"Harry Potter"- Yay or Nay?
Millions of people are huge fans of this fantasy series that showcases the life of the brave wizard, Harry Potter. But there are still many who aren't fans. They read the first three pages and are immediately uninterested. But is that because they don't like fantasy or because the first few chapters are sorta kinda boring?
Well, here's my take on it. When you are an interested and determined reader, you know in the back of your mind that there may be some not-so-intriguing patches in the story, so you continue pushing on. But readers who may not be as set on their choice of book may not be as strong in that field. This is why the beginning of your story have to have a hook, as I like to call it. It draws readers who may not be so sure about their decision in, and keeps the fascinated readers, well, fascinated. It sets the stage for your whole story, and has a HUGE impact on the readers' opinion about the book. But this is where I think J.K. Rowling dropped the ball.
Now, don't get me wrong, I have lots of respect for someone who can make a idea into an empire like this author did, but beginnings just may not be her strong suit. It's disappointing, considering how incredible the writing and the story gets later on in the book and series, and she lost a lot of audience from that. I have spoke to multiple people that have said that they never went past the first three chapters because it just wasn't interesting enough. But how could she have changed that?
I know that I should probably have a better idea since I am critiquing such incredible work like this, but I only have a small thought. Maybe she could have used some sort of flashback, maybe even from the epilogue at the end of book seven. Now I know that she probably couldn't even imagine what the end of that last book in the series was going to be like when he was just starting the first one, but, then again, I am just spitting ou ideas here. I think that some sort of flashback could really work in this situation because it has such an interesting way of throwing itself at the reader and pulling them into the story.
J.K. Rowling: if you are out there, maybe releasing an alternate beginning would be interesting?
If anyone has a different idea that they would like to share, leave it in the comments or message me to let me know! Give me your thoughts on the topic and maybe I could add on to this post and share some of your thoughts!
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-TheBookWorm
