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"No, I didn't know [that Harry Potter would be so successful]... I think it's very dangerous for a writer to start thinking in those terms." --J.K. Rowling (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I watched an interview with J.K. Rowling, and the interviewer found it hard to believe that she didn't know Harry Potter would be such a huge success.

The interviewer kept on asking how Rowling envisioned what it would be like to get famous, but she kept denying any visions of grandeur. "You are wasting your time," she said at last when asked for advice to writers who are sure they're destined for the top, "Just get on and work."

When we start writing, it's easy to imagine our stories becoming bestsellers, adapted into blockbuster movies, and gaining widespread acclaim. But fantasies don't finish drafts. The path to becoming a successful writer is paved with hard work, determination, and the willingness to face the challenges head-on.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

There's understandably a pretty big hate boner for Rowling on federated sites. The initial controversy she got into was saying that using the term "people who menstruate" as a general term instead of women was a partial erasure of women and their struggles and identity, and that there's nothing wrong with using women instead. To be fair it was in reply to an article on menstrual health. I think it's not great but it's an averagely not great comment and the lgbt+ community has a tendency to overreact and go from 0-100 (My opinion, not everyone's). Here's the initial comment which blew up, make your own opinion, do more research into what has actually been said. I just want people to be informed in whatever position they hold.

https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1269382518362509313

I think her prose is dry as shit but her world building and sense of what her audience wanted and desired at that point in history and culture were fantastic. I'm of the belief that there's nothing wrong with separating art from the artist

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The original comments have completely overshadowed what she's moved onto doing. She now openly associates with alt right assholes because they're as transphobic as her. Like she keeps digging herself deeper into this hole.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yeah you're not wrong I've had a quick look and she's pretty heated... definitely went down a twitter rabbit hole during lockdown. I can't help but wonder if she would have been less heated if she wasn't so publicly cancelled for her initial comments, not to absolve her of any responsibility for her actions. I do think she's moderately in the wrong

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

If she wasn't associating with actual Nazis now, maybe I'd have some sympathy. But her writing has always been particularly problematic (fucking house elves, retroactively trying to make the books more diverse for clout) before any of this. It really feels like this has just always been who she is. You don't get forced into associating with Nazis