Just one question for JKR...

[rj_anderson]

Digging through my archives of old posts to HP4GU, I found an interesting little tidbit:

> If you could ask [J.K. Rowling] *one* question, what would it be?

My first place question would be, "Have you ever read Dorothy Dunnett, and if so would you consider her an influence on your writing?"

The second place question would be, "Did you have Alan Rickman in the back of your mind when you created Snape?"

Of course, she would not be at all likely to answer either of those questions directly...

I'd forgotten about the Dunnett angle. But now I recall that there were two distinct things in JKR's writing that made me think there might be a real influence: the "live" chess game the Trio plays in PS/SS, especially the part where Ron sacrifices himself so the others can win; and the way JKR uses unreliable narrators and informants to skew the reader's perception, particularly with regard to characters such as Sirius and Snape.

Man, now I really want to ask JKR that question. melissa_tlc, take a note of it, will you? Just in case you do get that opportunity a few months down the road... :)

Speaking of Dunnett, I found this in another old HP4GU message of mine:

IF DOROTHY DUNNETT WROTE THE HP BOOKS...
...Harry's glasses would be bifocals.
...By four books into the series, Harry would have more scars than Mad-Eye Moody.
...Snape, driven by self-loathing at the cruelty he must show to the Gryffindors, would be taking massive doses of opium and ranting in his sleep.
and
...In the giant chess game at the end of PS, Ron would have DIED.

Opium, asphodel & wormwood, whatever...

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, LOL! Also:

...by the end of PS, you might possibly know why Harry is going to Hogwarts in the first place - but only if you're *very* observant
...as if the Gryffindor-inflicted self-loathing wasn't enough, Snape would also be tormented by his role as leader of the Slytherins
...even spells aside, maybe 70% of the books would actually be in English - not to mention quotations and obscure references
...Doris Crockford will be revealed to have had a huge role in the plot all along

:)

Natasha
http://butterbug.blogspot.com

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

...Doris Crockford will be revealed to have had a huge role in the plot all along

I suspected it all along, you know...