[HPforGrownups] Re: SHIP: JKR on Ginny, WAS Ginny is Mackenzie

[P. Alexis Nguyen]

No: HPFGUIDX 136891

Marianne S:

> Moreover, we agree  that HBP left more twists and turns and questions to be
> answered in the next book than any other book has thus far.
> 
> I wish people would stop harping on how bad the H/G relationship is and
> just accept it... 'cause it's what is written... and focus on the REAL unknowns...
> where/what are the horcruxes, how is Harry going to defeat Voldemort, etc.
> But, as long as people can't accept JKR's point of view and the characters and
> feelings she created, I will continue to stand up for Harry and Ginny.


First off, I do agree that HBP left a whole lot of open questions to
be explored.  It's the beginning of the end, so it should end of a
fitting note.  There are lots of questions that should be explored.  I
agree completely with those comments, but I, and many other people on
this list, will probably disagree with you on the H/G relationship and
how it was *written.*

Why do we have to accept it just because JKR said that it was good?  I
appreciate that you think that the H/G ship was written nicely.  I
respect that, but please respect me when I say that if I turned in
what JKR wrote, creative writing professors would jump over themselves
telling me just how I could improve.  Trust me since I've done
similar.  I'm not saying that JKR is a bad writer nor am I saying that
I'm as good as she.  I'm merely saying that she made a rookie mistake
in writing H/G.  You've stated your qualifications, so let me cite
mine so you can understand that we're coming from similar places. 
I've been a writer all my life; I'm a published poet and aspiring
novelist.  I work for and am friends with *published* authors of
novels, academic articles, poems, etc.  They're all accomplished and
more than half have their PhD in literature.  Many of these people are
also people with whom I talk to about Harry Potter.  ALL of us feel
that HBP was a good book, but ALL of us agree that it isn't perfect. 
My main point of contention for the book not being perfect just
happens to be *the* topic on this list (other than Snape).

To be sure, discussing how I think that JKR's writing is poor, or at
least is in regards to the relationships in HBP, does nothing to
affect JKR's books, but I don't think there's many of us here who's
going to say that we talk about the books because we think JKR will do
something about it.  People talk about things for the sake of
furthering their understanding of it and to share their viewpoints
with other people who *don't* share those views.

But that's neither here nor there.  After seeing Del being attacked, I
think I'll just back off on my H/G comments and leave them for
conversations with more tangible folks (i.e. the people I see in my
real life).  Let me get back to that initial comment about HBP and the
questions...

I don't know that I agree that HBP left more questions opened than the
other books.  I really don't.  I think that the set-up for HBP was so
finalizing that I just didn't have too many questions, or at least, I
have more *major* questions than with the other books but fewer
questions overall.  I'm sure whether it was JKR doing it consciously
or it was that I knew that HBP was the sixth and second to last book,
but I felt like the book had a very final edge to it.  Very classical
hero quest set-up, as far as I was concerned, and so classical that it
made me a touch disappointed.  I wanted Harry Potter to be more of a
coming of age story, and thus far, it has been successful in that, but
I feel like the coming of age story was less important in HBP and the
hero quest was more important.  I guess that isn't necessarily a bad
thing, but it's so...classical, which isn't much of a complaint so
much as a "I hope JKR manages to pull out a few good tricks for the
oldest story ever told" kind of wish.
:-)

~Ali