An Awful Thought

[cat_kind]

No: HPFGUIDX 117399


> catkind:
> > I'm not so sure it couldn't be done convincingly by someone else
> > though.  JKR has a very distinctive style, and distinctive 
styles 
> > are in general easy to imitate. 
> 
> 
> SSSusan:
> And here's where I just disagree, I suppose.  I think even though 
> people *can* mimic the style and [in our hypothetical scenario] 
> would have access to voluminous notes and outlines, I still think 
> there are interconnections and depths of mysteries and details of 
> character that only she knows how to bring to fruition or full 
> revelation.  I suppose if one assumes she's sketched out *all* of 
> these in notes, then finishing it out would be highly possible.  
> But, while I don't know this to be true, *I'm* going on rather the 
> opposite assumption -- that parts of it are simply still in there 
in 
> her head *only* and so we still need *her* head.  :-)


catkind:  
Makes sense. Maybe our difference is more in that I think only the 
main loose ends are important, i.e. the ones in the notes: Who kills 
who, how. Who is ESE if anyone. That's what I'd call depths of 
mysteries.

The other stuff around and about it will be doubtless brilliant and 
cool, but provided it is done convincingly it doesn't matter much to 
me what the details are. That's kind of what I'm lumping under the 
heading of style:  the colourful characters, the random cool bits of 
magic, the atmosphere, the realism or otherwise. Interconnections - 
well, maybe, but that's more economy of invention isn't it?  If one 
character will do two jobs, let them, and make sure everything comes 
up at least once in another context before it's vital to the plot. 
I'm guessing a skilled writer could snitch that as well. 

Maybe we want to invent a JKR Turing test - if, on being given the 
last book without covers, you'd believe it to be the real thing, 
then the imitators have succeeded by my measure.  And by this 
measure, I don't think it'd be impossible. Improbable, but not 
impossible.

catkind