Anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel inevitably begins with the same question: How? The difficult process looks different depending on the author. The prolific Stephen King, for example, set himself the goal of writing six pages a day. Maya Angelou used a hotel room as a workspace to avoid distractions. Jane Austen wrote throughout the day and shared her progress with her family in the evening. When it comes to our beloved Harry Potter The author’s daily writing routine is quite well known, as is the fateful train ride she spent dreaming about the boy wizard. What has been more mysterious so far is what happened when she first found her pen.

On this day in 1997, the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in the UK by Bloomsbury. The following year, it was published in the US by Scholastic Corporation under the title Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. #PotterHistory pic.twitter.com/kUu21Bd3Of

— MuggleNet: #1 Wizarding World Resource Since 1999 (@MuggleNet) 26 June 2024

Rowling sat down with The times recently to talk about all sorts of things and, most interestingly, to reveal some information about the original creation of the Wizarding World. After a few initial questions about the first book she loved (Black Beauty) and the book that makes her cry every time (A tale of two cities) the interview revolved around Harry Potterwith a question about the first line of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Surprisingly, the answer is not to be found in the book at all.

The line in question was: “The Potter family lived in Darke’s Hollow.” Darke’s Hollow was of course later changed to Godric’s Hollow, which was not only the home of the Potters but also of the Dumbledore family. The place was finally mentioned in the first chapter by Professor McGonagall.

Rowling was also asked if she was happy with Philosopher’s Stone during the writing process, and the response was mixed. She mentioned that seven years had passed between writing the first line and the book being published, along with several major changes in her life, and that she frequently lost hope in the story and put it aside. However, she recalled that after writing about Harry’s first Quidditch match, her confidence finally increased, and there were very few revisions after that.

A lot has happened since Rowling first came up with this idea that would soon take on a life of its own, but one thing we can say for sure is that we’re glad it was written down.