So You Want To/Write the Next Harry Potter: Difference between revisions

Magic... well, you could have the main characters use magic, restrict the magic to secondary characters, or have a magical setting with no [[Functional Magic]] at all.

 

 

Secondly, the core cast. Rowling used a [[Power Trio]], which is always a strong choice, but there's the possibility of other [[Ensembles]]. Regardless of which Ensemble you choose, understand what it means to every character involved. Harry Potter is, above all, about Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The books are about characters first, plot second. How the characters interrelate is very important, and the Ensemble you choose will influence this.

* ''Destiny Unfulfilled: A Critique of the Harry Potter Series''. You can find it on Amazon [http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Unfulfilled-Critique-Harry-Potter/dp/098435252X here] and in PDF [http://florida.theorangegrove.org/og/items/1c8115fc-50d1-7dd6-0a2a-6446e33c7437/1/destiny.pdf here]. It hits point by point through the various flaws in the series, and is a must-read if you plan on avoiding the pitfalls and writing one better.

** As with all criticisms, though, take this one with a grain of salt. For example, the book seems to take it for granted that Harry should beat Voldemort by ''strength of arms'' - that is, by being a stronger, more gifted wizard, or by amassing superior firepower in the form of fellow wizards - when, in fact, a case could be made that it's supposed to be the other way around. ''[[Harry Potter]]'', like ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', might best be taken as an aversion of the whole [[Right Makes Might]] tradition: The hero wins not by out-gunning the villain, but rather by [[Flaw Exploitation]], generally of the enemy's blindness to some crucial fact<ref>Christopher Booker goes over this one at length in ''[[The Seven Basic Plots]]''</ref>. In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', for example, Sauron can't begin to imagine that anyone would ever try to destroy the One Ring, so the heroes win despite being horribly outmatched by the sheer power of their [[Big Bad]].

 

=== '''The Epic Fails''' ===

 

 

{{reflist}}