[HPforGrownups] Re: Dumbledore and the 'rules' of fiction

[Peg Kerr]

No: HPFGUIDX 1176



Neil Ward wrote:

Good for them.  They should get a Nobel prize if they can define "how

> fiction works". In my opinion, fiction is about imagination and there should
> be no rule book.

Well, it's fun to try to do new things, but readers like the tried and true, too.
Heros win.  Villains are defeated.  Characters are most interesting when they face
moral dilemmas and change.  And it's a lot easier for the writer if they have some
idea of what to do, rather than putting words down on the page at random.

BTW, has anyone here read John Gardner's _On Moral Fiction_?

> Why not break moulds and challenge conventions?  I do agree
> that there has to be some integrity to the characters and plot, however, and
> that we have to trust the portrayal of Harry Potter at least.  With the
> other characters there are most likely secrets to be unearthed: some good,
> some bad.
>

No disagreement there.

Why does everyone keep mentioning "Lord of the Rings"?  JK Rowling has said

> herself that she was not much of a reader of fantasy, so there is no reason
> to assume that LOTR was a major influence [correct me if I'm wrong] any more
> than there is to assume she has followed a 'how to write fantasy and these
> are the rules' guide book.

Because LOTR is THE seminal fantasy book that was ever written; it is, in fact, the
book the started "Fantasy" as a separate marketing genre.  And so many fantasy
books get compared to it.  (Haven't you ever seen those stupid publishing blurbs on
fantasy novels: "In the tradition of Lord of the Rings," etc.)

Tolkien was especially good at world-building, which I think is a strong talent of
Rowling's, too, which is probably another reason for the comparison.  In addition,
both books are about the struggle of good vs. evil.  Yeah, yeah, lots of books
are--but maybe fantasy is a lot more specific/explicit about it, and I won't go
into my standard riff here about the nature of fantasy.  And, as someone else
pointed out, there are echos between the two books ("The pity of Bilbo may rule the
fate of many") and certain characters (Wormtongue/Wormtail).

Peg