Smashing the Wall of Writer's Block...

Warning- another Harry Potter review (I promise I'll tie it all in. You'll see.)


Last Wednesday was the official release of the newest Harry Potter movie in my hometown. You might be asking yourself what the heck does that have to do with paranormal writing, alot. I'm a big fan of Harry. Along with my kids, we have read all the books, watched the movies, and yes (sigh) bought the t-shirt. So, after work, I cooked supper and then we all piled in the car and headed out to the Dixie Theatre (another historic place in Haleyville, AL).

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the book, major changes are in store for Harry. More sneak peeks into his parent's deaths, Dumbledore actually enlists his help in the hunt for horcruxes instead of shielding him as he had in the previous five books, and lastly but certainly not least, is Harry's new romance with Ginny Weasley. The intricate details and clues strewn throughout tie up loose ends from 1-5, as well as leaving a few strands for book seven.

The movie was something we had looked forward too, well, since the last one (Which left me hoping the directors would split Half-Blood into two movies, because so much was left out of Order of the Phoenix that unless you read the book, you left the theater a little lost.) Again, we were dissapointed. Don't get me wrong, the book is awesome, its just the inconsistencies as well as huge time gaps (aka. December then Spring with no bridge between) throughout the movie made it hard for you to keep up. This may have been equipment failure where we were, but instead of a seemless scene change, the cuts were so definent the flow was lost.

But...all the actors played their relative parts as though this was who they were. I cried with Hermione, wanted to smack Ron a time or two and awed at Dumbledore's fire dragon. I cheered Ginny on when she ran through the fire to save Harry. And here is what this has to do with writing.

I wondered, if this movie were all you read in the book, what would you have? How can I apply the faults I see on screen to my writing. I've begun to notice those cut scenes, lost words and time, and lack of the awesome, more easily in my older works. Such glaring errors take away the magic of the page. So, what smashes your writer's block? Walking away from the wip for a day. Learning from the creativity of others.

Beth