Potter Plotter Catching Fire

I have finished reading Catching Fire By Suzanne Collins, the second book in the Hunger Games Series. It was good!I really hated how unfair things turned out for Katiness and Peeta, so in hopes of a HAPPY ending I will read the final book in October when I can get it for FREE from the kindle lending library!


Now this brings me to a topic that is really a pet peeve of mine. I love series books. I truly do when they are done WELL. By "done well" I mean that each book contributes to OVERALL theme of the plot. A good example is the Harry Potter books. Yes they had heaps of stuff going on in each book, enough to make a tangled mess in the heads of the readers, but the overall goal of the stories was the Harry- Voldermort show down. Good vs. Evil. Even in the very first book you get a taste of it even though Harry was so young and Voldermort basicly a vapor. This theme continues in each book building a bit each time. The danger builds and the lure of even MORE secrets keeps the pages turning. Until the final book when the writer's job is to pull all those plot strings she or he has woven through many books to make one beautiful tapestry.

Now that is HOW it is supposed to go. And most writers somehow miss out on that idea and may have a bit of ADD because most book series are scattered and the only linking factor in between the books are the characters themselves. To me sometimes that is not enough. I need not only to be hooked on the charcters but also the story itself.

The first book in a series should be an introduction book. Kinda like a first date. Full of inforamtion and plot and of course lots and lots of narritive to set up the rest of the series. It's not an easy task to make sure the book is like a guide to the characters. After reading the first Harry Potter book you knew Harry's strong points and his weaknesses. It's is true he may have developed a few more of each as the story progressed; In this way the PLOT was supported for the series end game.

I could go on for days on this topic. Seriously. I hate it when the author drops the ball so to speak. To avoid this plan out your books in advance! Don't fly the seat of your pants. What is the overall ending you are wanting to achieve? What must happen in the story support this? Write all of this down and look at it often!! Sometimes I know we can get caught up by writing alone. It's just you and the keyboard. Your in chin deep before you realise you missed an important point that needed to be included. That means re-writes. Ugh. Or if your not so picky a crapy book. Nobody wants a crapy book.

I used index cards for my plot line. In chapter I this needs to happen.... Chapter II they discover...

It keeps ME FOCUSED and helps me remember my overall goals. It's like a map. Follow your map of index cards and you can't get lost!

Is Harry Potter Christ?

The books are completed, all seven Harry Potter's are done. The movies are close to being completed as well. Now rewind in your minds to back when Harry Potter was first being noticed by kids of all ages and the churches and of course religious scholars. Do you remember the book burnings that were held for the Potter books? Do you remember all the slander of the books by Conservative Christan's saying that the books promoted witchcraft and Satan? I remember schools banning the books from their libraries and parents having fits over the Scar Boy.

Now those same people who condemned the books a "EVIL" and a strike against all that is good in the world are saying that the Harry Potter series are not all that bad. That the books follow the gospels. They see that Dumbledore (even though he is gay in the series) and Harry are versions of Christ because they face a death experience and then they are reborn in a fashion. That makes Malfoy and Snape the Judases. The the wands in the book represent God, the Father, the Sorcerer's Stone represents the the Son because it stands for resurrection and Harry's invisibility cloak stands for the Holy Ghost. I know, I said "WTF?" too when I heard about this.

Quite a few Conservative Christan's and religious scholars have changed their tune since the book series was completed. To me I never saw these books as bad or evil in any fashion. They got kids into reading when otherwise they might have picked up a video game instead.

Of course kids are going to be interested in anything that is considered taboo. I remember when I was in the sixth grade listening to my grandfather telling stories about a neighbor of theirs several years past that had some odd habits that tagged her as a witch in the community (Ok, being able to change form into a goat kinda of does label one as a witch of some sort).I remember being fascinated with the tale, I begged my dad to take me to the house where she lived at down on the creek, I even went to the local library to look up as much information as I could on the witch trails and witches in general. I was hooked. I still am.

I don't see any harm in letting kids know that there is magic out there. Everyday is magical from the beauty of a Morning Glory blooming to a rainbow gracing the sky after a rain shower, to getting all green lights on the way home. The magic may not come from a wand with a strand of unicorn hair as it's core, but it is wondrous all the same.

These Christan Conservatives and religious scholars are just now realizing that the Harry Potter series are not that naughty and that they are indeed a blessing in a way because they got children interested in books and perhaps that these books got kids into reading when otherwise they would not have ever picked up a book willingly. For me these books not not only boosted literacy they boosted the publishing industry. Hey, they had to PURCHASE those books they burned. Of course the Harry Potter series is not so bad.

*this post is based on the NPR (National Public Radio) transcript, the orginal peice aired August 22, 2009. If you would like to read the transcript please go to this website:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112141959&ft=1&f=1032

Harry Potter's Vincent Crabbe Charged

I know I said that I would post on Monday, which was yesterday, but I got caught up in doing mundane household chores. Thrilling, huh? I wish I could say that something super awesome happened, but the most exciting thing that happened was me catching up on some laundry. If your wondering how my boys oral surgery went, it went well! I was not completely thrilled with the care they received afterwards, but we made it through it.




A special Shout Out to Deana! Happy Birthday



Now on to some interesting stuff. The actor Jamie Waylett who plays Vincent Crabbe in the Harry Potter Films was sentenced to 120 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty to drug charges. What drug charges you say, well he was caught growing 10 marijuana plants at his mother's England residence. When did this happen? He was actually in court on July 7, 2009. He got off with a lesser sentence because the judge saw it as "small scale", and he was also dubbed to be of "good character". All I have to say is whatever!

I know that here in the states if I was caught growing 10 pot plants I'm sure that I would be stuck with the worst punishment the law could give. I would most likely be charged with the intent to sell, which would make my sentencing even more rigid. Why is it that the celebrities always seem to get off easy? I'm sure that the judge was not not thinking about Jamie Waylett being in the Harry Potter films at all. I'm sure in London all kinds of people get off with the most basic of sentences for growing pot. I mean it is kind of on the same side of earth as Amsterdam.

My question to you, does this change your view of the Cast of the Harry Potter films? Will you watch the next installment of the movies after this? I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Leave a comment please.

I'm a bit tired of the Harry Potter stuff. For years all we have heard about is Harry Potter. At first I was kind of excited, now I'm more like, "Oh, there's another Potter film." That's about the extent of it for me. That boat has sailed for me. I am hungry for something new that will blow me away. How about you?