#JKR's Terrible Amatuer Writing Series

[isalisewrites]

Thank you so much for your first post tearing apart She Who Must Not Be Named 's writing, I'm noticing the flaws easier now. I can't wait for the next installment 😊

Well, that's definitely not the intent, but I do hope that writers can learn from this series. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 There's so much we can learn from JKR's writing.

[isalisewrites]

What kinds of authors do you reccomend pulling inspiration from instead?

Oh, boy. I feel quite inadequate to answer this question. I'll do my best, though.

So, I have read many of the classics in my youth. I was homeschooled for the entirety of my childhood and my mother fostered my learning by picking highly dense literature electives for me in high school. I was exposed to many of the old classics, like Great Expectations and Wuthering Heights.

While I was at a dance class, my mother would often get books from the library that also had their tapes available. (Yup, cassette tapes, not CDs.) At around age 10 to 12, my mother brought home Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in book and cassette tape format. From there, I would read along as I listened to Jim Dale's voice draw me into a world that I'd never truly leave.

Harry Potter would not be the only books I'd read like this. I was exposed to many authors. So many, I can't remember most of them.

I think to fully answer your question, Anon, you should pull inspiration and learning from ALL writers. Yes, even JKR. If you only learned from "master" writers (and I don't think any writer is, myself included), how will you learn to recognize your own weaknesses in your writing?

When I first discovered fanfiction, I devoured tons of stories. I read everything. I wasn't picky. I read poorly written stories and well written stories. Within a short amount of time of only reading, my writing style drastically shifted into the beginnings of what it would be today. I improved immensely. Even now, it's constantly evolving. I look back on TBG chapters I posted from last year and see prose I'd fix or alter.

Read from everyone. Read the novels that are considered "trashy" on BookTok. Read the poorly written books. Read the stunning written books. Read the books with good writing, but terrible plot/characters. Read the books with poor writing, but beautiful plot/characters. Read the popular books. Read the obscure books. Read different genres, if you can handle it. Read all the books. Read fanfiction, too. The more exposure you have to all kinds of writers, the better a writer you will become. This isn't a new concept, either. I'm simply parroting what Steven King has said before.

When you're able to see the strengths and weaknesses of other writers and learn how to evolve your own writing style from your studies, you will grow faster than you realize. No writer is perfect. I'm not perfect. It's taken me two decades to lift my chin and have the confidence to say, "I'm a damn good writer," but I'm not perfect. I know where my strengths are and I know where my weaknesses are, but I am constantly reading and studying to improve my writing. I am always actively working on my craft.

Most of these writing help books are 2 decades old. I've read them all multiple times throughout my life. This is only a third of what I own on the topic of writing, too. I highly recommend all of these books, especially Beginnings, Middles & Ends.

In my series about analyzing JKR's writing, my goal is to help writers learn to see the strengths and weaknesses in someone else's writing. This skill will carry over to other authors and to your own writing. The reality is you do not have to be a marvelously skilled writer to make it big in the publishing world. Many traditionally published books prove this.

That's not really my purpose here. I simply have a passionate love for the craft of writing and storytelling. This is one way that I can share that with others.