ariandanawantho's Blog

I have to come clean.
I freely admit it.
I suffer from Potter Envy!
However, in this particular instance, it has nothing to do with Harry or Hogwarts. I do not envy his success or that of the author; rather I am envious of the potters of old. The potter who molds and shapes the clay, who works out the tiniest details before putting the final product in the kiln is the subject of my envy.
Why?
Because as a potter, if the project does not go as pleases the artist, they can simply put the clay back in the mix and pull it out again later when they feel they can do better. There is no expenditure in resources other than the time invested. Everything else can be recouped, reclaimed and reused in the next go round.
As writers, we do not share that ability with the potter. There is scarcely little I can think of worse than having to work a forty hour a week job slaving to make someone else rich.
That is not to say I have not done it but I grow bored quickly and find that most jobs that will hire someone of my ilk and bearing to quickly become droll and tedious. As a writer, I am privileged to take as much time as I like working with some particular subject until it no longer strikes my fancy.
Some subjects, such as food, I think I will never become disinterested in because it can be ever-changing and learning experience. It is an opportunity that provides unique rewards for the work I have done.
Second to working a “square” job, the one thing that bothers me is when I have a story idea and it is not working out as planned. If it is a paid assignment, I will force myself to complete it but I will forever recall it as well.
It is interesting that no matter how well written the piece may be, I will always remember it because my heart was not in it. I will never look at a piece of material like that and feel any sense of pride or love but only recall the effort and the tribulations there with something I had to write.
The potter suffers from no such difficulties I think, or very rarely if they do occur at all. When I am working on my personal stories, the characters will cease to be interesting. Often times I feel like a reporter snooping around in their private lives just looking for something to report on.
If that is how the paparazzi feel, I can be thankful that I put down my camera and picked up my pen.
More often than not, these beginnings will end up gathering proverbial dust on my hard drive. I think that by saving them that some day I will return and finish looking the story over and seeing if the characters are ready to talk to me.
As of now, none of them ever have.
Still, I am grateful that I am a writer. I love the challenges and love the opportunities to constantly expand my knowledge base and learn about new things and why some things work and even why others do not.
We all take jabs from time to time if we are writers. The most common of course is when people ask us what we do for a living. I do not know why this is the case but it does seem to be that way.
Still, I suppose all things being equal, I would not trade my experiences as a writer for anything in the world. I never did like the feel of mud between my toes and I doubt I would enjoy it any better lodged between the digital extremities on my hands either.
I suppose, when it is all said and done, I admire the potter, and in some ways I do envy him/her some, but I really am glad that I have the opportunity to be a writer.
About the Author
Ward Tipton is the creator of The Internet Writing Guide

JK Rowling, the celebrated author of the path breaking Harry Potter series of books has her name written down in the annals of literary history. Every one, of all age groups and across geographical boundaries has been touched by the charm of this magical story. The Harry potter books can boast of claiming the number one position on the top of The New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. The latest one belonging to the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is no exception.
It would be appropriate here to give a little background of the author of these books. Joanne Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury near Bristol, England. After graduating from Exeter University, she started working as a secretary, and later moved on to teach English in Portugal. She currently resides in Scotland with her husband and three children. Her most noticeable achievements include winning the Hugo Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Whitbread Award for Best Children's Book.
It was in 1998 in United States that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published. With this we witnessed the Potter-mania engulfing the whole nation, with both the children and the parents wanting to read the same books! The rest came out in quick succession, and by the fall of 1999, two new books had come out. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire got released on 8th July, 2000 and within 48 hours of its release, sold about three million copies to become the fastest selling book in history! This title was claimed by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when it got released on June 21, 2003.
Warner Bros, the film production company has the rights to create films on all the Harry Potter books released till now. The Harry Potter books by Rowling have been translated into 63 languages and distributed in over 200 countries. Moreover, all the five books released so far have appeared in the bestsellers list of United States, Britain, and around the globe.
About the Author
Jacob Marshal, a dedicated writer of Rupizcompare.co.uk which provide information on J.K. Rowling Books and Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince

Many articles have been written on the subject of Harry Potter and his remarkable appeal to the mass market, but that's not going to stop me putting in my five cents on the subject.

I came to Harry Potter late myself, having dismissed the books as something for children for several years. It was a silly dismissal on my part since I can name several children's books that I still happily read. However, a couple of years ago the staggering media coverage of the movies forced me to read the books to see what all the fuss was about. Since then, like most everyone else, I have been captivated.

I have read all of the Harry Potter books in order, watched the movies and read many articles about various aspects of both Harry and J.K. Rowling and I believe that I have identified two key elements in the success of Harry Potter. I make no claims that these are the only elements, but I believe they are central to its appeal to both children and adults.

GROWING UP ALONG WITH THE READER

One obvious feature of the Harry Potter novels is that Harry ages. With each book, a year goes by. While this is not unique to Harry Potter, it is unusual for a writer to stick with a single feature character over so many years. Particularly when those years encompass the key ages of ten through seventeen.

As a result of this, and the fact that the books have come out over an approximately nine year period (most likely ten by the time the final book is published), the children who read the Harry Potter and the Sorceror's/Philosopher's Stone have effectively grown up with Harry Potter.

Whether by accident or design, it seems that J. K. Rowling has reflected that increasing maturity in both Harry and her audience by telling tells that become progressively darker and more complex in their characterization.

This reflection of Harry's growth towards adulthood conveniently mirrors the same growth that Rowling's core audience was experiencing. It also has the side benefit of attracting the interest of adults, many of whom became aware of the books through their children but discovered something with a little more depth than the average children's tale.

So the increasing sophistication helped Harry Potter capture an ever larger audience, but what was it that appealed to them in the first place?

THE IMPORTANCE OF ARCHETYPES

The Harry Potter books are packed full of archetypes. From the Dursely's, a family that will be very familiar to anyone who has read the works of Roald Dahl, to Lord Voldemort (Tolkien anyone?), to the boarding school environment (a setting used in many older British children's books) to the magical creatures which inhabit Harry Potter's world. Now, it's important to be clear on this point. I am not suggesting plagiarism. Those allegations have been made and in each case, clearly showed to be false. No I am talking here about archetypes: "the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based
About The Author
Eoghann Irving is the webmaster for Solar Flare, the long-running science fiction news blog. A lifelong fan of the sci-fi and fantasy genres, Eoghann writes news, reviews and commentary for all forms of science fiction including tv, books, movies and comic books. Eoghann is always looking for news and information on all things sci-fi. He can be contacted at webmaster@sflare.com.