Ways to write a Harry Potter Next Generation Fanfiction
by Concealyourfeelings
Writing fanfiction can be tricky. There are so many things to consider, from the way the characters act to the way the fanfic must follow the order of the book and perhaps not stray too much. Writing Harry Potter fanfictions is not much different, however, things get somewhat more complicated when you choose to write a fanfiction about a character that was born after the second wizarding war, because there is an obstacle in your way, otherwise known as The Cursed Child.
As we all know, The Cursed Child is a book Rowling wrote some years ago, and it is considered to be the sequel to the Harry Potter series. However, many fans around the world have expressed that they were disappointed by the book, and some don't even like it. That leads you, as writers that want to write a fanfiction about a character mentioned in The Cursed Child with a dilemma. Should you follow the events of the book, or be creative and do your own thing?
Well, my answer is that you can do both. You could always write a book that is based on the events of The Cursed Child, but you could also challenge yourself by being imaginative and creative and come up with something that's completely your own. The choice is up to you, and truly, there is no right and wrong.
Writing Fanfiction based on The Cursed Child
If you choose to follow the events of the sequel, then the way you write is not much different to the way you would write if your fanfiction was about a character that was mentioned in the Harry Potter series. That means, that the characters that have already been mentioned in the series have their personalities and traits already formed for you to use, their appearance is already given and so is their house, their friends etc.
What you have to do is stick chronologically to the events of the book and respect the way the characters are. When you do that, you can finally add your own character in the mix. Or you could not add a character of your own, you could always write a fanfiction from the point of view of a character that actually existed in the book, e.g. Rose. From then on, you'll see that you'll have no problem writing the book.
As expected, there are some benefits and some setbacks in this way of writing.
Benefits:
• The storyline is already written for you, which means that the important parts of the story are already written, so you already know in which scenes you have to focus to. Your plan of the story is already ready, and that makes it easier for you to go from a scene to another without having seemingly huge gaps in between. You know when you have to put emphasis into a situation, or when it's best to keep a scene quiet. The book can serve as some kind of help book for your fanfiction and not only for this specific book. Studying the way it changes from one scene to the other and being observant can help you in your writing too, no matter the genre.
• There are characters that have already been written. This can help you, as you don't have to try to find a friend for your own character and have to build their personality from scratch. Your character already has others they can interact with, helping them grow in the process.
• If there is a chance that a reader would get confused by the events of your story, they could always search for the plot of The Cursed Child and find the answers they need. That will make your story more easily read and you'll get into less trouble to make others understand your way of thinking.
Setbacks:
• As the storyline is already written for you, you have to stick to the chronological order of the book and not make many changes. This way, you are keeping yourself back, in a sense, as you don't have the opportunity to do whatever you wish with the story. Of course, you could still make your character go through other exciting or trivial things by having them go on their own adventure! Nobody is going to condemn you for it, and if I might add my opinion on this one, this is a great idea as it makes a plot that is otherwise known (as it is based on the book) different and unique.
• As there are already some characters written, you can't change the way they act or look. Which means, for instance, that if you ever thought that Hugo Weasley was a redhead and it comes out that his hair is brown or blond or whatever colour but NOT red, you can't have him featured as a redhead. In conclusion, you can't really change the way a character looks.
• You have to educate yourself first before writing the fanfiction. I know that this happens whenever you want to write another book, but this time, you'll have to know the events of yet another book and learn about time turners and all that, and it can be quite tiring. At least, that's it if you actually want your fanfiction to follow the events of the book.
Writing Fanfiction that's not following the events of the Cursed Child
If you choose to not follow the events of the Cursed Child, then the way you write will be quite similar to a fanfiction that was written about the Marauders or Nymphadora Tonks or Charlie and Bill Weasley. That means that you are the one shaping the characters the way you wish. However, that doesn't mean that you can go around doing anything. After all, while you may diminish the events of The Cursed Child, that doesn't mean that you are going to diminish whatever happened in the Epilogue of the Deathly Hallows.
So, to say this straight, I would advise you to not change the names, the age, the family or appearance of a character that has already been introduced to you in that last chapter of the Harry Potter series. Of course, if appearance is not mentioned, or if a character is not mentioned, you can do whatever you wish, but otherwise, I would suggest you didn't change these four things. But that's about the only limitation you'll have.
As you might have already guessed, there are benefits to this way of writing, but also setbacks.
Benefits:
• You can do whatever you like! You can choose the houses of the characters that have already been introduced to you, you can choose their friendships with one another, you can imagine their personality in any way you wish and include it in your book, and nobody will have the right to tell you that you are wrong. Everything in this story is something you make, and it's your story, your rules. In other words, freedom of mind at its finest.
• Because your story will be unique, readers will be more eager to read it as it will be something they will never see before. You can use that as your chance to show what you are capable of, impress them and get yourself some more recognition.
Setbacks:
• Since the plot is not already given to you, you have to think in order to make your own. That means, that you'll have to create everything from start to finish, make the scenes interesting so that the reader won't get bored and also make sure that your ideas are original. You'll have to judge for yourself which scenes are more important than others, with the danger of being wrong or being too predictable. If you don't have a nice plot, there is always a chance that readers won't stay around for long.
• As you are the one making the characters, you have more things on your plate. They have to be realistic and relatable, and sometimes, they also have to change some of their traits for the worse or the better. This can be risky, as characters are what makes the readers like the book in the first place, and if they are not satisfied with them, there is a chance they would stop reading your book.
• There's always a chance that the readers will have a difficulty understanding the plot of your book, and since there will be no story like yours anywhere else, they might get confused and leave. It is important to make sure your book is easy to understand.
Both of the ways mentioned above have benefits and setbacks. However, you don't have to feel obligated to write your book using one of these two ways. There is another manner you could write your fanfic, and my personal favourite.
The Indecisive Way
Now, this way is not really indecisive in the slightest. It's just the manner you could write if you wanted to have traits of The Cursed Child in your book but also do your own thing in the process.
If you choose this way, you will be free to do as you wish, having limitations that you chose to apply to yourself, but you will also have some things already ready for you to use.
Benefits:
• You can choose which facts from The Cursed Child you will keep, and then add your own things. For instance, if you have an OC that is paired up with Albus Potter, you could keep Albus's character the way it is in The Cursed Child and completely disregard the fact that Delphi existed in the storyline of the book.
• As your fanfic will have some features from The Cursed Child, readers probably won't get confused with the plot and even if they do, they could always search for answers.
• Your plot is certainly going to be a unique and interesting one. After all, mixing things together generally has nice results that could make the readers eager to see what this plot is about.
Setbacks:
• Because of the fact that you are mixing things up, there is a danger that the readers would get confused, but for as long as you make sure to keep your writing simple and understandable without huge time gaps and rapid changes of scene, you'll be fine.
Whichever way you choose to write your Harry Potter next generation fanfiction, you won't have a problem for as long as you keep the instructions mentioned above in mind. Even if you don't choose to follow any of these routes, though, it's fine. In the end, there is no wrong way to write a book, for as long as it works for you.
Which of the above writing styles do you like the most?