Learn How to Write a Novel by Reading Harry Potter
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Writing Related:
•When not properly set-up a plot device will feel forced and leave readers feeling unsatisfied. (Chapter Eleven Takeaway)
•When creating scenes that are meant to be emotional, make sure you time them to maximize their impact. (Chapter Twelve Takeaway)
•Building trust with your readers will allow them to look past any minor plot problems or smaller mysteries. (Chapter Twelve Takeaway)
•Authors can compress and decompress time as they need. (Chapter Fourteen Takeaway)
•There is nothing wrong with slowing down or speeding up as long as it is an intentional choice and serves the story. (Chapter Fourteen Takeaway)
•You can train your reader in how to experience the world you create and the better trained they are the more leeway it will give you later on. (Chapter Fourteen Takeaway)
•Like characters, all authors have a voice that impacts all aspects of their story. (Chapter Fourteen Takeaway)
•Best way to find your author voice is to read a lot, write a lot, and embrace your personal storytelling preferences without trying to imitate other authors. (Chapter Fourteen Takeaway)
•Chapters can be any length you need them to be. Generally the faster the pace the shorter the chapters you will want to use. (Chapter Sixteen Takeaway)
•You can use numbers or titles for the chapter headings. If you use titles, make sure they are meaningful and don’t spoil the story. (Chapter Sixteen Takeaway)
•Descriptions are more powerful when they reveal extra information. (Chapter Two Takeaway)
•Give the reader just enough description for them to understand, without overdoing it. (Chapter Seven Takeaway)
Goodbyes
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a great book to work through. Don’t hesitate to pick up your favorite novel and break it down just like we did this one. Grab some highlighters, some scrap pieces of paper, and go to town, trying to figure out what the story is and how it works.
The greatest benefit of deconstructing a book like this is that it introduces new tools that you can use in your own writing. The more tools you have the better you can adapt and manipulate your own story to tell the best version of it.
Being able to share with you my love of Harry Potter has meant the world to me. I hope this book helps you become a better author. Authors have a lot of power. They invoke emotions and can change the way people think. Please go out there and share your voice with the world.
Thank you so much for going on this journey with us.
- Clark Chamberlain
P.S. If you are looking for more help in writing your novel check out Scott’s Outline Your Novel. It uses a step-by-step approach to get an idea from concept to executable outline. It’s one of the best craft-related books on writing that I have ever read and I think you will love it.
About The Authors
SCOTT KING
Scott King, an international best selling author, was born in Washington D.C. and raised in Ocean City, Maryland. He received his undergraduate degree in film from Towson University, and his M.F.A. in film from American University.
Until moving to follow his wife's career, King worked as college professor teaching photography, digital arts, and writing related classes. He now works full time as an author.
King's non-fiction books are a way for him to get back that feeling of teaching a class, while his fiction books are his way of having fun.
To learn more about Scott and his work, visit his website at www.ScottKing.info. You can also follow him on Twitter via @ScottKing.
CLARK CHAMBERLAIN
Clark Chamberlain may not be the most interesting man in the world, but you definitely might think so after you meet him. He’s lived on two continents, fought in the Iraq war, built homes in the shadows of the Tetons, edited a thriller between live artillery fire missions, and tore his lunch cooler from the mouth of a bear.
His passions have taken him around the world and back again. Along the way he discovered his purpose in the power of story. Clark’s story expertise in fiction is evident in his books, his teaching, and his superb developmental editing, but Clark is also working in nonfiction to help people break free of the negative stories holding them back.
Books by Scott King
Non-Fiction
The Five Day Novel
Story Pitch
Outline Your Novel
Finish the Script!
Fiction
Ameriguns
Resist Them
The Wrath of Dragons
Tales of Elderealm
The Eye of Hastur
National Cthulhu Eats Spaghetti Day
The Zimmah Chronicles
Graphic Novels
DAD! A Documentary Graphic Novel
Holiday Wars
Books by Clark Chamberlian
Hank Hudson
Hank Hudson and the Anubis: An Egyptian Gods
Another Day Another Name
Loves Deception
A Bleak New World: A Dystopian Anthology