I desperatly want to write a fantasy/adventure similar to Harry Potter, but

N

Nicolette K

New member
I can’t help copying the book? I am such a big Harry Potter fan and an even bigger fan of writing. I desperately want to write and finish a book that includes magic… I want to have it about a magical society similar to those in Harry Potter, but I keep copying the whole ‘magical young wizard goes to a school on wizardry’ idea. Any ideas on how to get out of this and how to think up something just as amazing and complex as Rowling’s books?
 
There have been plenty of books about a witch/wizard going to a magic school. It's not exactly uncommon, I even plan to write about it sometime soon. Just don't copy the things about Voldemort and all that, you know?
 
Do you realize JKR was not the first person to write about a school of magic? She wasn't, you just need to have your own ideas about what's going to happen to your characters - your characters should not mirror hers either.

Perhaps, taking a creative writing course will teach you some skills in sustaining a character through a book.

If you can not separate your prose from JKR's then write fanfic!
 
Try reading a variety of other fantasies for research. There are tons out there. Each is unique in some way. For starters, I suggest the Inkheart Trilogy, works by L.J. Smith and Cynthia Leitich Smith, and The Inheritance Series.

Nothing in the literary world is 100% unique; authors have to get inspiration from somewhere. But plagiarizing is illegal. Try mixing a whole bunch of plots/worlds/creatures together and you should come out with your own fantasy world/plot. JK Rowling made a detailed plot throughout her entire series, so if you're planning on a series, you might want to map out all the books before writing.

Good luck, and props for even trying.
 
There are dozens of books out there on the same subject, so if that's what you really want to write a book about, go for it. You don't hear about most of the others because Harry Potter is the only famous one, but just using that basic storyline isn't copying. To get something as complex as Harry Potter, you will have to do a LOT of thinking and worldbuilding, though. Keep a notebook or a folder on your computer where you fill in details about different aspects of your world, for example types of magic, government, religion, and culture. Good luck!
 
Go ahead and start writing the story on the lines of HP.Then slowly you will realise how complicated it is to produce something on such a large scale.May be you will even get bored of writing the same old thing with new names for the characters. And you might edit out the similarities and come up with new ideas.Which may be better than HP ideas....good luck . :-)
 
Spend some time brainstorming fresh ideas. Close the other author's book and don't think about it.

Some years ago, I worked for a large corporation and we were developing software to support the Japanese character set. One of our strictest rules was not to look at how anyone else was doing it because that would result in copying and probable patent infringement. I won't mention the name, but we were seriously infected with NIH (Not Invented Here), meaning that we wanted to do everything our own way.
 
Heres just a random idea....
Maybe there isn't a school but once you hit a certain age, the magical authories find you and you get assigned like a tutor or something and they take you from your family/gaudian....
and once the tutor deems you worthy you can go home...
but theres a group of rebels and they run away (im thinking that the tutors are evil or something...)
and they teach themselves magic...and take over the authorities...
 
Back
Top