"I am in love with words. Words that touch--they may hurt, but they touch and that's what counts."
When writing a Lily/James story, or any Marauder Era story, the very first thing you need to do is research.
Yeah, I know. Gross. But it’s necessary if you want your story to be at all accurate. The
is fantastic, but don’t take everything there as absolute fact because they do make mistakes. Double check what you can with the books—they’re the most canon thing out there. Obviously.
I’ll give you a few vital facts:
· Lily and James started their 7th year in 1977 (6th in 1976, 5th in 1975, etc.)
· James played CHASER.
· Alice Longbottom’s maiden name is never given, so you can make it up. But it is not Prewett. Gideon, Fabian, and Molly were the Prewetts, if Alice had been one, Neville and Ron would have been cousins.
· Regulus is one year younger than Sirius.
· Bellatrix is 25 or 26 when Lily and James are in their 7th year. (Andromeda is 2 years younger than Bellatrix, and Narcissa is 2 years younger than Andromeda, roughly).
· Lucius Malfoy is 4 or 5 years older than Lily and James.
· James’ parents were very old, even for wizards, when they had him, and they died natural deaths.
· Voldemort’s campaign started in the early 1970s. (At least, that’s when he began gathering followers).
· The Marauders discover Remus’ secret in 2nd year, and became Animagi in 5th.
· Snape’s Worst Memory occurs at the end of 5th year. When exactly he found out about Remus is controversial because it is generally accepted to have happened towards the end of Lily’s 6th year, but in DH, she talks to Snape about it while they are still friends. So that is up to you.
· Sirius runs away after 6th year.
· Peter switches sides in 1979 (so after they leave Hogwarts). This is also the year the Regulus dies and Trelawney makes the prophecy.
· As far as Prefects go, there are approximately 6 from each House as long as none of them are Head Boy or Girl. There are two from 5th, 6th, and 7th years. Prefects ARE allowed to deduct points, but not from fellow Prefects.
· Canon classes: Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Ancient Runes, Astronomy, Arithmancy, and Flying (possibly only for first-years).
· Madam Pomfrey was the nurse while the Marauders were at school.
· The Minister for Magic (the ‘for’ is used in the British, ‘of’ is used in American) during the Marauder Era is unknown. You can choose anyone.
· Mary Macdonald is in Lily’s House while Lily is at Hogwarts, but her year is never mentioned.
· Dorcas Meadowes is spelled M E A D O W E S.
· Pages 173 and 174 (in the American hardback version of OotP) detail the original Order and how they died. It’s in Chapter 9 if you don’t have that version.
· Lily lived on or near Spinner’s End. The beginning of HBP gives a good description of it, and it is suspected to be located in the Industrial North of England.
Some of those things seem really basic, I know, but you would be surprised at how little some people know. And I’m not saying that I know everything—not even close—but I have done a significant amount of research on the time period, so feel free to ask me anything that you’re not sure about.
Okay, moving on to the actual story. The very first thing you need to do (at least, in my mind), is figure out your characterization. Please, please don’t make Lily a bitch. We know that she loathed James, but my advice with the two of them is make James hate-able. I know that sounds crazy, but I’m serious. I think you should start your story in 5th or 6th year at the latest to give James (and Lily) room to grow as characters. So give Lily a reason to hate James. Make him immature and aggravating. If he’s really sweet and she hates him, she’s just a horrible person.
On that vein, put some thought into you characters. It’s easy to say Lily was sweet and caring and brave and everyone loved her. What’s not easy is to say Lily was nice, but she was judgmental and rude as well. Find her flaws. Find flaws in everyone. If you want to write about boring perfect people, try Twilight fanfiction instead.
Try something new. Whoever said that Lily was a bookworm who studied all the time? Sure, she was a Prefect and Head Girl, but maybe she got those positions for something other than her grades. She was bright, yes, but make her into a different character than the same boring little work-a-holic that hundreds of other authors have written.
Remember this—Peter was a Marauder. There was something good in him. Find it, and make him a part of your story. He was vital to Lily and James; make him out to be that way. Also, please give Petunia and Vernon some sort of depth. I know that they aren’t the most interesting or kind people, but don’t let your later prejudices affect the characters at this stage. Petunia’s not perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but neither is Lily. Find balance.
For OCs, check out The Dos and Don’ts of Writing a Realistic OC.
And whatever you say about your characters, make sure that their actions demonstrate those traits. You go on for pages about Lily’s kindness, but if she yells all the time and has a super short temper, that’s how readers will judge her. It’s true what they say—actions speak louder than words.
The next thing you need to do (that 95% of authors on fanfiction.net fail to) is find a reason for your story. I’ve done another post about this already, but it is vital. I absolutely will not read something that has no deeper meaning. I’m not saying that your story has to be completely profound, but look at these two examples:
Lily and James were sitting by the lake. How they had ended up their together, Lily could not recall, but there they sat. She studied him out of the corner of her eye. He was still in his Quidditch uniform—a red and gold long-sleeved jersey clung to his chest and stomach, highlighting muscles that Lily blushed and looked away from. His hair was messier than normal because of the wind that blew from across the water. He wore an unreadable expression as he played with the snitch he carried with him everywhere.
Lily mentally checked her own appearance in embarrassment. She was in flannel pants and a tank top. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she wore no makeup.
“You look beautiful,” said James as if he had read her mind.
Lily gave him a suspicious look. “Why do you say things like that?”
James shrugged. “Because it’s true.”
“Do you mean it? When you call me arrogant?”
Lily looked at him, her expression almost pitying, and she nodded.
James started to protest, but she held up a hand to silence him. “You don’t have any reason to be humble,” she explained. “You’re James Potter. You’re something of a legend at Hogwarts. You’ve grown up rich and powerful. You’re talented, you’re smart, most of the school adores you.” This, with a laugh and a shake of the head: “Why would you ever be anything but arrogant?”
“Because no one likes arrogance,” he told her softly, looking out across the water rather than at her.
“Please,” she scoffed, but there was a small smile in her voice. “People always look past the flaws of their heroes.”
“Maybe they shouldn't.”
“They have too,” Lily told him, and their eyes met. Hers contained a certain conviction. “If they didn't, there wouldn't be any heroes. And people need heroes. They’re the only reason that there’s any hope left in times like these.”
Yes, the first passage and cute and sweet, but what do you take away from it? It’s like a thousand other dialogues from a thousand other stories. The second passage (taken from a later scene in RFWW) actually says something about the characters. It gives you a glimpse of their thoughts and feelings. It means a little more than what the characters are wearing and what James does that is adorable.
The point of this is that I want you to write a story, not an account of looks and words. Make me feel something. Challenge my beliefs. Surprise me, thrill me, and hold my attention.
After you get those things out of the way, I suggest that you outline your story all the way through. It’s a pain, but it keeps you on track so that you don’t trail off or write yourself into a corner.
Put something different into your plot. There are a million stories out there that go like this: 1. Lily finds out she’s Head Girl. 2. She gets on the train and sees that James is Head Boy. 3. She realizes that he has miraculously changed over the summer. 4. She has a boyfriend. 5. He cheats on her. 6. James comforts her. 7. She likes James, but id too afraid to tell him. 8. There’s some sort of Ball or Party in which Lily confesses to James and they live happily ever.
My biggest issue with that classic plot is this: Why the hell would James just magically change over the summer? Come on. He probably spent his entire summer goofing around with Sirius and playing Quidditch. He is not going to grow up because of that. I want to read a story that shows James changing. Bring in Voldemort, introduce tragedy, give James a reason to grow up.
Just…tell me a story with deep characters and themes. Make the world that they live in come to life. Put deeper meaning into your chapters, don’t just tell me what happened, tell me how the characters felt about the events that occur. Explain the causes and the results of actions. Tell me why things are the way they are and why characters act a certain way.
Write fearlessly. People are going to judge you, ignore it. You are not going to make everyone happy, and people are going to want things in your story that you don't want to put there. Write your story, not the story other people want to read. I respect those who write what they want far more than I respect those who write for the public.
Above all else, inspire me. That’s the mark of a great writer. They teach and they inspire, and that is what you need to strive for in every piece you write.
I truly hope this helps. If you need anything re-explained or if I left something out that you want to see, just let me know. (:
Love Always,
Kayla
