My oldest daugher is absolutely obsessed with Harry Potter. She bought her ticket to the midnight showing (tonight) last week. She's planning to attend a midnight party at a local bookstore when the final book is released next weekend. She talks about the books and movies contstantly. She has grown up with the characters and I'm afraid she'll sink into a deep depression if Harry dies in this last book.
Whether you like the Harry Potter books or not, you have to admit that JK Rowling has ignited a love of reading in a generation of TV-computer-XBox kids. What an amazing impact one author has had on so many children. I'm sure she never imagined, especially after 28 rejections, that her book would inspire so many kids to rediscover reading. Her imagination is incredible and it's contagious. Her characters have become real, her settings have become real, her story has become real to so many. Basically, her story is about a kid who just wants to find his place and fit in. Of course, she's added a fantastical world filled with creatures and magic, but the story is essentially about a boy who wants to be loved. It has that universal appeal.
Rowling believed in her story. Rejection after rejection, she refused to give up. She persevered even when it seemed that no one else believed in her and that's what I've learned from JK Rowling--never give up. Believe in yourself, believe in your story. Because, when you believe, miracles happen.
6 comments:
Everyone needs to hear this kind of encouragement again and again.
Thanks!
Yes, miracles can and do happen!
Yay for them!
And I, too, love hearing about them because they give me hope. TFS Rebecca!
Thanks for your comments. I, too, love to hear the stories of people who don't give up.
I heard a statistic once that 100% of writers that don't give up get published. I that that was awesome, and from what I've seen it's very true. As writers keep writing, they get better, they grow and develop and even if it isn't their first or eighth story, they eventually get a contract.
Josi--you are absolutely right. What's that quote--"What do you call a writer that never gives up? Published." (Or something like that).
Jeff Savage wrote a great post over on Six LDS Writers and a Frog (sorry, I don't know how to link to it) about not giving up.
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