J.K. Rowling

If you have not read Harry Potter, then I hope you have at least seen the movies. To really like Harry Potter, you have to have a deep appreciation for the story behind it. Everyone's lives are so interwoven, calculated down to the very last minute their life began. Rowling has an uncanny for understanding how ones childhood traumas affect their lives as adults, how love and hate and jealousy can shape a person over a number of years. How want and power change us, how sacrifice can bring about change years later. How forgiveness and understanding can help a community fight. How trust is won and broken. Her stories are beautiful and her characters carry their own weight throughout seven years.

I first picked up Harry Potter on a whim in 6th grade. I didn't know much about it at the time, but it was new to the book world and I thought I'd give it a go, see how I liked it. There were no real expectations. A rarity with me and books. I LOVED every word. Rowling bring you into a world that is so unlike any other fantasy world out their. It's practically tangible. It makes you wonder about the secret lives people around you might be leading. The things we've seen and shaken out heads about while saying, "I'm seeing things. Time to take a nap." Her world is as real as your own two hands, and she makes you yearn for her characters happiness and the fulfilment of their goals like they were your own best friends. Her antagonists are just as real as the heroes. And she makes you wonder about them and their stories; about what decisions they made that brought them to where they are.

Research and meticulous notes. Not something you really think about when writing fiction, but when your story spans across thousands of years and involves over 200 characters, research and meticulous notes are a writers best friend. Names in J.K Rowling may pop up in books 1 and 2, but not make another appearance until books 5 and 6. A fight talked about between two characters might not be divulged in detail until the last book in the series. A professors seemingly unfounded hatred of a young boy may not be discussed until he is on his deathbed. Rowling sometimes leaves us confused and angry, but never without reason. Things take time, and Rowling is a master at commanding it. She tells us things when they make sense for the character to know them, and for her readers to better understand them. Everyone and everything has a purpose. There are no accidents when developing such an intricate story line.

I'd write more, but I could prattle on about Harry Potter all day. I highly suggeest you read her work, or at least see the movies. They are worth it.