Intimidated

The final Harry Potter movie debuts at midnight here in the Colonies. As a build up to the event there have been Harry Potter movie marathons on cable television, and the Biography channel is replaying its making-of series.

It was while I was viewing the efforts to create the world of Harry Potter for the big screen that I became depressed with my current novel-in-progress and intimidated by the touchstone YA fantasy series.

The various directors and producers discussed the search for young actors to play the main characters, the difficulty in locating suitable locations and building detailed sets, and the development of believable creatures by combining animatronics with CGI. All of it done to leap from two-dimensional pages into a three-dimensional world of sights and sounds that transport us to the world of Jo Rowling's creation.

My novel-in-progress is a thin broth compared to Rowling's hearty stew.

I'm still drafting the Set Up section of The Curse of the Blood Stone. I may as well quit while I'm behind. In no way have I established a story world comparable to that of Rowling's.

Yet....

My writing has always been the reverse of peeling an onion. Like blocking a stage play early during the rehearsal process. I have a theme in mind, a protagonist with supporting characters, and settings. I've started moving my characters through the settings and given them dialogue. If I slog on to complete my first draft I will have a framework on which to build the story world that exists in my mind.

After all -- every stew begins with a broth.

And every writer tells her (or his) story in her own way.