Are You The Next JK Rowling?

Harry Potter. The name brings instant recognition				when you are writing a novel. Novels are long.
from people all over the world. The books have				Usually over 100,000 words and sometimes as
sold over 350 million copies worldwide. Only the				many as 200,000 words and more. That is a lot
bible has more translations. The movies have				of words! So if you have planned and structured
gone on to grace the lists of the Top 10 grossing				your story effectively, done your research (either
films of all time.				real or in your imagination) and collated your
When Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone				notes, then the writing process is an absolute joy,
was published in 1997, Joanne Kathleen Rowling				where you can be very certain of your ability to
was a previously unpublished author. She had no				produce the best possible novel.
publishing credits, no insider knowledge, no friends				Jo Rowling said she felt she "had to do right by
in the industry.				the book". She really believed in the story and so
So how did she do it? How did she go on, in the				when it came to writing it, she made sure she
space of ten short years, to become the first				had taken care of all the necessary preparation.
billionaire author on the planet?				Once that's done, writing is almost easy!
The answer to that question lies not in what she				Rewriting
did in those ten years between the publication of				Jo Rowling rewrote the opening chapter of Harry
the first book and the publication of the seventh,				Potter and the Philosopher's Stone a total of 15
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.				times. Her own mother died just 6 months after
The answer actually lies in what she did in the				her first attempt at Chapter One of that book,
seven years prior to the first book's publication.				and that sent her into a frenzy of rewriting,
So if you're an author who is yet to be published,				essentially changing everything. The Potter books
you're actually in the best possible position.				are about death, there is no doubt about that,
Because it's in this time, before your book hits				and they are driven particularly by the death of
the shelves, that you can have the greatest				Harry's parents and his miraculous survival. When
influence on its success.				Jo Rowling experienced such a major turning point
Quite simply, JK Rowling followed a four-step				in her own life, she rewrote the story to reflect
writing process that you too can adopt to write				and process her own pain.
your very own list of bestsellers. The question is:				Writing and rewriting are separate processes.
do you have what it takes to be the next JK				Writing is scribing or sculpting out the drafts of
Rowling?				the story. Rewriting is re-looking and re-seeing.
Planning				Often the rewrite will show up where the story
This is by far the most underrated of the steps				has gone off track and where questions asked at
in the writing process. And in the final wash up it				the start haven't been answered by the end. In
is absolutely the most important.				JK Rowling's case, she realised after writing the
It was 1990 and Jo Rowling was on a train				entire first book that she had given away the
between Manchester and London. Harry literally				entire plot of the seven books. She rewrote it in
strolled fully formed into her mind while she was				this light, and held many things back.
gazing out the train window at a field full of cows.				Many successful authors say that you only write
She spent the next four hours (the train was				to rewrite. DH Lawrence even said that he wrote
delayed) imagining Harry, the world he inhabited,				his entire first draft, threw it away and then
the friends and enemies he had there and the				started again from scratch.
dangers and joys he may encounter there. She				Editing
had nothing to write on so had to be content to				Editing is the process of refining and polishing your
play this all out in her imagination. By the time she				manuscript. This part of the process may be
got off the train in London, the central cast of				done by you, or by an external editor. It is often
characters were already cemented in her mind.				wise to have an editor look over your work
But did she go home and immediately begin				before submitting it for publication as it is
scribbling a story with these characters? No, she				extremely difficult to get the distance you need
didn't. She spent five years, yes that's right FIVE				from your own work to see where it can be
YEARS creating and developing every last detail				improved.
of the wizarding world, including government and				Not that you have to listen to what the editor
education systems, how the wizarding world				says. In the end it is your name on the spine of
stood shoulder to shoulder with the muggle world,				that novel and you are entirely answerable for its
and she devised a highly sophisticated system of				contents. Having said that, a good and subtle
magic that would eventually form the backbone				editor can lift your novel to heights that you may
of her own special brand of writing magic. On top				not be able to achieve on your own.
of this she sculpted out the entire story, planning				It is clear from the Harry Potter series that JK
the details and events of all the seven books,				Rowling was more tightly edited at the beginning
before she put pen to paper to begin writing the				(the first two novels are barely more than 200
first.				pages and by the time we get to number five,
Would you attempt to build a house without				Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we
plans? Would you attempt to drive across the				are faced with a weighty tome of over 700
country without a map? Or would you set sail on				pages) so it is generally advisable at the beginning
the seas without a compass? Writing a book				of your career to bear the advice of your editor
without a detailed planning stage is like attempting				heavily in mind, especially if you are new to
to build a house without plans. Miss this step and				publishing. In every event, less is more, and a
you are almost certainly destined to become lost				distilled and focussed book is more likely to
in a forest of your own words.				captivate and intrigue a new audience than a
Writing				meandering epic that constantly loses its way.
When you are writing, you are just writing. You				Writing a book is a process, never forget that.
are not planning, you are not editing. You are				Each step in the process is unique but necessary.
writing. Once you have planned your story, it is				Don't mix them, and certainly don't attempt to
time to sit down and write it.				skip any steps. Do that at your own peril.
JK Rowling planned the Harry Potter series for				JK Rowling has shown the world what is possible
five years before she put pen to paper on the				if you adhere to the basic processes of the art
first book She wrote the entire first book, and				and craft of writing a good story. So before you
felt as though she were "carving it out of this				attempt your next novel, address the four steps
mass of notes". All the planning was worth it. She				in the writing process: planning, writing, rewriting
was able to devote herself to the actual task of				and editing, and be sure you give each step its
writing, knowing that all the story and character				due.
elements she needed were covered.				And who knows? You could be the next JK
This is the best possible place for you to be in				Rowling.

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Are You The Next JK Rowling?