I'm going to admit something and there shouldn't be any judgement, because chances are if you're a pretty good reader then you're going to agree with me. I have a major woman crush on J.K. Rowling. There, I said it. Proud of me? Now who agrees?
In my opinion, she is one of the greatest writers to come out of the 20th century. Obviously, when you hear J.K. Rowling, you think Harry Potter, but after the series concluded in 2007, Rowling continued writing and now has 15 fictional works (with more to come of course) and several nonfiction forewords and magazine articles.
But, what about Rowling is so fantastic? To me, it's not only the stories in her writing, but her personal story as well. While, writing Harry Potter, Rowling has made it clear that she had entered into one of the lowest periods of her life. She was a poor mother, recently divorced, and suffering from clinical depression. Much of the losses felt by the characters in Harry Potter were mirroring the pain Rowling was going through herself during that time. In addition to this, when Rowling finally finished the first installment of the Harry Potter series, she submitted it to twelve different publishers all of which rejected her manuscript. This, to me, is an important piece of information for budding writers to grasp onto. Rejection is heartbreaking, but there is much to be said about holding on to the belief in yourself and your work. That belief is enough of a push to move any writer's career in the direction that it needs to go, even if it's simply to continue on writing.
Rowling also inspires me with her ability to create characters that are so realistic, I begin to develop feelings about their actions and decisions similar to feelings I get when a friend lies to me, or I have a fight with my parents. Watching the characters of Harry Potter grow and develop from adolescents into adults was like having a friend from grade school to college, maturing both physically and emotionally together. This is a true art form that I find hard to come by. That alone has only deepened my appreciation for her writing talents, and inspired me to create my own characters in my head that people will love, hate, be jealous of, laugh at, and cry over (and yes that was a hint that within the next decade I'd like to have a best seller on the stands, keep a lookout folks).
Lastly, I admire Rowling's ability to write for a wide variety of genres, and not get stuck labeled as a "thriller author" or "romance novelist". Yes, Harry Potter could be considered a fantasy novel, but it also has romance, mystery, thriller, and coming-of-age elements to it, making it a story that can appeal to any age, and both males and females.
Recently, Rowling has also written a series of novels under the pseudonym "Robert Galbriath". Her reasoning for doing this was her yearning for a honest critical response to the new "Cormoran Strike" mystery series. The pseudonym worked in the beginning, and the first book in the series had relatively good critical response. However, it was soon leaked that Rowling was the true author of the novel, and the books began flying off the shelves. I applaud Rowling's wish to step away from the Harry Potter limelight, and try to get a true unbiased response to any new works that she created.
Overall, I admire Rowling not just for her writing styles, but for the way in which she climbed to fame. I hope to continue to learn to use my life experiences to appeal to my readers and create significant themes that are relatable. Rowling helped to shape my childhood, and taught me things about friendship, family, and love that I desire to apply to my own writings, and hopefully can share with others in a meaningful fashion.
