Gen. Article - What Are We Expecting?

[blaqlives]

Discussion of the Madam Puddifoot's general article What Are We Expecting? by Jenna.

[lunalove]

LOL!!! BRAVO! And Amen!!!
This is excellent!
Although shipping can be fun at times I suppose...the truth is HP is not a steamy romance novel and hopefully will never be!
They are good just as they are.
I've also noticed that in a lot of fanfics, Harry/Ron/Hermione/etc...are so consummed in their love life that Voldemort is on the sidelines. There are only 2 books left - and no sequels - I somehow don't think Jo is going to push the pause button on Voldy.
Anyways, this was very well written and explained. I guess it is good to ship - as long as we don't get our hopes up with our obsession, eh?

[Wowzers Guy]

My guess is one chapter for someone getting together, one for a date and then thousands of little moments and subtitle hints. Then maybe a paragraph for a break up, if it goes bad.

[Robingirl]

I couldn't agree more., though I wouldn't it turning an episode of the OC.( I'm kidding)

[Ryan]

I agree too. I can't believe some people, let alone J.K. Rowling, would be so interested in the characters' love lives that they are more interested in that than in Voldemort, Harry's past, etc.

Very good point...reading some of the fan fiction it's like steamy romance lol...i get the feeling that is NOT gonna be in the books..there are like 8 year olds reading these after all. Again, good job!

[asphyxxiate]

Excellent editorial, I agree with you wholeheartedly!

Honestly, love is going to important in the remaining HP books, but when I say "love," I mean love in general, not who's dating who, who's envying who, or who's cheating on who. Sure, one full chapter in OOTP was for Harry & Cho's date, but I think Jo only did it to show us the major difference between them (Cho wants to talk about Cedric, Harry doesn't, etc.) and that the relationship won't work out.

[Jenni Radcliffe]

AMEN!!! I CoMpLeTeLy agree! Shipping can be fun and amusing, but in the end, it won't be close to the important thing!

Honestly, love is going to important in the remaining HP books, but when I say "love," I mean love in general, not who's dating who, who's envying who, or who's cheating on who.

I was going to say the same thing, but you beat me to it! you took the words RiGhT out of my mouth!

Here are my veiws on this matter:
I agree to some degree, it isn't the OC (But I LOVE the OC) , but love is important including dating, then they wouldn't be normal (Yes, I KNOW they aren't like us muggles) but even Harry's mum and dad dated when they where @ school (sort of-only once they got to year 7) but James had been trying to get Lily since (as far as we know) the 5 year. Therefore I think that dating should play a larger role in the next book (not a HUGE roll but) because they have to been like muggle teens to some extent! coz if it isnt then how will we get ron and hermione together?

i like your article. yeah, shipping is a lot of fun but I would be disapointed if Hp became like a teen drama show. however, i could see that harry's relationship might be important as to the whole "power of the heart" thing. but i don't anticipate a lot of angst and love shapes.

[LadyJinx]

Bravo, Jenna!
Kudos to you for writing an excellent editorial!
You're so right about people losing sight of what HP is all about. The story is all about Harry and the whole point isn't supposed to be who he falls in love with, it's supposed to be how he finally vanquishes Lord Voldemort, freeing the wizarding world from his terrifying grip, for good.

Thanks for putting things nicely into perspective on what's really important in the book and what's not.

[Hoho]

Great article, it rocked my socks! Shipping is one of the things that annoys me the most about fan fiction because writers put way too much attention on that and not enough on the fact that someone is trying to take over the world and trying to kill Harry. Apparently, that doesn't matter as long as Harry and Draco realize their true feelings for each other. It's total **** and it's never going to happen. One of the main reasons I read fanfic is because I'm impatiently waiting for July 16, and I want other people's ideas of what's coming next, not who's going to get together with who.

There's my shipping rant, great job on the article.

[IrishPhoenix711]

Haha, thanks for the feedback [this is Jenna, by the way]

Just wanted to make it clear, again, that I don't think there's anything wrong with Romance Fan Fics or focusing on shipping or stuff like that - but that I think that it really is getting a lot of people carried away, to a point where we have forgotten that it isn't about the romance.

Also, thought there's nothing wrong with arguing what ship will be 'canonized' - the emphasis on shipping cause a lot of over-analyzing, which skews the argument. Before you start a debate, you need to understand the importance of what you are debating, otherwise you're argument might not make as much sense as you think it does. [such as the belief that Jo has put all her energy into developing Hermione's entire character so that everything she has done in every book is evidence of which boy she loves romantically]

Again, thanks for the feedback, I was starting to worry that every HP fan in the world really was expecting the HPB to all be about Hermione's romantic interests.

I think you wrote a well written, no nonsense article, and I certainly do appreciate that. However, I have to say, theres nothing wrong with being more interested in the romance aspects of the books than the other parts. We're totally entitled to be interested in whatever we want, even if its whether or not Hermione ends up with Ron or Harry, or what the role of the half-blood prince will be.

I am not saying that my readings of the HP books revolves around who's going to get with who, though I am very interested in it. Theres just this tension between Ron and Hermione and it interests me, and I look forward to seeing what happens next. I look forward to the rest of the book as well.

I am probably not making much sense. I agree with most of your article - like how are relationships really going to affect the story overall, and theres a lot more to the story than who gets with who. However, I find romance interesting and I am excited for new developments, as I think a lot of other people are. I am probably more interested in whether or not Hermione and Ron get together than the rest of the story. I've come to really love the characters and I want to see what happens in their personal lives. Thats just the way I feel. All in all, good article.

[ailehtac]

Originally Posted by I_Seek_Hp

Here are my veiws on this matter:
I agree to some degree, it isn't the OC (But I LOVE the OC) , but love is important including dating, then they wouldn't be normal (Yes, I KNOW they aren't like us muggles) but even Harry's mum and dad dated when they where @ school (sort of-only once they got to year 7) but James had been trying to get Lily since (as far as we know) the 5 year. Therefore I think that dating should play a larger role in the next book (not a HUGE roll but) because they have to been like muggle teens to some extent! coz if it isnt then how will we get ron and hermione together?

See, that's the sort of stuff that makes me worder how people will react if their ship doesn't work out. Will you burn your books if Harry and Hermione hook up? Will you send a Howler to JKR if it ends up with Ron and Luna as a couple? If my ships don't work, I may pout a bit, yes, but I'll live, and I hope everyone else will too.

By the way everyone, when you say, 'who will get with who,' or whatever, it really grates my nerves (sorry for being such a grammar g33k), so please try to follow prepositions with 'whom'.

[CaE]

I liked your editorial a lot and it was a different point of veiw for me. I am one of those people who are interested in the romance sections in the book ( Okay majoryly interested...) And with your editorial, it kinda slapped me in the face. Romance in the Harry Potter books is not the main factor, threre's still You-Know-Who. Though I still have to qoute J.K. " What's life without a little roamnce?"

[IrishPhoenix711]

Originally Posted by head girl katie

I think you wrote a well written, no nonsense article, and I certainly do appreciate that. However, I have to say, theres nothing wrong with being more interested in the romance aspects of the books than the other parts. We're totally entitled to be interested in whatever we want, even if its whether or not Hermione ends up with Ron or Harry, or what the role of the half-blood prince will be.

I do agree with you - I mean, I would be lying through my teeth if I told you I wasn't interested in the romance. It is one of the most fun part of the books.

I mean in the same way, one of the things I am looking most forward to in books 6 & 7 is more about Snape. Yeah, the books certainly aren't all about Snape, but he's so enigmatic, I just have to find out more.

The point I was making with the editorial is to those who really don't get that it's not about the romance. Enjoying the romance and focusing all your attention on the romance are too different things. Just reminding people to keep things in perspective - especially since Jo's work will be in a lot of vain if Hermione's love life is all were interested in.

Originally Posted by ailehtac

Will you burn your books if Harry and Hermione hook up? Will you send a Howler to JKR if it ends up with Ron and Luna as a couple? If my ships don't work, I may pout a bit, yes, but I'll live, and I hope everyone else will too.

Excellent point! Exactly why we all need to remember what the books are really about. It would be a horrible thing to be so consumed in the romantic aspect of the book, that you become upset if things don't work out the way you're expecting them to.

Originally Posted by CaE

What's life without a little romance?

Another good point. I'm glad that my editorial served as a bit of a wake up call for you - but I sincerely hope that you don't give up on the romantic parts of the books, because Jo hasn't given up on it either. I just don't think she expected us to be as all wrapped up as we are.

In fact, to further that point, I don't think she truly understands how much value be place on shipping. She could have easily settled the Harmony/Heron argument, not by saying who Hermione will get with but I don't think it would have been a huge giveaway to say, yes Hermione likes ____. She said that she won't say anything because she enjoys the arguing, but a lot of the arguing is really out of hand, and a lot of people get really touchy and malicious on the subject. If Jo had any idea how much importance we place on shipping, I think she'd be quite surprised. Another thing to consider when figuring out how much importance she is placing on romance.

[CandiceMarie]

This editorial was amusing, in a good way. However I disagree with some of its parts. Personally, I don't write hot, steamy romance novels, or fanfiction that has Voldemort on the sides. I like writing light-hearted ficlets that lasts a day, a week, maybe even a month in the HP world. Nothing too serious, mind you.

And yes, shipping is fun. But I have come to love shipping Harry/Hermione enough that, though I won't through my books and burn them, I simply cannot fathom (if it happens) why Ron and Hermione got together, when there have been such nice subtle clues for H/Hr. (I probably would burn them once the series is over, though :P )

Well, anyway, just my opinion.
Good essay, overall

[michellehpfan23]

Thank You!!
Finally someone has come out and said what I have been thinking all along. The purpose of HP is not romance, like many of you seem to be forseeing. If it was I don't think I would like it as much. The tone of these books only really allows for so much romance, the rest needs to have the aspects of mystery and action that caused us to love the HP series so much.

[Ania21]

Great editorial and really good point so I enjoyed reading it very much, but I can't help, I loved that part:
"dramatic chapter dedicated to Harry's realization of his love for that bubbly red-haired Ginny Weasley"... It's just stronger than me.