For Authors: July 31, 2019 Issue [#9676] |
This week: Happy Birthday, Harry Potter! Edited by: THANKFUL SONALI Library Class! More Newsletters By This Editor
1. About this Newsletter 2. A Word from our Sponsor 3. Letter from the Editor 4. Editor's Picks 5. A Word from Writing.Com 6. Ask & Answer 7. Removal instructions
On July 31, 1965, JK Rowling was born.
On July 31, 1980, Harry Potter was born.
In 1997, the world first heard of Harry Potter, and JK Rowling.
In 2005, I conducted my first Harry Potter quiz.
Thank you, JK Rowling, for creating Harry Potter.
You've changed my life.
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Dear Reader,
Today is her birthday, and her famous character's birthday, too!
JK Rowling is an author who has really changed my life. So, this 'For Authors' newsletter is for her, though she might never see it. For an author who has changed my life, to show us writers what an author can do.
HELPED ME COPE
When Mom died, I turned to the passage on Dumbledore's death in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The one where it hits Harry, suddenly, that Dumbledore won't be there any more to help. The one where he, in the middle of the funeral, has an absurd desire to laugh, recalling one of the late Headmaster's funny speeches.
It comforted me, this passage. I was feeling the same way, especially since my mother was Principal of a school. I wasn't alone in my feelings, Harry had experienced the same -- the despair, the inexplicable urge to giggle, it was all there. The moving on was there, too. Life doesn't stop after a loved one has died, one learns to carry on living, even feeling joyful and grateful again.
When I had eye surgeries and a lot of fear, again, I turned to JK Rowling's creations. Was I facing a Boggart, which was 'riddikulus'? Was I facing a Dementor, which needed all my focus to vanquish? Was it Voldemort himself, in which case I'd need to figure out my strategy and defeat him? Having parallels in literature helped me make some sense of what I was going through, and cope with it.
IN MY TEACHING
In my teaching, I often use examples from Harry Potter to get a point across. Since the series is so popular, chances are that most students have read it, or are at least familiar with it, so the amount of background explanation required is cut down.
Aside from that, I conduct Harry Potter related events, like quizzes and discussion groups, which has helped me build a community of like-minded folk in the city. Our discussions go pretty deep, and (though it sounds cliched) understanding the characters and their motives really helps us understand ourselves better. Over the past two years, the members of my discussion group and I have become close friends, because there are some things you can't share without winding up liking each other and knocking down a mountain troll quoting Harry Potter in and out of any context is one of them!
Rowling's analysis of loyalty, decision-making, parenting, friendship, love, education and so many other aspects of daily life give us fodder for discussion every month. Even at the twentieth, or fiftieth, reading of the series, a fan can still find new 'aha' moments.
I could go on, but I'm guessing I've covered the main points of what I wanted to say.
Thank you, JK Rowling.
Thank you, reader.
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Thank you for the responses to "Define the Characteristic"
hbk16 You describe the different characters of the movie (the story book) of Harry potter.Indeed a first character description could be a good method of writing.
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