J.K. Rowling Starts Work on “Fantastic Beasts” 3 Screenplay

Having wrapped up work on Lethal White just two months ago, J.K. Rowling didn’t take much of a break before moving on to her next project. She recently revealed that she has already begun writing the screenplay for the third Fantastic Beasts movie.

After spending so much time writing novels, Rowling admitted that she found screenwriting to be “very challenging at first.” Despite this, seeing her work brought to life on set makes the whole process worth it to Rowling.

The thing with movies is, however frustrated you get with the screenwriting process, and right at the moment when you think ‘never again, this is too hard’, you go down to the film set and join in with one big glorious game of pretend, with the world’s best pretenders saying your words, and dressing out of the most fabulous dressing up box, and what with the lights and the smoke and the music you’re suddenly in love with the process all over again.

In addition to revealing her current projects, Rowling also discussed what a typical writing day looks like for her. Although she works from home, she tries to keep a bit of structure to her work days.

I try to start work before 9:00 a.m…. The earlier in the day I start, the more productive I am. In the last year or two I’ve put in a couple of all-nighters on the screenplays for Fantastic Beasts, but otherwise I try and keep my writing to the daytime. If I’ve started around nine, I can usually work through to about 3:00 p.m. before I need more than a short break.

The room where she writes is in the garden just outside her house, and she keeps it well stocked with tea, drinking about eight or nine cups per writing session. Classical music typically plays in the background to help keep her focused. Rowling admitted that she also likes writing to the background buzz of a cafe but that she reluctantly had to give it up.

Part of the point of being alone in a crowd was being happily anonymous and free to people-watch, and when you’re the one being watched, you become too self-conscious to work.

Preferring solitary work, she mostly wrote novels and originally was hesitant to collaborate with others. Rowling declined idea proposals for about ten years before finally agreeing to work on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. John Tiffany and Jack Thorne were a huge part of what made the project enjoyable for her.

I have so many wonderful memories of the earliest rehearsals… but what I remember most fondly about the three of us working together is the laughter. I loved the process from beginning to end… nothing prepared me for seeing it in its entirety, in the theatre. I found it incredibly moving, and it brought back a tsunami of memories about the seventeen years I spent creating the characters and writing the Harry Potter books. John and Jack did a superb job. Very few people have come inside the world with me, and it creates a particular bond.

When questioned as to whether she writes for herself or for others, Rowling answered by stating how both elements influence her writing in different ways.

I don’t feel like myself if I’m not writing regularly, and I feel restless and odd if I have nothing to write, which these days is never, because I’ve got so many different projects on the go, by choice. I also write for myself in that I need to feel excited about a story to want to capture it on paper. I’m afraid I couldn’t write anything just because I knew people wanted it. The impetus always has to come from within.

On the other hand, no story lives unless someone is prepared to listen. As a writer, your highest aspiration is to touch people, to connect, to amuse or console. What could be more wonderful than hearing that your book helped somebody through a tough time? I think of the times when books have been my best consolation and source of strength, and I’m proud beyond words when I hear that anything I wrote did the same for other people.

Once finished with the next Fantastic Beasts screenplay, Rowling hopes to write another children’s book unrelated to the wizarding world. She’s been developing the idea for the children’s story for about six years now but didn’t disclose any hints on what the book may be about. For now, we’ll just have to be patient while we wait to see what type of imaginative story Rowling will create next. Luckily, we have a lot to keep us occupied with the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and the publication of Lethal White both occurring later this year.