Revealing the plot ( was Re: Time travel with Mirror of Erised. )

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 120661


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214" 
<dumbledore11214 at y...> wrote:

Alla:
> 
> Good point, Geoff, but let me ask you a little bit more general 
> question.
> 
> Do you believe that Harry is going to be time traveling to ... 
> somewhere? Do you think that JKR answered "Not telling" to the 
> question "Whether Harry will be time travelling again" for a reason 
> or she was just having fun?

Geoff:

Having sent off message 120658, I then considered your sentence above 
while walking the dogs on a brilliantly sunny but chilly Exmoor (just 
to make you envious?) :-)

I think that one of the reasons JKR is often quite cagey and cryptic 
when answering questions is not so much having fun but the fact that 
if she gives a direct "yes" or "no", it reveals the plot to an 
extent. It's probably more enjoyable for the reader if the plot 
developments come as something of a surprise; you are not thinking 
along the lines of "Well, that's not going to happen because she said 
it wouldn't."

As an example, one of the most satisfying surprises for me on a first 
reading of a book was to discover in POA that Sirius Black was 
a "goodie" after the careful construction of events to make us think 
he was the opposite. It's that sort of thing which I appreciate - the 
unexpected....