Day 13 - May 28, 2010 - Soaking up Genius

"I just write what I wanted to write. I write what amuses me. It's totally for myself."
-J. K. Rowling

J.K Rowling has taken the world by storm with her Harry Potter series. It's easy to see why. The storyline is powerful, the characters are engaging, and the books appeal to a wide audience. Who would have guessed she began writing these novels on napkins in this Edinburgh cafe called the Elephant House? I never knew. The best ideas come in the oddest packages and at the strangest times.

Rowling wasn't writing to please an audience, either. She simply started writing what she wanted to write about. It didn't matter who read it when she started jotting lines down on her napkin. It was the expression of an idea; the manifestation of characters and actions that formed themselves in her mind. The world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts was cooked up in the mind of one woman who happened to be eating a panini and drinking coffee while looking at Edinburgh castle. Who knows what kind of ideas spring into the minds of people worldwide every day? They simply have to have the courage to bring them into existence; to create regardless of who is watching, reading, or listening. Great artists create from within and ignore the demands of the masses. We remember them because they are different from all the other voices out there. Their perspectives teach us about ourselves and about things we've never ventured to think about before. That's what makes them great.