JKR Live Chat :Transcript of first part of chat (incomplete)

[Gaynor Thomas]

No: HPFGUIDX 14176


Here is the first part of the transcript of the JKR live chat - 
unfortunately my internet connection gave up the ghost about two 
thirds of the way through. This means there is a gap between the end 
of this and the end part that Nick posted earlier.

Also, my browser point-blank refused to allow me to cut and paste, so 
I had to type this, so I apologise in advance for any typos that have 
crept in (especially toward the end, my fingers were tired!)

As Nick said, the full transcript will be at www.bbc.co.uk/rednoseday 
sometime tomorrow, I think

Gaynor

****************************

Q What made you start writing the Harry Potter series?
JK: I had the idea on a train in 1990 and I just thought it would be 
such fun to write and it is!

Q How do you choose the names for your books?
JK: with difficulty¡KI¡¦ve changed my mind a few times
That was a problem with Goblet of Fire
Which was originally called ¡¥The Doomspell Tournament¡¦

Q How old is Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape?
JK: Dumbledore¡¦s about 150 years old
Wizards have a longer life expectancy than us Muggles
Snape¡¦s 35 or 6

Q Have you wanted to be an author from a young age or is it a recent 
decision?
JK: I¡¦ve always wanted to be a writer
As far back as I can remember
And I¡¦ve always been writing
Though had nothing published before hp

Q What¡¦s the favourite Harry Potter book that you¡¦ve written so far?
JK: Probably Goblet of Fire
Though it¡¦s very hard to choose
It¡¦s usually the book you¡¦ve done most recently.

Q Will the Weasley twins open their joke shop, where and when?
JK: come on ¡K
Do you really really think I¡¦m going to tell you that?!

Q If you could be a wizard for a day, what would you do and why?
JK: how do you know they won¡¦t die from a surfeit of Canary Creams 
before they get a change?
Oops sorry
Still answering previous question¡K.
If I were a witch for a day I¡¦d fly
And probably get revenge on a few people ļ

Q When will book 5 be released?
JK: Don¡¦t know, sorry!
It¡¦s not finished yet

Q Where did you get your inspiration for the Harry Potter series?
JK: but it won¡¦t be out to coincide with the film, so don¡¦t believe 
that rumour
I don¡¦t know where inspiration comes from, I wish I did!

Q What do you think about Tolkien¡¦s ¡§Lord of the Rings¡¨?
JK: I read it when I was about twenty I think and I liked it a lot
Though I¡¦ve never re-read it, which is revealing
(usually with my favourite books I re-read then endlessly)
but he created a whole mythology, an incredible achievement.

Q How do you choose the names for the creatures in your stories?
JK: I make up most of them
But some of them are obscure old English words I like
And merrily abuse by applying them to some horrible creature
I also get a lot of names from maps
I don¡¦t imagine I¡¦m very popular in Dursley.

Q Why did you chose the name Harry Potter and did you base the 
character on someone you know?
JK Harry is completely imaginary
I took his surname from a family I lived near when I was a child, 
just because I liked the name
And ¡¥Harry¡¦ has always been one of my favourite Christian names

Q If you could be any Harry Potter character who would it be and why?

JK: I¡¦m most like Herman, or was when I was younger, so it would 
probably have to be her, though I would most like to be like 
Dumbledore ¡V I¡¦d like his wisdom

Q Do you need a wand to do Magic??

JK: You can do unfocused and uncontrolled magic without a wand

(for instance when Harry blows up Aunt Marge)
but to do really good spells, yes you need a wand..

Q Aren¡¦t you worried people will guess the plot before you¡¦re 
finished writing the potter books?

JK: Not really, because even if they do guess it shows how much 
attention they¡¦ve given the previous books!

Q What do you think about the mass marketing of Harry Potter 
merchandise to tie in with the movie? Do you like any of it, and do 
you think it is a good idea to have a ¡¥universal Harry¡¦ image rather 
than keeping that which has become specific in different countries?

JK: Well, we always knew there would be merchandising along with the 
move and Warner Bros have given me a lot of input on it.

As for a general view of Harry, I think most people¡¦s idea of him 
comes from the different book covers
Around the world at the moment and they¡¦re not changing
We¡¦ll have to see what happen once people have seen Dan Radcliffe I 
suppose!
..

Q Is Hagrid EVER going to get cooking lessons (pref Jamie Oliver)
J: hee hee hee
No, Hagrid LIKES what he cooks
He can¡¦t see any room for improvement
He likes stoat sandwiches, bless him¡K

Q How long each week do you spend writing Harry Potter?
JK: depends
Sometimes I do ten hour days
Sometimes (like today) I don¡¦t get to do anything
I like the ten hour days best
..

Q I¡¦m 20 and think the Harry Potter books are great, what do you 
think makes them appealing to  such a wide age group?

JK: thank you Alan :)

I think (but I don¡¦t really know, because I¡¦m not good at being 
objective about my own work)
That as I wrote primarily for myself, that probably shows in the books
The sense of humour is mine, not what I think children find funny, 
for instance..

Q Does it bother you that in America they changed the names of your 
books?

JK: they changed the first title, but with my consent
To be honest, I wish I hadn¡¦t agreed now
But it was my first book, and I was so grateful that anyone was 
publishing my I wanted to keep them happy..

Q Has Harry got a middle name and if so what is it?

JK: Yes, he has
It¡¦s James of course!
..

Q What age rating is the new film, will I be able to see it (aged 8)

JK: I¡¦m not sure
O I don¡¦t think that¡¦s been decided yet

Q How did you come up with the name Quidditch?

JK: I played around with words beginning with ¡¥Q¡¦ for ages
I don¡¦t know why ¡¥Q¡¦, it was just a whim
And then I came up with Quidditch and knew it was the one

Q What address do we send letters to about Harry, like those that we 
see in the book?
JK: you send them to Bloomsbury publishers, address inside book

Q Have you ever thought about doing a completely new series of books?
JK: Let me finish this one first!
I haven¡¦t decided what I¡¦m going to do next
I¡¦ve still got three novels to go!

Q How do you feel about thousands of fans writing fanfiction and 
having them posted on the Internet?
JK: It¡¦s wonderful¡KI love writing more than almost anything in the 
world
So the idea that Harry has inspired other people to write makes me 
very happy

Q How do you cope with the aggravation from strongly religious people 
against witchcraft/

JK: well, mostly I laugh about it
I ignore it¡Kand very occasionally I get annoyed, because they have 
missed the point so spectacularly.
I think the Harry books are very moral
But some people just object to witchcraft being mentioned in a 
children¡¦s book
Unfortunately, that means we¡¦ll have to lose a lot of classic 
children¡¦s fiction

Q Does your daughter read the books before anyone else?

JK: No, thought she¡¦s pretty annoyed about that!
She¡¦s only seven and I think it would be a horrible burden on her
If I told her secrets
She already gets surrounded in the playground and interrogated!

Q Do you think Hogwarts will be doing anything for Red Nose day?! 
Will there be a spell for casting red noses on everyone!!
JK: ooooo yes I think so
And they¡¦ll probably dress up as Muggles for a day

Q What advice would you give to budding writers hoping to follow in 
your footsteps?
JK: read, read,read,read,read and then read a bit more
It¡¦s the only way to learn what makes good writing
And then practise loads and loads and loads..
And resign yourself to the fact that you will hate nine tenths of 
what you write at first¡K.
And then, one day, you¡¦ll write one page that you really like, and 
you¡¦ll go from there..

Q how carefully do you plan your books?
JK: so carefully I sometimes feel as though my brain is going to 
explode..

Q Do you have a fan club address?
JK: The best way to contact me is via Bloomsbury publishers
..

Q Do you feel the Harry Potter film will take away the imagination 
and magic from the book?
JK: Well, obviously, I hope not!
I¡¦m excited about seeing the film, but then no film could ever ruin 
my favourite books for me

Q What is your favourite book ever (not including Harry Potter)
JK: let¡¦s see¡K there are loads¡K
Probably ¡¥Emma¡¦ by Jane Austen¡K
Or ¡¥The Van¡¦ by Roddy Doyle¡K
There are so many

Q Have you ever suffered from writers block, and how did you get over 
it?
JK: I don¡¦t know whether it was really writer¡¦s block, because I was 
still having ideas
However, during the writing of Chamber of Secrets I sort of froze
It was really panic, because the first book suddenly received a lot 
of publicity
And I hadn¡¦t expected it and got into a right old state¡K

Q. Have you ever sneakily written yourself into a book??
JK: noooooooo¡K. Well, yes. Herman¡¦s based on me when I was younger
She¡¦s an exaggerated version of me
I wasn¡¦t that clever
And I don¡¦t think I was quite such a know-it-all
But I had my moments¡K

Q Why were there no pictures in your books?
JK: Actually, I drew some pictures for book one
And the publishers didn¡¦t want them
They felt that putting in pictures implied the books were for younger 
children
But I drew the pics for Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic 
Beasts, so that was fun..

Q My sisters and I go to a Welsh school and would love to read Harry 
Potter books in our own language any chance?
JK:  There¡¦s a thought!
If there are any welsh language publishers logging on, they should 
talk to Christopher Little, my agent

Q Are you going to write a cook book about all the sweets in the 
Harry potter Books?
JK: Hmmmmmm¡K probably not¡K if you read ¡¥Fantastic Beasts¡¦ you¡¦ll find =

out that a few of the ingredients would be difficult to find in 
Sainsbury¡¦s!

Q What is the approximate value of a galleon?
JK: about five pounds, though the exchange rate varies!..

Q If you could travel to Hogwarts for an hour, what would you do 
there?
JK: go straight into a certain room, mentioned in book four
Which has certain magical properties Harry hasn¡¦t discovered yet!

Q On the Hogwarts crest, there is a motto written in Latin, what does 
it stand for?
JK: it mean ¡¥never tickle a sleeping dragon¡¦
Good sound practical advice¡K

Q When did you decide there would be 7? Right from the start?

JK: yes, I always planned seven books,
One for each of Harry¡¦s years at Hogwarts

Q What is your best time of day for writing?
JK: probably evening
I¡¦m a really night owl and the best ideas come at midnight..

Q Did you have a real school in mind when you invented Hogwarts?
JK: no I¡¦ve never been anywhere like Hogwarts, if onl!
(only, I mean)
I went to a very normal Comprehensive.

Q How many rough copies do you have to do before you get it right?
JK: loads and loads and loads
The worst ever was thirteen different versions of on chapter
(chapter nine in Goblet of Fire)
I hated that chapter so much; at one point, I thought of missing it 
out altogether
And just putting in a page saying ¡¥Chapter Nine was too difficult¡¦ 
and going straight to Chapter Ten

Q My name is weird (Chesann Blampied) would you use it in a book?
JK: oh yes, Blampied is an excellent name
But would you sue me if I made you into a Slytherin?

Q Were you encouraged to write as a child?
JK: I didn¡¦t need to be encouraged, I was always writing
I think my parents thought of it as a hobby
I never told them it was all I wanted to do with my life
No pension scheme, you see!

Q You have mentioned that there are wizard schools all over the 
world. Is there any possibility that you may write about some of them?
JK: well, as you¡¦ll know if you¡¦ve read Goblet, I¡¦ve already written 
about a couple of them
But a whole series, no, ¡KI¡¦m loyal to Hogwarts!

Q If Harry Potter hadn¡¦t been such a success, what do you think you 
would be doing now?
JK: I would be teaching French to students in Edinburgh and still 
writing in my spare time

Q Are you looking forward to the film premiere?
JK I¡¦m looking forward to seeing the film, very much indeed, but I 
never look forward to anything that involves loads of cameras pointed 
in my direction
I think I¡¦ll go in disguise. Look out for the person in the purple 
turban, that¡¦ll be me¡K

Q Which character do you most enjoy writing for?
JK: Good question¡K
Gilderoy Lockhart was loads of fun, but he was a bit of a one-joke 
character, and I think I did as much as I could with him
I love writing Hagrid and the Dursleys, too
Oh, and Fred and George¡K
All of them, now I come to think of it¡K

Q. Why did you choose ¡§never tickle a sleeping dragon¡¨ as your motto?
JK: lots of schools have pointless mottos like ¡¥reach for the stars¡¦ 
or ¡¥persevere and endure¡¦
I wanted something useful¡K

Q When you originally wrote the books, did you expect them to 
interest adults as well as kids?
JK: I didn¡¦t really expect them to interest anyone much!
I didn¡¦t think I was writing anything at all commercial
And that was certainly the opinion of all the publishers who turned 
me down
-„³ I am smirking unbecomingly by the way

Q How much money does Harry have in the wizard¡¦s bank?
JK: lots
Enough for all the things he will need at Hogwarts for the next three 
years

Q I love the idea of Harry getting older, do you thin you might be 
tempted to write books about Harry when he is working and has a 
family of his own?
JK: hmmmmmm¡K yet another person who is convinced I¡¦m not going to 
kill him off!
Where you people get the idea I¡¦m soft-hearted I don¡¦t know.
I¡¦m joking
Or am I?

Q You said you started writing the first book in a coffee house in 
Edinburgh. Does that mean you keep going back there to write the 
others?
JK: Nope, can¡¦t write in there any more, sadly
Because I was an idiot and gave loads of interviews in there
So of course lots of people come looking for me
So now I write in different cafes

Q Did you read the Narnia books when you were a child?
JK: yes I did and I like them
Though all the Christian symbolism utterly escaped me
It was only when I re-read them later in life that it struck me 
forcibly¡K

Q Is there anything you regret about being an author?
JK: not about being an author, I love being an author
But I¡¦d love a few days off form being well-known sometimes
Still, that will come!

Q Is JK Rowling your real name or is it your ¡¥writes¡¦ name?
JK: my real name is Joanne Rowling
My publishers wanted another initial, so I gave myself my favourite 
grandmother¡¦s name as a middle name
¡¥Kathleen¡¦