Since the highly-anticipated eighth installment of the Harry Potter film franchise is set to be released tomorrow, I thought I would continue with another Potter-related post, this time focusing on my all-time hero: J.K. Rowling.  As you all well know, Joanne Kathleen Rowling is the celebrated author of the Harry Potter series, but her success has not come without struggle.  I think why I admire her so much is that, apart from her talented mind and writing skills, she came from nothing and built herself up although she had to get past many hurdles.

Rowling was a single mother commuting everyday from England to Scotland in order to support herself and her daughter.  She was basically dirt poor because, as she has said, she used to live in a tiny apartment that had no heat, and in all honesty was abysmal.  She was simply trying to make ends meet.  While on the train one day during her commute, the idea for Harry Potter popped into her head, and when she got home she began working on it.  She used to bring her daughter to the coffee shop (which I have actually visited) with her while she wrote the book, but at the time she did not envision it being a big success.  She thoroughly believed that she would have a small fan-base, but that would be the extent of it.  She was even turned down by many publishing agencies, but that didn't stop her.  She fought to get Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone published in England, and she finally did.  As the series became bigger and bigger, she eventually became wealthier than the Queen of England and now lives a humble life with her husband and children in a secluded town.  

I consider myself to be a writer, and I have no bigger ambition in life than to write a book and have it actually be published and gain a fan following.  J.K. Rowling is the biggest influence I have because of the way she has honed her craft and created such a miraculous work of art.  What astounds me the most is her level of research she put into writing the books, as well as the amount of backstory she came up with.  Before she even began writing the first novel she had already made a rough outline of the plot for each of the seven novels, and what key plot elements she had to have in each (Tom Riddle's diary in the Chamber of Secrets for instance).  She literally has boxes and boxes stored in a vault that contain backstory on every character in the books and all of her own magic lore that she has created.  Other than someone like J.R.R. Tolkien or maybe C.S. Lewis, I don't think that many authors do this nowadays, and that is something that I find highly respectable about Rowling. 

Something else that I find astounding about her is that she never lost her touch and got lazy with the books.  Her heart and soul were poured into every single letter that she laid down on the page and she was committed to it all.  There are writers nowadays who are churning out books just to make money *cough*John Grisham*cough*, and there are others who, when they are writing a series, they forget their own details and manipulate the plot to meet their own needs.  J.K. Rowling never resorted to this because she is dedicated to her craft.  If every writer was this dedicated then I think the world of writing would be incredible.

J.K. Rowling is a writer like none other, and she really is my all-time hero.  She is everything I aspire to be, and I only hope that she continues writing great novels.  When I become an English teacher I am going to make every effort to teach Harry Potter in my classes because I think it is something that transcends generations and can be applicable to anything.  J.K. Rowling is my inspiration.