From Platform 9¾ to First Paragraph: Model Sentences from J.K. Rowling
Sentences to study and imitate from the author of The Harry Potter series and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, quotes about generational influence and producing good work, and more.
J.K. Rowling at King’s Cross Railway Station, England 1999
J.K. Rowling is to young adult fantasy as Stephen King is to horror: a master of a genre and a master of style and craft. Harry Potter is a vivid, astute, and charismatic invention of Rowling’s imagination. And, yet, as engaging and enthralling of a world as Hogwarts, it’s her meticulous attention to styling engaging and enthralling sentences that grips the reader’s imagination.
Three Questions to Ask When Studying Sentences
Use these three guiding questions to help you study the model sentences below and to write your own:
How is the sentence structured, and why does that structure work?
What literary or rhetorical devices are being used, and how do they enhance the sentence?
How does the sentence create emotion, and what techniques contribute to that effect?
Three Sentences by J.K. Rowling to Study and Imitate
Sentence #1
“Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”
Practice: Try this sentence frame using a topic from your writing.
_____ of a _____ increases/decreases _____ of the _____ itself.
Here’s an example I came up with.
Jealousy of a stranger increases jealousy of the heart itself.
Sentence #2
“To hurt is as human as to breathe.”
Practice: Try this sentence frame using a topic from your writing.
To _____ is as human as to _____.
Here’s an example I came up with.
To laugh is as human as to love.
Sentence #3
“Anyone can speak Troll. All you have to do is point and grunt.”
Practice: Try this sentence frame using a topic from your writing.
Anyone can ____. All you have to do is _____ and _____.
Here’s an example I came up with.
Anyone can change the world. All you have to do is keep a smile on your face and help strangers.
Your Turn: Use the model sentences and frames to craft your own sentences and post them in the comment section below.
Two Quotes by J.K. Rowling on generational influence and producing good work
Quote #1
“However my parents - both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing quirk that would never pay a mortgage or secure a pension.”
Journal Prompt: How have your parents and grandparents influenced or nurtured your creativity? Are you an outlier? Do you come from a family of creatives (not necessarily artists)?
Quote #2
“f you love something - and there are things that I love - you do want more and more and more of it, but that’s not the way to produce good work. So as an author, I need to write what I need to write.”
Journal Prompt: What does J.K. Rowling mean by “but that’s not the way to produce good work?” To what extent does loving something become an obstacle to the creative process?
One Cool Thing - J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement
The other side of fear is the land where all your dreams come true. The price of admission is simple yet painful: failure. The experience of trying and not achieving what your mind can see but your circumstances and other external factors won’t allow. Rowling’s speech on the importance of failure is essential listening for anyone who wishes to conquer the mountain of fear inside them.
If you prefer text, HERE is link to the text-based version of this speech.
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