James and I have been re-watching the entire series of Harry Potter movies. We’re on the last one! Every time I see these movies or read the books, I’m just so impressed by the genius of the mind behind them. Every element that is introduced into the books comes back again later on and generally has two purposes to the storyline. The amount of organization and brain power it takes to do that is just mind-boggling.
The characters are all extremely well-rounded and have lots of secrets and insecurities of their own. The best piece of writing advice I ever got was “screw over your characters as much as humanly possible. Just when it can’t get worse, screw them over again.” I now see what perfect advice this is. Having “screwed over” characters make them more rounded, and it changes how that character will react to certain situations. It also keeps your readers reading. Which is, of course, what you want! It creates suspense. It makes the reader yearn for catharsis. So, whenever I get stuck, I ask myself, “How can I screw them over?” It’s a bit sadistic, true, but it pushes the creative mind.
JK Rowling has done this so well with her characters. Look at Neville. He first is presented as a secondary character, but when you learn about what happened to his parents, you see that his life has been just as lonely and sad as Harry’s. We immediately want to see him succeed, which he does. He ends up proving himself to be one of the bravest and the strongest.
It’s truly inspirational work.
By Angela 