HJ1 - Discussion Topic Options

[evlpez]

After a much-too-long hiatus, Journey to Hogwarts is back! The Mods and Admins (StarWalker, Zymurgy, Evlpez, and Agrippa) have been working to build some guidelines for making this Project Ferret's first novel. We wanted to let you know what we've done and why, as well as invite you to participate in finishing this project, preferably before Half-Blood Prince is published and JK kills off someone we've made a major character.

Our goals in this re-structuring were as follows:

1. To focus the story on a handful of major characters and specifically on James as the protagonist. We felt that the number of characters was getting positively overwhelming. However, realizing that there are some great characters here, we have also planned this to be a seven-book series, with each book focusing on a different character.

2. To re-write Duke's character so that he's not a Malfoy clone. To do this, we played up Duke's muggle roots, made him more of a victim than a bully, and stripped him of his gang of thugs. We think you'll find him much more believable and interesting this way.

3. To write a backstory foundation for the novel to rest on. There's probably more backstory in this re-structuring than we'll ever need; but we hope it will help propell us through possibly seven novels. We've done detailed character sketches of all of the major players, written backstory on the villians, and done a full calendar.

4.To make sure our eleven-year-old wizards talk like eleven-year-old wizards and perform the kind of magic eleven-year-old wizards can do.

5. To cut down on the number of characters related to a canon character. Since we're writing a "next generation" story, some relatives are bound to crop up. But it seemed like everyone we met was related to some one we knew. Many of those relationships have been purned back.

6. To write a complete outline of the plot so that the story has direction. Like the missions for a duel, we have to have direction or we go nowhere fast.

Everything that was written previously has now been edited to fit the new plot outline. Here's what you can do to get involved.

1. Read the new plot outline, backstory, and character profiles. These will give you an idea of where the story is headed and hopefully get you excited to write.

2. Read the edited "story so far". This will help you get an idea of the style of writing we're trying to achieve.

3. Jump in! Please don't be afraid to write or comment on anything that's been done. We've been working on this for a long time, and we're excited to hear all of your comments and ideas.

We look forward to writing with you as we finish Hogwarts Journeys I: My Name is James. (That's the new title.)

[cherabela]

I have finally read the Plot Outline and the edited story and I think it's brilliant!!

Just one thought, the Quidditch season hasn't started in the story yet, while it is supposed to have started already. Maybe one of the Quidditch matches could take place on Halloween seeing how not much happened, but, if you still want to have Philip "ignorant" and to have never seen a Quidditch match, perhaps it could be interrupted(or is thta too much COS-like), because they can't find Lockhart anywhere. And maybe they find him in the Forbidden Forest in the end.

Oh and just a little bit about the scene where the adults are stuck in the Great Hall(which is a really ingenious idea), maybe the students could try to send owls, before thinking of the kitchen-solution, but of course the owls can't enter, because the blocking charm works on the windows too. This isn't really important, but sometimes while reading you get these ideas like, "Why didn't they try this or that?" so if in future, other people are going to read this, putting that idea as an impossible-solution would help to clarify some stuff. :/

To be honest, I thought it more fitting if Jacobson were sent to Azkaban. That would also blow his cover on the story which Gerry was telling James back at the World Cup. Personally, I don't think Lockhart is capable of doing something really bad like that, unless Jacobson was perhaps using the Imperius Curse on him.

This is just my idea. I don't want to seem like I'm ruining the plot or anything because it's absolutely amazing and I know how much you all must have worked hard to get it all set.


And by the way, I was teaming with Italy throughout the whole Quidditch Match.