Magical school story

[LuciferInVenus]

I been thinking about writing a childrens book about a boy attending a magical school. Just because i like the setting and opportunity to explore growing up from todays standards.
Howeveeer, obviously the potter series is holding this kind of story by balls and i have a few second guessing questions.
Should I try to force myself to think of something else? Should I try to lean into the problematic stuff Rowling wrote and fix some curses she made? :'D I don't believe trying to make the story as original as possible and on purpose avoid similarities with Potter is a good choice for my brain.
I dunno, I guess I'm just thinking out loud and would appreciate some outside input.

 

[Finchbearer]

You’d have to have a major point of difference. But it could be done. Maybe focusing on a younger age group? Or having the school be about a very specific type of magic or magical creature. The world building in Rowlings HP is set in the real world, so there’s an easy opportunity to do something different. Or a different time period.

 

[K.S. Crooks]

Things that come to my mind:
Age of the characters- When very young, you need to come up with reasons/circumstances for the adults not to do all the work or take all the risks
Type of world- Have a setting different than 20th century England. A world with of humanoid species (elves, dwarves, etc) could be an option or distant past. Do you want technology to compete with magic?
How magic works- Are objects needed for casting? Is the power from within or obtained elsewhere? Can anyone learn to do magic? Are there different magic styles? Is there any cost to doing a spell? How does a person gain more power? Are there ways for non-magic users to counteract magic?
Hope this gives you a kickstart.

 

[Ban]

Not quite a children's book, but the Kingkiller Chronicles heavily feature a school for magic, and rarely is it accused of being reminiscent of Harry Potter. It's all about the execution. Don't be hindered by previous stories. In the end, we all utilize ideas that have been used by others before us.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Magical schools have been around for a long time to one degree or another, but they keep selling because lots of kids like reading about schools. Me? I hated schools, and the last damned thing I wanted to do was read about a school, even if it was magic. Even more so now. And yet! Eve of Snows opens in a monastery where the clergy are educated, including prayer/magic, but I don't think that it really clicks as a school of magic like the Potter series. And it doesn't revolve around education.

Write what you want and make it yours. It will find an audience or not.

 

[Finchbearer]

Demesnedenoir has indeed just reminded me that I too have in effect a magical school system - or more rather a medieval setting where magical and scholarly pursuits are one and all. The ages that people attend these halls of magical learning are older than that of HP, and the overarching story is about much more than this setting.

 

[pmmg]

Rowling made some bad curses?

Rowling holds it by the balls? --Only until someone else takes it away.

Who cares what she does. Write what you want to write.

 

[Prince of Spires]

As long as you don't write about a magical boarding school at the turn of the 21st century placed in Scotland that looks like Oxford where students are placed in four different houses based on a random selection process then you're absolutely fine. There are lots of ways to go with magical schools. Go out and explore.

That said, even if you do write the above, then it's all good. Write what you want.

As a side note, you can't avoid being compared to Rowling if you write about a magical school in a modern day setting just as you can't avoid being compared to Tolkien if you write epic fantasy. It comes with the territory. Don't worry about it.

 

[Mireille]

Wright about a magic school. every person's school experance is diffrent and is something we all have in common. Hogwarts is only one very spicific expression of school.