Good HP gift for an 8yo girl?

[emmagrant01]

My 8yo niece is really into HP right now. She was Hermione for Halloween this year, and looks SO much like EW in the first film that it's scary!

What would be a super-cool HP-related Xmas gift I could give her? Any ideas, O Wise Flist?

Comments

[conuly]

A quill pen w/ a writing journal for her own beginning into the world of fanfic?

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Would she want her own wand? Harry got one when he was 8 and was thrilled by it. Noble Collection also has a lovely Time Turner necklace in a display case, but she might be a little young to wear it. Does she have somewhere to put it in her room if she doesn't want to wear it daily?

[moony]

Make her a 'Going to Hogwarts' present. Print out the Hogwarts acceptance letter on parchment-like paper, and attach it to a stuffed owl. Take a small, decorative trunk and put 'magic' things in it, like a wand, maybe one of those toy chemistry (potions) sets, a Gryffindor scarf, and a few HP-related books (if she has them all, coloring books and sticker books). Maybe even that really cool Dragonology book, for 'Care of Magical Creatures,' some seeds she can plant in spring for Herbology, etc. Maybe even make her a Hogwarts Express train ticket. :D

I know it seems like a lot, but the thing a little HP fan wants most of all is to feel like she could go to Hogwarts. That's what this big HP fan always wanted. ;)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

LOL, yes! I think she will totally be writing Harry/Hermione fanfic one day.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yes! I think I will combine all of these ideas into Monny's idea below...

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

OMG, that is a fantastic idea! She's going to love it. Thanks! :-D

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

I think her ideas are brill! And your baby's bottom is so adorable!

[chuffed4angst.livejournal.com]

this little wand is really cool. It takes one AA battery and has a button near the base. When you press the button, a little light at the end glows and it makes a whirry magic noise. I gave these to my boys when they were 8 and 10 as stocking stuffers and there was lots and lots of fun spell work done with them.

http://www.smallworldtoys.com/dyn_prod.php?p=7303072&k=80131

[qurinas.livejournal.com]

I think Moony's idea is great. I was thinking something similar but her idea is cooler. So, go with hers. ;)

[moony]

:D Yay!

[bicrim.livejournal.com]

A wand, of course! Alivan's has beautiful ones.

[conuly]

A wooden wand might be better. She could make up her own effects, and the weight and look would be more realistic.

[ella-bane.livejournal.com]

Wow! What an awesome idea!

[chuffed4angst.livejournal.com]

If you are looking for a pretty display piece, go for something more authentic, for sure. If you are looking for a fun toy an 8 year old can run around with playing pretend, this one is great. It is inexpensive, but zippy and practically indestructible. My boys still keep them in the dress up crate and pull them out for jedi v. wizard duels.

[kellygreen.livejournal.com]

I love Moony's idea. If you go to http://www.alivans.com/welcome.htm, they sell a ton of great HP merchandise, like wands, uniforms, scarves, candy, brooms...everything a little girl obsessed with HP could want, really!

[rickey-a.livejournal.com]

my kids (8 & 6) love playing Harry Potter Clue :)

[conuly]

But some people don't like having plastic toys or toys with batteries in them.

For that matter, given how long I've seen sticks and wooden ribbon wands last around here, I suspect a well-made wooden wand, in the hands of an eight year old, will last just as long as the plastic one. You wouldn't want to buy one of the display pieces, no, but given that we have surviving wooden toys from a hundred years ago I don't think it's too much to expect a stick of wood to make it through half of one kid's childhood.

[evajames.livejournal.com]

Hi Emma!

Sorry for not having a post related comment, but I wanted to ask you something. What do you think makes you a good writer? Because you are a wonderful writer and I was wondering if you had any secrets to your becoming so. Could be anything really, work ethic, ideas, sense of humor... etc.

Sorry for such a strange request and that, but I was just curious to what you think. :)

-EJ

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Well, to be honest, I don't think I'm that great of a writer! I think I'm a pretty good story-teller, and I try to write the stories I have to tell in the best way I can. My writing style is very clean and direct, because my goal is for readers to focus on the story itself. People I consider great writers take it to another level altogether. They paint pictures with their words, and sentences are crafted to convey very particular, subtle, emotions. Their words can lift you or devastate you, and everything in between. I'm not good at that!

But I feel like I'm fairly good at seeing the big picture of a plot and deciding how to parse out information to readers. I have a strong sense of who my characters are, and even though I may not be very good at conveying that in writing, my characters at least tend to be consistent and realistic. I suck at describing scenery, so I usually avoid doing it. I am not good at painting pictures with words, and when I try to do it it comes out pretty badly, LOL.

I had a lot of great betas over the years that pushed me to streamline my writing style, and their help was invaluable. For example, I used to use waaay too many adverbs, and it took some very persistent criticism from people whose opinions I trusted to finally stop doing that.

I think I would say that the key to becoming a better writer is to develop a relationship with someone who is willing to be very direct and honest with you about your writing, and then to take their criticism seriously. It's easy to brush off ideas you don't agree with, but when those ideas come from someone whose opinion you respect, you have to really force yourself to give the ideas a chance. Sometimes it takes a while for it to sink in!

Another thing that has always helped me is when I read a story that I think is very well-written, I stop and think about the elements of the writing that made it so compelling. It can be hard to isolate those, but if you spend some time reading and re-reading, you can often pick out specific stylistic things that seem to work very well. I then try to find ways to apply those to my own writing, and in that way my style develops.

HTH! :-)

[evajames.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much Emma! I've been trying to write stories for ages now and it seems to me that every time I sit down to get some ideas out of me, those ideas develop into even bigger stories that end up requiring a lot more time, which I've never really had. At that point, I got exhausted just thinking about it.

But now, I've decided to give writing out those incredibly long stories a go and it's been very helpful to get an idea of the creative process from writers I've enjoyed reading, such as yourself.

I think your suggestion of getting a trusted and respected beta reader/critiquer is very valuable and I intend to get one. Just a quick question though, do you show your beta your work as it progresses or at the end when it's at a semi-finished state? I guess that's been my biggest problem in showing anyone any of my writing; when's the time to show?

I too, unravel good writing when I see it to get down to its basics. I find that helps a lot as well.

Once again, thanks a lot for your advice/suggestions/honesty. :) I hope you're still writing!