This past week, my husband and kids spent two days laughing at me. Or rather, my childish delight at being in Universal’s Harry Potter Theme Park of Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and Gringotts. But they were pretty blown away by the awesomeness of the experience too.
We’re all HP fans. <3
But the thing that stuck with me the most was my husband wandering around, continually repeating how amazing it was to get to walk around in someone else’s imagination.
I can’t possibly agree more.
I wish you’d all been there with me too. Maybe we can have an SCBWI event there sometime, right??
But in the meantime, here’s a picture tour of JK Rowling’s imagination come to life…
The Hogwarts Express
Hogsmeade at night
Hogwarts!!!!
Butterbeer
Honey Dukes for Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts’ Every Flavor Beans
The Sorting Hat
Olivander’s Wand Shop…where the wand picks the Wizard.
Then…
I unexpectedly rounded a corner into Diagon Alley. My 12yo is still laughing about the squeal he heard me make before he got inside. <3
The Weasley Twin’s joke shop–Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes
And a fire breathing dragon atop of Gringotts
I applied for an account!
More butterbeer–because I could!
Even the toilets were just right!
There was also the Leaky Caldron
And Flourish & Blotts for school books too.
And there was so much more…
It’s a tiny picture , but it’s all I could upload with a panoramic.
And don’t forget the Knight Bus…
For getting around on the Muggle streets of London LOL!
And King’s Cross Station–Next time I’m going to get to go in. Platform 9 and 3/4 is on my HP Bucket list. <3
Ahhh I miss it already. I can’t wait to go back. What about you?
Have you been inside JK Rowling’s imagination? What was your favorite part? Are you planning to go? What is on top of your HP Bucket List?
Tags: butterbeer, Diagon Alley, Gringotts, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, JK Rowling, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Universal Studios, vacation, YA Author, YA Books
Comments
Sorry I’ve been off-line for the holidays. I contemplated taking the week off but decided not to, then my server was getting work done and I couldn’t get a post up. After that, I had family in, kids sick and lets just face it, I spent some extra time reading. I remember the first Christmas (1999) in my current home. My brother bought me the first Harry Potter book. I was teaching 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at the time and I kept seeing all these kids carrying around these Harry Potter books but I hadn’t actually started reading them yet. I can remember opening up the book on Christmas morning and thinking how much I love it when a gift giver knows you better than you know yourself.
I had no children at the time, so I settled into a comfy chair by the fireplace, eating clementines and reading HP1. Of course, then I had to run out to the store to grab the rest of the HP’s that were already in publication. This year, since I had sick kids on the couch for a few days, I pulled up the same chair in front of the fire, put in ear plugs and read, read, read. It was blissful. Sometimes it’s nice to be forced to slow down a little.
You can see how I got distracted from my blog, right? *grin*
But I’m back!!!! Woot!!!! And isn’t that what a new year is all about? Reflecting and making some resolutions…
Last year at this time, I was biting my nails in anticipation of 2012–the year my book would be published. I can remember my husband leaning over as the ball dropped and saying…”this is your year!” And it was. It was amazing. So many wonderful things happened to me in 2012. What am I the most grateful for? I have a huge list, but for here, I thought I’d focus on a few of my favorite things involving my publishing journey. Here’s the format: What I’m grateful for, plus a tip or two for the aspiring or newly minted author.
*The first two things I’m grateful for aren’t things–they are very special people–my agent Michelle Wolfson and my former, but always editor, Anica Rissi.
Tip: This triangular relationship is more important than any book you write. Why? Because people are always more important than things. The book will be a common ground that you all share, but books happen in peaks and valleys. One day you are at the top of the world and the very next you are old bubble gum on someone’s shoe–it’s inevitable. But, you should never be old bubble gum to your editor and agent. They should be the type of people who love you for yourself–who see all the books that live in your soul–whether you write them or not. I’m so grateful–that’s exactly what I was blessed with.
*I’m also grateful for two very amazing groups of people–my debut author siblings–The Class of 2k12 and the Apocalypsies.
Tip: Do you remember the Who’s down in Whoville and how they needed each little voice just to be heard? That’s how it works. It is hard to stand alone in a sea of books and get noticed. It was awful nice to have friends to “amplify the noise.” But more importantly, it’s just lonely being all by yourself. It was such a wonderful thing to be surrounded by friends who knew exactly what you were going through. Prior to February 2011, I spent a huge amount of time dreaming of the moment when someone would buy my book. And of course I had day dreams of covers and book signings, but I never really had a clear picture of what happens behind the scenes and neither did any of my debut author friends. Honestly, it can be very overwhelming at times. We made ourselves a support group–a kind of family. We shared the bits and pieces of the things we did know. And we worked together to figure out the rest. It helped–it helped a lot. These are the people who I cried to when things felt bad. These are the people who prevented me from doing stupid things. These are the people who laughed with me and cheered for me. I love these people and I will be friends with this amazing group of authors for the rest of my days. Don’t pass up a chance to have a group of friends like this.
*I’m really grateful for my family and friends–my community.
Tip: This isn’t really a tip–just a joyful observation. My local book launch was a huge success. I felt like a rockstar. In the middle of Hurricane Sandy, my community came out to both of my book launch events. They came and they came and they came. And what touches my heart and always will–was that they didn’t come for my book–they came for me. I could have written a huge pile of poo and they would have come and given me that moment of joy. At that point, they had no idea if I’d written anything good. They just came and with their actions they said…you are one of us and we are proud of you. I’ve since gotten lots of wonderful feedback about TOUCHING THE SURFACE. Phew–most people seem to love it. I hoped they would. I dreamed that my book could be something that they were proud to share. I cherish every text message, every FB post, every comment that I get. It means the world to me, but I’ll always know–that even if they weren’t going to like my book–they came. They came for me. Priceless.
What were some of the best moments of your 2012? Did you have a wonderful holiday? Did you know I missed you while I was reading?
Tags: Anica Rissi, Apocalypsies, Harry Potter, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Michelle Wolfson, The Class of 2k12, Touching the Surface, Wolfson Literary
Comments
Grrr! I’m not as far along with my work in progress as I imagined I’d be. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m making good headway. I’m not stalled at all, but I always have a tendency to compare myself to others, often unfavorably. So, I try to balance that insecurity with self examination. What good things do I bring to the table when I’m being me? Why do I do it the way that I do? I know I can always do it better, but sometimes I need to stop and look at what’s good about my process–as aggravating as it may be.
It seems to me that when I’m writing, the beginning is the hardest part. I know a lot of people who get an idea and ride it like a rocket from beginning to end, but it doesn’t really work that way for me. I’m more like an oyster plagued with an annoying little grain of sand. In the beginning I have a niggle of a thought and it’s usually an idea that makes me uncomfortable. It’s something that’s hard for me to look at full on. (Yeah, self-examination is kinda painful.) So…I sort of have to sneak up on that thought–because if I face it directly–it hurts me. How do I do that? By using my imagination to soften the edges. Crafting a story allows me to coat my own issues like a pearl. It lets me take something coarse and painful and turn it into something layered and beautiful. I still get to grow, but in a gentler way.
So, as I was saying, the beginning takes time for me and it’s awkward. It’s like rolling a ball of yarn. At first the shape isn’t round at all. It’s clumpy and irregular. That’s what the start of a first draft looks like for me. But as I keep trying to wrap myself around that initial thought, things take shape. Then something happens–the story begins to move without so much prodding from me. The pearl gets just enough layers to be round and smooth. The yarn takes shape and becomes a ball that rolls.
Finally–I think I’ve made it to that sweet spot. *crosses fingers* I think I just might be in that space where the story is beginning to breath on it’s own. And I know this because I felt the magic happen for the very first time. I was riding in the car on the way to pick up my son last week. I had on my GRAVITY playlist and I was just letting my mind go where it wanted to. I allowed myself to wander around and take a peek inside all the little corners and crevices in my own head. And then I found something I needed… I pulled out a beautiful, sad, haunting, moving vision that was so powerful it made me cry. And I knew that it would be in my story and then it sparked another vision and then another. And the weird thing was, I kept picturing Dumbledore from Harry Potter, as he stood in front of a Pensieve, pulling silvered thoughts out of his head and placing them into a basin where they could be better examined.
Dumbledore: “I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one’s leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form.“
Harry: “You mean… that stuff’s your thoughts?“
Dumbledore: “Certainly.“
For me, a book is a basin for what I’m thinking. It’s the place where I isolate certain thoughts, look at them a new way and see the bigger picture. It’s the place where magic happens. I don’t know any other way to get the words out. And I’m not sure I can rush it, although, that won’t stop me from trying. Perhaps I am just destined to go from pensive to pensieve.
What’s hard to accept about your writing style? And don’t be too hard on yourself because it just might be a blessing instead of a curse.
Tags: Harry Potter, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Pensieve, WIP, YA Author, YA Novel, YA Writer
Comments
Subscribe via Email
