Writing style and structure of DH

[Fenix]

hey people...i just we feel we are over analysing...
the fact is that we, die hard fans, always want some more...we want to know what dudley saw becoz of the dementors back in OotP and more things...
i think that Jo did not rushed, we did. we read the book so fast because we just wanted to know what whas going to happen...
i loved the book, i loved the epilogue too...it all fits...it is not a love story, it is harry potter´s story..at he beginning we were not told what happened to luna, nor the other...just harry...and that way ended...just harry saying goodbye to his sons in their first day at hogwarts...
it is so obvious that we are going to analyse every nook and cranie out of this book because it is the last one...

and as far as the writing concerns, i never expected Jo to pull a Shakespeare in this last book...we have to remember..it is a book aimed at young people...no high literacy members of the Nobel Prize Association

and after all...Jo said it herself..the book will not please everyone...and that some will absolutely loathe it...so there you go

[Chosenoneknux]

Originally Posted by Fenix

we want to know what dudley saw becoz of the dementors back in OotP

If you read the Dursleys Leaving chapter again, it's rather obvious to tell what Dudley saw that night through what he says.

[Fenix]

Originally Posted by ehemisgod

fair point... god, it just seems so rushed... and part of me is like why bother putting the Deathly Hallows in at all, we already had Horcruxes, and Voldemorte himself and Snape, and the Malfoys, and Bellatrix and Werewolves and Giants and Dementors and god knows what else to deal with - just seems kind of pointless... would rather of had more time on the storylines we already had

she introduced the hallows so as to explain the elder wand thing and so on

[Chupacabra]

yeah it didnt have that smooth feel to it that the other books had. it just jumped from one thing to another without any transition really. and then the ending just suddenly happened and we really didnt find out what happened afterwards. a funeral scene could have put some more feeling into the deaths and more character development would have been nice(malfoy never really did anything to make up for all the **** he did).

[wickedwickedboy]

Meh, I agree with who ever said they went into the book with low expectations as far as the writing was concerned. I was all about the story.

However, even unconcerned about grammatical issues, I was still completely taken aback at some junctures by the storyline. What was rushed to me was the "in and outs" involving the characters. Dudley, Kretcher, Snape, Remus, Harry, Ron, Bella, Mrs. Weasley and a few others, had these tremendous moments where they seemed WAY out of character. They all fell back into character afterward, but the rush of change back and forth left you creating many of the "in betweens" that had made the characters act the way they had.

When she accelerated time, I for one WAS wondering what the order was doing, what Remus was doing, what the Ministry was doing, what the Weasley family was doing (with their son running off).

I too would have liked a few 100 more pages to better explain things along the way so you didn't have to stop and figure them out for yourself. I could do it, it was just a pain in the old rumpus after a while.

The epilogue was all right, but totally lacking. And of course I felt like she slapped me in the face when I read the name "albus-severus". THAT required a lot of explanation in my book, I still don't understand it. So yes, more information would have been nice.

The plot was cool over all though. But would have been better if I hadn't had to write a good portion of the story myself along the way, lol.

[Hysteria]

General continuity errors, especially with travel. This has been a huge problem throughout the books. What is the point of Broomsticks/Thestrals/Flu/Portkeys if we have Side-Along Apparition? Couldn't they track Harry's Apparition leaving Privet Drive? How's he able to do it throughout the rest of the book? Didn't he (and Ron) need a liscense?

This occured to me too and I was really bugged by it. It just seemed so easy! As long as they could apparate and had a stock of polyjuice potion all is well.

[tehnotlocity]

As far as the quick passage of time goes we must remember one thing - the books are written in a thrid-person, limited point of view, meaning that it is based on one central character's(harry, of course) thoughts and feelings. Thus others thoughts/feelings are either unknown or shown through dialog and actions. (For instance you will read JK trace Harry's specific thoughts, but will reveal someone elses thoughts by their actions, such as Hermione's resentment to Ron when he comes back). All this to say, she could've written about what happened in those months at Grimmauld Place, and all that really could've been covered was the planning for their move on the Ministry. That would've made it quite repetitious when the details of the plan were carried out and it was basically saying they did everything that had already been gone over in planning. And she couldn't have detailed what was going on outside of Grimmauld Place because the reader can't know any more than Harry knows (other than through speculation).

[meena_beena]

Originally Posted by Hysteria

This occured to me too and I was really bugged by it. It just seemed so easy! As long as they could apparate and had a stock of polyjuice potion all is well.

What about the talking patronusis?? Why use owls (which can be intercepted and searched) when you can send a short message that way? This would've been very nice to have known a few books ago--why bring it up only now?

[lupislune]

As far as quality of writing, I think this book flowed and was much more congealed than Half Blood Prince, which I felt had dropped in quality significantly from previous books.
I noticed that there were some continuity problems here and there, though, but I think it is difficult to maintain it over seven books.

One thing that could explain apparation is that we know the ministry was watching Little Whinging. Once Harry is away from there, the likelihood that they could find them, I think is significantly smaller as they don't know exactly where to look.

Originally Posted by meena_beena

What about the talking patronusis?? Why use owls (which can be intercepted and searched) when you can send a short message that way? This would've been very nice to have known a few books ago--why bring it up only now?

I think it is mentioned somewhere, I think somewhere in the latter part of book 6, that Dumbledore invented this idea. I don't think everyone knows how to make a patronus talk. I also am not sure if everyone is capable of casting a patronus.

[BelleSnowyOwl]

Originally Posted by LovingLuna

The only thing I noticed is that it seemed rushed. I wish she streched it out a little longer to around 1,000 pages...

There wouldn’t be much to stretch out, though. Much of the book is the Trio (turned into the Duo for a while) travelling from wooded area to wooded area. As uneventful as some of these scenes were, stretching it out only would have made it worse.

Originally Posted by WeasleyIsOurKing

I did notice a few spots, like this one from the epilogue where she is talking about Draco Malfoy:

His hair was receding somewhat, which emphasized the pointed chin.

Wouldn't it sound better/be more concise if it was written as, "His receding hairline emphasized his pointed chin"?

I disagree. Saying "His receding hairline emphasized his pointed chin" implies that the reader already knows he has a receding hairline. It was necessary to tell us that Malfoy had was balding, because just jumping into his “receding hairline” would make it seem as though Harry and Ron also are losing their hair, while they aren’t.

Originally Posted by CKSubs

General continuity errors, especially with travel. This has been a huge problem throughout the books. What is the point of Broomsticks/Thestrals/Flu/Portkeys if we have Side-Along Apparition? Couldn't they track Harry's Apparition leaving Privet Drive? How's he able to do it throughout the rest of the book? Didn't he (and Ron) need a liscense?

Harry was of age, so they couldn’t track his Apparating. Yes, you do need a license, but you’re also supposed to register once you become an Animagus. As for Side-Along Apparation, I’m assuming you’re talking about the departure from the Dursleys. This is addressed in the book: every tracking charm possible was on Privet Drive, so they’d be able to tell is Floo Powder, a Portkey, or Apparation was used. They (the Death Eaters) didn’t know where Harry was going, so they couldn’t apply the same charms on wherever he went.

Originally Posted by CKSubs

What's the deal with the Deluminator? Deus Ex Machina if I've ever seen one...

How so? The Deluminator was used in PS/SS, as well as in OotP. It didn’t just come out of nowhere.

(This is totally off topic, but you’re reminding me of Lost, as “Deus Ex Machina” is the title of an episode, and so is “The Greater Good”, which was talked about constantly in DH. )


Overall, I did not find a problem with the writing of Deathly Hallows. I find JKR’s writing to be very descriptive. As I’m getting older, I’m definitely appreciating it more, especially the way she describes facial expressions.

[HermyRonnie]

Originally Posted by lupislune

As far as quality of writing, I think this book flowed and was much more congealed than Half Blood Prince, which I felt had dropped in quality significantly from previous books.
I noticed that there were some continuity problems here and there, though, but I think it is difficult to maintain it over seven books.

One thing that could explain apparation is that we know the ministry was watching Little Whinging. Once Harry is away from there, the likelihood that they could find them, I think is significantly smaller as they don't know exactly where to look.



I think it is mentioned somewhere, I think somewhere in the latter part of book 6, that Dumbledore invented this idea. I don't think everyone knows how to make a patronus talk. I also am not sure if everyone is capable of casting a patronus.

I'm almost positive Dumbledore uses the talking patronus in book 4. I don't have my book in front of me but it's when Harry meets Krum in the forest and he's stunned so Harry runs into Hogwarts to get DD and then it says Harry sees something coming out of DD wand and minutes later Hagrid comes looking for them.

[chikorita1999]

I really did not find the writing to be poor or rushed. Although some places were a little awkward, overall it read pretty well. Actually, as I am re-reading, I am picking up on details I missed before. I was reading in such a rush to find out what happened that when I read slowly it seems to flow more smoothly. Overall, I was very happy with the book, but I did want more info from the epilogue, although I liked it a lot.

[HermyRonnie]

In regards to the book, yes I did feel the writing was inferior, ESPECIALLY in the epilogue. It read like a middle schooler who'd written it and it had gotten selected to be in the book. I know people were spoiling left and right online so I stayed away, but if I would've read that before I got the book, I would've never believed it was an actual chapter in the book.

[hphphp62442]

I absolutely LOVED this book! The only thing I could complain about is the ending chapter and epilogue....I really wish that JK would have written in Harry and Ginny reuniting, and Ron and Hermione FINALLY becoming an official couple....I mean come on, so many people were just waiting for them to get together (I, personally, was more of a Harry/Ginny shipper, but I know that a lot of people were waiting to read about Ron and Hermione)!

As for the epilogue, there were like 435546546345546657 things left unanswered! What were Harry and co's professions? What were James' and Lily's jobs before they died?

[FantasyWriter]

Sadly, I must agree with you. As I was reading DH I kept being brought out of the story by grammatical errors and clunky, poorly written sentences. Some things in the book didn't even make sense the way they had been written and it took reading the sentence several times to understand what JK was trying to say. I found it really odd- knowing how remarkably well written the past 6 books have been and I must say that, in the end, I strongly believe this to be an editorial problem, NOT a problem with the writing. It's JKR's job to get the story down and then it's the editor's job to take that story and make sure there are no errors and that everything is written correctly, in a way that makes sense.
Clearly there was a lot of pressure to get this book out quickly and perhaps that pressure lead to the editors not dedicating enough time to working on the book and making sure it was perfect.
It's sad really, now that the series is over and it's impossible to go back, that the final book was tainted by a problem that could so easily have been fixed if the proper amount of time was given to getting it right. I cannot speak for any of the other fans, but I gladly would have waited another year if I knew it meant that the final book was going to be as perfect as it should be.

[Hysteria]

What about the talking patronusis?? Why use owls (which can be intercepted and searched) when you can send a short message that way? This would've been very nice to have known a few books ago--why bring it up only now?

Yes! I knew there was something else I was annoyed by... That was also very frustrating.

How so? The Deluminator was used in PS/SS, as well as in OotP. It didn’t just come out of nowhere.

Yes as a light.. not a means of finding your friends.

[CKSubs]

Quote:Originally Posted by CKSubs
General continuity errors, especially with travel. This has been a huge problem throughout the books. What is the point of Broomsticks/Thestrals/Flu/Portkeys if we have Side-Along Apparition? Couldn't they track Harry's Apparition leaving Privet Drive? How's he able to do it throughout the rest of the book? Didn't he (and Ron) need a liscense?

Harry was of age, so they couldn’t track his Apparating. Yes, you do need a license, but you’re also supposed to register once you become an Animagus. As for Side-Along Apparation, I’m assuming you’re talking about the departure from the Dursleys. This is addressed in the book: every tracking charm possible was on Privet Drive, so they’d be able to tell is Floo Powder, a Portkey, or Apparation was used. They (the Death Eaters) didn’t know where Harry was going, so they couldn’t apply the same charms on wherever he went.

No, I'm talking about Side-Along Apparition (introduced only in HBP) back in, say, CoS. Why would they Flu-Powder to Diagon Alley if the whole family could just Apparate? Why would they Port-Key to the World Cup if they could just Apparate? (btw, I think the Triwizard Cup Port Key worked differently from every other port key we've seen, another error) And don't say it's because Harry and Co. weren't powerful enough at that time or anything, because in HBP (1) it's on the "what to do in a Death Eater attack" list specifically for underage wizards, and (2) Harry doesn't have to do a thing to get the spell to work correctly. It's more that Flu Powder was one of those "Yeah! It's Magic!" things in the early books (much like Quidditch, the House Ghosts, etc) that don't really play into the more serious works.

Quote:Originally Posted by CKSubs
What's the deal with the Deluminator? Deus Ex Machina if I've ever seen one...

How so? The Deluminator was used in PS/SS, as well as in OotP. It didn’t just come out of nowhere.

Except for, you know, the whole amazingly and unexpectedly giving Ron a way to find Hermione thing, without any explanation other than the fact that he could hear her say his name through it.... why didn't that work any other time she said his name, before he left?

[jjw7804]

Originally Posted by creativeamanda

Have any of you read the book the 2nd time around? I had similar feelings at first, but now after reading it another time, I am thinking it was me rushing, not Jo.

I have to agree with you on that observation, although I still feel the middle of the book was a "simple".

[DeathlyHabitue]

The only part I didn't like in DH was after the trio left Grimmauld Place and before they went to Gordic Hollow. I mean, they spend 4 months sitting in a tent thinking, hm...I wonder where we should go? It got boring. No wonder Ron got frustrated and left. I find it a little implausible that they wouldn't try going to Gordic Hollow sonner, seeing it was there only lead. Otherwise, I thought the book was excellent.

[potatoesrock]

Originally posted by creativeamanda
Have any of you read the book the 2nd time around? I had similar feelings at first, but now after reading it another time, I am thinking it was me rushing, not Jo.

Me too!

Originally Posted by ASUTillman
Did anyone else notice when Jo wrote "So, they apparated to London".. like I mean, did anyone notice to poor writing some of this book had? Like iI mean like 1% of the book, I loved this book, favorite one IMO, but I mean certain parts just popped out, such as when she said how they just apparated to London. Also, isn't it kinda weird how the trio went months, as they said during "A Place to Hide", how autumn fell, and idk months go by, and we're just reading it.. I mean it's kinda poor that she accelerates the timeline really quick and sjust has months go by.

Like, what happened to the Order during those like 4 months? Idk, maybe I'm too critical, it just popped out to me while I was reading, and if I noticed it, (I ignore typos, etc. when I read), it must've been obvious.

Any thoughts?

Not writing in detail about a time in which nothing much happens isn't a bad thing. That's what Tolkien did, and even though I think he was an amazing writer, the travelling scenes annoyed me sometimes.

DH wouldn't be the first book that she's skipped over amounts of time in. Didn't spring break always seem to go by fast? That's because there was nothing much to write about at the time. The same thing happened here in DH, and I'm happy she didn't go too far into detail about all those months when they pretty much just moved from place to place, not knowing where to go next.

Originally Posted by CKSubs

Except for, you know, the whole amazingly and unexpectedly giving Ron a way to find Hermione thing, without any explanation other than the fact that he could hear her say his name through it.... why didn't that work any other time she said his name, before he left?

Maybe it only works that way for some people, or only when you have real need of it. Like how only some people can pull Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat.