I love that you get to share it with the class!  The series is so timeless (though I simultaneously love the mention in book one about a VHS and a computer game, and thinking about kids today having to ask their parents about certain things the "muggles" in the 90s are talking about just like wizards would have to in the books. ). 

It's funny, I saw a meme yesterday that said something like-- you're supposed to be embarrassed by yourself 5 years ago; it shows that you've grown.  I read half the HP fan fic yesterday and thought, 'Wow, I used to be pretty funny.'   . I need to finish reading; it was longer than I remembered, which was a pleasant surprise that I was that far along.  The good news is I think I remember where I was going with it.  So I'm definitely going to try to see if I can draft out the rest of the story!

Haha, right?!  I love the comparison of kids today to the wizards who don't know muggle stuff LOL.  We just read about Nearly Headless Nick's 500th deathday party yesterday, where it has the cake that says he died in 1492, so I always make the kids do the math to figure out what year Chamber of Secrets takes place and then what year Harry must have been born.  Harry's turning 42 this year!

I'm glad you were pleasantly surprised by your story!  I think the whole "You're supposed to be embarrassed by yourself 5 years ago" is more true when you're younger.  If I compared my writing from when I first started to five years later, absolutely, there was huge growth, and I was embarrassed of my early stories by that point.  But if I look back on stories I wrote 5 years ago now, they really aren't much different than what I write now in terms of quality.  Not that we can't all still grow, but I think it's slower and more subtle in your 30s and beyond.  But that's good because if you were embarrassed by your story, it would be a lot harder to go back to it!  I'm glad you remember where you were going with it and are going to try to continue!

Hey! Welcome back!! I haven’t read either of those yet. Are they any good? I set my goal at 60 this year so if they were good reads I’ll have to put them on my list. I’m on book 6 of the year so far.

Hi!! That's great you're already 6 books in.  I'm trying to read 24 books this year, so I am in awe of your reading level!  The Last Train to Key West is historical fiction about a hurricane that came through the Keys back before they would've had the storm warnings like today of how bad it was going to be.  It's very character driven and an easy read.  I really enjoyed it, so I recommend it if you like that type of book.

I also like Havana so far (I'm only about 50 pages in).  After reading the other, several people told me this was her best book in their opinion.  It flips between modern day and the 50s. 

Yay!  It's been pretty dead around here for a few years now, so it's always nice when different people pop back on and liven it up again.

HP is my literary happy place as well!  I just finished reading the first book to my class before Christmas, and we're on the second one now.  They're so into it, which makes me happy.  I love introducing new generations to it (or at least getting them to read the books instead of just watching the movies).

That makes me so happy to hear you would even consider trying to revive your story!  Writing is a great distraction from work stress.  Whether you return to that story or come up with something new, I'm here for it!

I love that you get to share it with the class!  The series is so timeless (though I simultaneously love the mention in book one about a VHS and a computer game, and thinking about kids today having to ask their parents about certain things the "muggles" in the 90s are talking about just like wizards would have to in the books. ). 

It's funny, I saw a meme yesterday that said something like-- you're supposed to be embarrassed by yourself 5 years ago; it shows that you've grown.  I read half the HP fan fic yesterday and thought, 'Wow, I used to be pretty funny.'   . I need to finish reading; it was longer than I remembered, which was a pleasant surprise that I was that far along.  The good news is I think I remember where I was going with it.  So I'm definitely going to try to see if I can draft out the rest of the story!

Wow, I am amazed at the 45!  I'm currently reading Cleeton's Next Year In Havana.  I read The Last Train to Key West last year and really enjoyed it.

I'm simultaneously reading Harry Potter 1 but that's not for the first (or second... or third...) time.

Hey! Welcome back!! I haven’t read either of those yet. Are they any good? I set my goal at 60 this year so if they were good reads I’ll have to put them on my list. I’m on book 6 of the year so far.

Yay!  It's been pretty dead around here for a few years now, so it's always nice when different people pop back on and liven it up again.

HP is my literary happy place as well!  I just finished reading the first book to my class before Christmas, and we're on the second one now.  They're so into it, which makes me happy.  I love introducing new generations to it (or at least getting them to read the books instead of just watching the movies).

That makes me so happy to hear you would even consider trying to revive your story!  Writing is a great distraction from work stress.  Whether you return to that story or come up with something new, I'm here for it!

Wow, I couldn't believe it when I saw your screen name pop up on here!  Welcome back!

Harry Potter rereads are always worth it.  Any chance it will inspire you to return to Brian Potter and the Malevolent Musician?  I know it's been like a decade, but a girl can dream!

Hi!!! Thanks! I reset my password. lol. I was on briefly last year and realizing how much I missed this forum/this site.  It's a blast from the past for sure. 

Yes, I love the HP series so much.  It's my literary happy place... Aw, thank you for asking!  That feels nice that someone remembers it.  I'm looking for a writing project (I need some distraction from the stressful disaster that is work these days).  I always hated that I didn't finish.  I never wanted to be "one of those fans."  I need to reread my chapters and I'll see if I can remember where I was going with it (or come up with something new).  It might be exactly what I need right now.

Wow, I am amazed at the 45!  I'm currently reading Cleeton's Next Year In Havana.  I read The Last Train to Key West last year and really enjoyed it.

I'm simultaneously reading Harry Potter 1 but that's not for the first (or second... or third...) time.

Wow, I couldn't believe it when I saw your screen name pop up on here!  Welcome back!

Harry Potter rereads are always worth it.  Any chance it will inspire you to return to Brian Potter and the Malevolent Musician?  I know it's been like a decade, but a girl can dream!

This past year I read 45 books. This year I’m setting my reading goal for 60. We’ll see what happens. Starting today with The Paris Library.

Wow, I am amazed at the 45!  I'm currently reading Cleeton's Next Year In Havana.  I read The Last Train to Key West last year and really enjoyed it.

I'm simultaneously reading Harry Potter 1 but that's not for the first (or second... or third...) time.

There's also an interesting little discussion in the same thread about how we see our characters.  Someone called their characters "dolls" because "they dont move on their own and the only people that will understand the particularitie s of your fondness are people that play along with the fantasy u set up."  Another poster disagreed and said, "I've always thought of it more like I'm 'looking' into another universe and just nit-picking until I find the exact version I like then writing it."

Can you relate to either of these views, or do you see your characters a different way?  Does this represent the difference in thinking between plot-driven and character-driven writers?

I've never thought of my characters as dolls, per se (except for Broken Nick Doll! LOL), but I'm mostly a plot-driven writer, and that view does make sense to me.  When I was little, I loved playing with Barbies and acting out stories with them.  I didn't see it as "writing" at the time, but in a way, it was - I was coming up with stories the same way I do now; I just performed them out loud in the moment instead of putting them down on paper.  As an adult writer, I've also had that mindset of "I am the god(dess) of my fictional world, and I can make these characters do whatever I want them to do."  It doesn't always work out when what I want conflicts with what the character would actually do, but I guess that works with the doll analogy on some level, too - you can only make Barbie move so many ways.  If you try to force her to bend too far, you end up breaking her.

Just sharing this post because it made me laugh.  I was reading this Reddit thread about how to write the "in-between" stuff that comes between the major events, Point A, B, and C, and someone posted:

"I write the “in-between stuff” on acid, and the important stuff on coffee.
I’m not saying this is the right way to do things, but at least it keeps the fluff from being boring."
https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comments/s71j4z/comment/ht76tx6/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Caffeine fuels both kinds of writing for me - coffee in the morning, soda in the evening.  I've never done acid or any other illegal drug, but it does make me wonder what the hell I would come up with if I did LOL.  I came up with and wrote my first pandaskunk story under the influence of cold medicine while I was sick with the flu, and I think that story is quite clever, so you never know!