-MAINE ARTICLE-

-UNFINISHED BOOKS IN THE HOGWARTS LIBARARY-

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The amount of unfinished books in the Hogwarts Library has mounted to extraordinary levels over the time it has existed, some of these books Work in Progress, some left until the writer has another burst of inspiration. However, a large part of the unfinished books are novels abandoned and forgotten, by readers and author alike. The problem is, in my opinion and those of many others, that they are clogging up the library and need to be removed.

But how can we carry out this process with all its complications? So many of these books fill the library’s shelves and there are many problems to take into account when installing new methods. I asked some fellow students what they thought would be a good way to rid ourselves of the pointless books in our library. Here are a few of their suggestions:

-Books that are left unedited by the author for over a month are immediately deleted by an automatic technical function. 

-Books with no more than three chapters are deleted if they are left unedited by the author for any more than a fortnight.

-Hogwarts Staff go through the library deleting books that have been abandoned by the author.

-Writers are ordered by Staff to delete abandoned books.

-A special section in the library is completed for incomplete books.

To discuss the first:

“Books that are left unedited by the author for over a month are immediately deleted by an automatic technical function. “

This idea presents a few problems that are unfortunately difficult to steer round. For one, if books are completed but then left by the Author and not edited for over a month, the finished book would be deleted and lost – and with the current numbers of competed books, this could be a disaster. Also, if one writer is away for a long period of time (perhaps not a moth, but four weeks could coincide with the protocol of deletion), then a Work in Progress or competed book could be deleted also. 

The second:

“Books with no more than three chapters are deleted if they are left unedited by the author for any more than a fortnight.”

This idea is a slightly more supported one than the first, but again it presents complications similar to the first. The writer going away without Wi-Fi, is one problem also presented in this suggestion. Also short stories could make the book only a couple of chapters long and therefor it could be deleted. 

A complicated computer mechanism would also be needed, and even if I have no idea of the workings of these set ups, I am pretty sure it would be quite difficult to create an automatic deletion in such a complicated way.

However, this suggestion does have it’s plus points, as books with few chapters that have been abandoned can be deleted, pointless books with just a few photos or a message can also be removed, and the idea does not effect the few completed books dwelling in the library.

The third:

“Hogwarts Staff go through the library deleting books that have been “abandoned by the author.

This would be a particularly difficult process to see through, as it would take much organization and probably more technical protocols, giving the staff of Hogwarts the right to delete unneeded books. And, of course, before deletion you would most likely need to speak with the author, and this could bring arguments and threats also. So yes, I do not see this idea as suitable as the others, although it would be a less harsh way of dealing with unfinished books.

The fourth:

“Writers are ordered by Staff to delete abandoned books.”

This is very like the third suggestion, it would take time and work from the staff and probably wouldn’t work well anyway. If an author has abandoned the entire site, how can they answer the messages of staff or delete their own books?

Still, I do think that writers should delete unnecessary books and really think before beginning a novel – and really think before abandoning one. We are in real need of completed books, especially in the fiction area.

The fifth:

“A special section in the library is completed for incomplete books.”

Unfortunately the numbers of unfinished books have mounted so high that this would literally be the entire library, and the section marked “Complete Books” would consist of very few writings. If there were more completed novels I would welcome this idea, but sadly almost all writings are incomplete.

So which of these suggestions could we use to remove unfinished books? Or is it really a problem? I asked one student, Dean McCormick, what his opinion on unfinished books was, to which he replied:

“I don't think it should be fussed over too much. You could, like, put together a team that would keep track of that and contact the authors of the unfinished books and see if they care.”

Perhaps we shouldn’t be fussing over the situation, yes, but for authors and readers alike it is vey frustrating with all the unneeded literature flowing into the library before being casually abandoned. The views of the Hogwarts staff are not known, but maybe the new update coming up will sort this problem, but is unlikely.

My conclusion is the Authors need to take it into their own hands. Think deeply if you’ve abandoned a book on the shelves. Do you need it? Is it any good? Have you got any plans for it whatsoever? You need to get rid of it if you’re not going to be bothered with completing, even if it is half-written. 

However, if you’ve got half way with it, and have just abandoned it in laziness, think again! We are in dire need to new fiction books to be completed in the library, and it would be great if we can up those numbers!

So please, think before writing, think before abandoning, and think about your writing. 

-Lilia Pendragon