J.K. Rowling says this is the Harry Potter chapter that she rewrote over and over
Believe it or not, J.K. Rowling didn’t write all seven Harry Potter books with an effortless wave of a wand. On Thursday, May 24th, the author revealed on Twitter that there was one chapter in particular that “nearly finished” her.
The Harry Potter mastermind shared this tidbit after sending out an encouraging string of tweets to fans. This chapter, which Rowling says she “rewrote more times than [she] can now remember,” is chapter 9 from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Given its action-packed contents, it’s no surprise that this was a beast of a chapter for Rowling to get through.
As a refresher, Harry and co. had just arrived at the Quidditch World Cup. This is the part of the story where the Death Eaters swoop into the campsite and launch an attack on everyone in the area (Muggles included). These events give Harry some perspective on how things went down during the first wizarding war and provide readers with major foreshadowing of what’s to come. Needless to say, it was an important chapter to get right.
Rowling shared this information with a fan who asked about her writing process. She offered that writer’s block is totally normal, and revealed her struggle with finishing Chapter 9.
“Chapter 9, Goblet of Fire nearly finished me. I rewrote it more times than I can now remember,” Rowling tweeted. “You’ll get there.”
Upon rereading, the best I can say about today's writing is that I got my second best Tetris score.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 24, 2018
I have been writing like that for a week….I think I have re-written a single chapter 40 times because I can't get it right…how do you get passed that? https://t.co/S4W58X0dSX
— Lirit (@Lirit_Writes) May 24, 2018
Chapter 9, Goblet of Fire nearly finished me. I rewrote it more times than I can now remember. You'll get there. https://t.co/5Y5I4hRSDi
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 24, 2018
Rowling’s followers took comfort in the fact that she, too, sometimes struggles to put pen to paper.
On tough days at work ill remind myself of the bandwidth it took to write the entire HP series, and that you did it flawlessly! Thank you 🏆🔥
— Alex Hodges (@AlexHodges) May 24, 2018
Certainly not flawlessly, but I did it. Never wait in expectation of perfection or you'll wait forever. Do the best you can with what you've got and be one of those who dared rather than those who merely dream. And thank you x https://t.co/Y1beuWwO4N
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 24, 2018
With that, both writers and non-writers can certainly breathe a sigh of relief. If Rowling, one of the best authors of her time, even struggled to create her most iconic body of work, then most everyone can walk away from this feeling more motivated to continue.
Not to sound cliché, but the saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” rings so true here. Patience is key and learning to trust the process is one of the best ways to stay positive. Thanks for the pep talk, Jo.
