you'd get the gist of her brilliance.
I *loved* her commencement speech. The part about the gay wizard joke cracks me up!
Marnee, I read them around Christmas, since Christmas is such a big deal to Harry. It seems to be the time when he has the most fun (excluding the last novel, for obvious reasons). It makes me want to go to England for Christmas since they clearly do it up right. *LOL* Less commercial and Martha Stewart inspired parties and more...food and friends. Cozy, fun...
That's our Sin, the super-agent spy: Take Risk. How do you know if you can't do it, if you don't play?
The fifth book was my least favorite book (it wasn't my least favorite movie, but *shrugs*)--so you should definitely see the 6th movie before you cut it all out altogether. Far more action packed; and all about the villian.
*hands Marnee an extra ration of rum* See, I knew writing about JKR would be a good choice today. *LOL* Totally agree--but I admit, I probably wouldn't have read any of the books if I'd never seen the first movies.
But I'm mule-stubborn.
Wait, I've seen parts of the movies. Was it the last one where they were training in that secret room to overtake that nasty lady in the awful pink outfits? I like that one. I've seen lots of the movies, but how much of the dialogue in the movies is right out of the books? I've always wondered that.
Sin - That's it exactly! You have to believe you can do something. And I hate staying in the comfort zone. Life would be so boring if you stayed in there all the time. I jump out of that box every chance I get. I'm not saying it always turns out well, but it's always an adventure. LOL!
Can't help that I like risk. I'm a fire sign with Jupiter as a ruling planet. I once jumped off the barn roof to see if I could fly. I ended up falling in a mud puddle instead. LOL
That's like daring. You can't dare me to do something and expect me NOT to do it. How will I know that I can't do it, unless I just jump right in to see how cold the water is?
A lot of it is dialogue from the books. Some of its different. I know there is some witty quip in the first movie that I always look for in the book and it's not there. *LOL* But it's pretty comparable. Believe me, JK's dialogue is cracking sharp.
And I can't believe they ban books. What idiot decides this?
Ter, I love adventure! I was just thinking the other day lately I've just been going through the motions of life and not really living it and that's SO not who I am. I don't know this person I am. I'm boring and dull.
I'm not apt to leave my comfort zone. (As is clear by the fact of how long I've been at current job. I enjoy my Hermione Granger status as much as I resent it.)
However, if you DARE me to do something. As in you say, "Oh, you'd never do that...." Baby, I'm leaping out of that plane, swimming with the sharks, snake-wr...no, not snake-wrangling (there are limits to my stupidity in that regard)...but don't imply that I'm not spontaneous enough to do something. Because I'll send you a postcard of me doing it.
Do they actually ban the books anymore or just *challenge* them. I'd think in this day and age, the banning would have stopped.
Sin - Find some adventure, girlfriend! LOL! Like, try moving in less than two weeks. Come on, if I can do it, you can do it. ;)
RIGHT. Yes, Sin, those are the topmost words I think of when I think of you or describe you to other people: Boring and Dull.
Are you barking mad?
Hm. I once moved in a day and it was horrible. I had a horrible landlord who was an elderly lady and she wanted to move into my apartment and literally was knocking on my door at 8am to say she had her moving truck all ready to go.
I still had 30 days on the lease, but she said she'd give me my money back if I could be out by midnight, so I agreed. She was crazy. I will never rent from an elderly person ever again.
BTW - where did you go with such short notice?!?
My grandmother rented out her upstairs apartment, but I promise she never kicked people out in a day. I had a friend who moved three times in 10 months and ended up right back in the building he moved out of the first time. Still not sure how the rest of us didn't kill him for that.
I already had another place rented. The woman was driving me crazy.
I'm a bit more selective on my dares. If you dared me to touch a spider, I might consider it touching when my shoe smashes it into the oblivion. I won't hold a snake. I think my mother would faint even thinking that I would get near one. (I know you're reading this mom.) But I could be dared to do stupider crap than that.
I mean, I have. I used to be wilder than a mustang, crazier than a grizzly after it just woke up. I'm mellow now like yellow. It's a strange thing.
And yes, Hellion, if you talked to people who ran around with me in highschool they'd tell you I was an awfully boring person now. I know you can't believe that, but it's true. LOL
I admit, my adventures are a bit tamer than they used to be. Other than this recent moving escapade (which I will not do again provided I retain what little sanity I have), I'm limited to the occassional dramatic hair color. Went back to a dark auburn last night. Really dark auburn. Which makes me pale skin look paler. LOL! That's my mid-life, soccer-mom adventure these days.
*shakes head* What's tragic is that I'm far more scandalous now that I ever was in my youth. Though I'm still boring and dull, at least most days of the week.
Well, except for the flirtation with the youth director...but even that was pretty tame compared to what I could have been doing. If I'd been Catholic, I'm sure I would have been fooling around with a priest. I've always been interested in my spirituality.
You moved out in a DAY? *blinks* Nope, not sure I could pull that one off. I might, but I'd be awful cranky about it.
Oh, fantastic blog!
I LOVE Harry Potter. How horrible to use them as door stops. I can see your problem with finishing her book.
I have always loved Shel Silverstein. His books are so fantastic. Shannon Hale is another great children's/YA book author.
And I agree with Dumbledore. It's all in our choices.
Again, really fantastic blog, Hellion!
It took me until 3am. The only thing that matter was that I was out before 6am. I had to get a storage unit because I couldn't get the key from my new landlord until that next monday (this was Friday) and I was going out of town the next day. So it worked out in the end. I was dead tired but back in those days, I frequently ran on no sleep for days on end.
I dyed my hair back to it's original color in August because the sun fades it so bad in the summer that it turns red and I don't look good as a red head. So, I can't tell if the sun has faded it again or not. I should really not open the sunroof. That probably would take care of it. LOL
But my hair is naturally dark and I'm very very fair skinned. I'm sort of jealous of Casper and his tan. LOL
Kathy, I love Shel Silverstein! The Giving Tree always makes me cry! And yes, I can't imagine using my HP books as door stops. Though I think I am using my Tolkien books to prop up something...and many people tell me that's a crime. If only he'd used more ly words, maybe. *LOL*
Dude, that's pure crazy...but you are pure crazy. *LOL* And I've never seen your hair red. *LOL* I have seen it look almost brown though...that must be what you mean...
You are vampire pale though...
I was born to be a vamp. I just haven't found one to turn me yet.
When my hair starts to get brown it starts to go red. I see it. I hate it. I'm gonna end up like mom and every year I get older, the lighter my hair gets. And I've been blonde. It ain't pretty.
The box I bought last night said "dark auburn brown". Yeah, no brown AT ALL. Think fire engine red. *sigh* It'll fade out in a few weeks.
My mom is blonde and pale and it's not good. She's totally casper. I've done all shades of brown, red and added some blonde highlights. I've never done black. I wonder how that would look. Hmmmm.....
Hellion Wrote:
The “fire in the belly” is more than talent–that’s passion. You have to have a passion for whatever you’re doing more so than talent. You can LEARN to write; hell, I could probably learn math if I had any sort of passion for it. But if you don’t have passion, then you’re not going to keep with it. Hanging in there and not quitting is the bigger deal
I think that passion and talent are closely correlated. When you have a talent for something you rapidly develop a passion for it, a desire to push yourself to the limits of achievement. Listen to any medal winning Olympian to see this in extreme form. Without talent any passion (fire in belly variety) will fade and die.
Its true that most people can learn most skills but without real talent the skill is simply a handle turning exercise which will rapidly become boring. Talent turns that basic skill into craftsmanship and craftsmanship leads to passion for the work. At least thats my observation. If I taught you some maths, and you had no talent, then I would not expect you to come up with innovative new proofs, though no doubt you could turn the handle to solve a quadratic equation.
One point I didn't mention is 'adaptation'. If you have talent in one area then it can often be adapted for another area.
Afraid I must disagree with your chair. The sort of talent that interests me is definitely not cheap and doesn't grow on trees!
Hellion,I think you have much to learn about 'real marriage'. Physical passion is one component of course but the loving relationship is much deeper, a kind of mental bonding which is not easy to describe or understand. It must be experienced before you can write about it with any conviction I think.
Wriggle out of that if you can! *g*
Q - one thing about the talent and passion. I don't believe they go hand in hand or that ones comes from the other. I have a talent for several things for which I have no passion. And being good at something does not give me the passion to pursue it. If anything, the desire to do something well, is the drive that helps build and develop the talent.
And I think the Captain was saying the same thing you just did. Real marriage better go much deeper than that fire in the belly feeling you have in the beginning, or you're in deep doo doo. LOL!
Terri,
Do you have a long lasting passion for anything at which you have no talent?
If blessed with many talents then it is more difficult for passion to develop unless you concentrate on a dominant talent. Passion implies and requires a concentration of effort I think. The talent must develop into craftsmanship before the passion emerges.
See, I have a theory for everything! *g*
Are you sure that the Cap'n wasn't saying that a diluted form of 'fire in the belly' must persist to keep a marriage out of the doo doo?
Um doo doo is American for 'mire' right?
Doo doo - mire - close enough. And I don't think that's what she was saying but I'm sure she'll set us both straight. ;)
I don't believe passion emerges. I think you have it or you don't. You might not always realize what it is you have a passion for right away, but it's always in there.
As for the first question, I have an incredible passion for music but alas, not enough talent to play or sing it. And lets hope the writing doesn't prove to be something for which I have no talent. LOL!
Q - Um, you're too kind to us. Doo doo is another word for poop, feces, or shit. It's sort of the rated G version.
Though mire certainly would sound less crass than any of those words. That would be more civilized of us, wouldn't it?
Nice, Marn. LOL! I'm off for a while. Looking forward to reading the rest of the discussion when I get back!
I have to agree with Terri. I have a talent for dressing and undressing at lightning speeds, doesn't mean I want to be a stripper. Most days. And there are other things I'm talented at, I don't do them.
As for the marriage, I told you I was probably wrong since I've never been married...and barely can date long enough to...well, date long enough. Though I do love that quotation that says, "You can tell how long a man's been married when he understands everything his wife is not saying." *LOL* I don't know. I have girlfriends where we get each other like that...just with the husband, you get the bonus of sex. *shrugs* I'm not against giving marriage a shot (for the scientific experience of the mental bonding thing you were talking about), but the key is finding a subject who proposes who doesn't make me run screaming from the room.
Ooh, good one! I too have a passion for music--and you don't want me doing karaoke. And a passion for movies, but you don't see me in community theater. Passion is just there. I think it can be nurtured, to a degree...because I do get more passionate about something the more I'm involved in it. Feedback on my writing; reading and discussing Harry Potter; making costumes for Halloween...
Not everyone is "passionate" about stuff. But it's usually one of the first words people attribute to me, for whatever reason. Passion is a emotional response, and not everyone lets their emotions rule their behavior.
Some days my single-focus mind goes crazy trying to follow all the directions conversations move in on this ship. LOL!
I love the Harry Potter books. I've lost count of how nany time I've read them, but I love Tolkien too and the Narnia books and Diane Wynne Jones and Patricia Wrede and Eva Ibbotson. I think it's possible to appreciate them all.
As for the influence of childhood books, I am persuaded that my love of romance began with the countless hours I spent reading and reading the books of L. M. Montgomery, M. H. Lovelace, and L. A. Alcott. No magic there--except the kind of magic the best writers create for their readers. :)
*LOL* Poor Janga! I appreciate you trying nonetheless! Montgomery--isn't she who did the Anne of Green Gables?
Hellion, I'm assuming that I'm Kathy.lol.
As for tolkien, I can well see using that for a door stop. His prose is lost on me.
*g*
That will teach me to try and argue with women!
In theoretical work its often the exception that proves the rule. :lol:
Kelly! I'm so sorry! Eeek! Naughty Hellion! Feel free to call me Terri or Sin...or Marnee...or Jack, even!
Also, Hellion, you should know that the other day on Maggie's blog I called her Marnee! That was a big oops! But she was great about it and called me Kerry.LOL!
LOL! That's perfectly fine, Hellion! It made me laugh. But I may take you up on calling you Jack in the future.:)
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