Line #74 Creator/DianaWynneJones


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/diana_wynne_jones.png]]
2	->''"I start out with people very often. Also some very, very clear scenes from the middle of the book. And usually a notion of how it’s going to go in the end, but that isn’t always the case. But it’s the clear picture from the middle that’s the important bit, I think.''
3	-->(On being asked how she starts writing a new work)
4
5	Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011) was a British author of fantasy, mostly of the Young Adult variety. Noted for her intricate plotting with frequent uses of ThePlan, high-energy dialogue, and relentlessly [[{{DeadpanSnarker}} British]] [[{{Lampshading}} wit]]. She is probably best known for ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'' (which was turned into a very successful [[Anime/HowlsMovingCastle animated movie]] by Creator/HayaoMiyazaki), and her ''Literature/{{Chrestomanci}}'' series, but she has an extensive catalog of novels and short stories.
6
7	She was diagnosed with cancer but decided to stop chemotherapy in 2010, and died in March 2011. But her career still wasn't quite over, as in 2013 another of her manuscripts was discovered, and prepared for publication.
8	----
9	!! Works with a page on this Wiki:
10	[[index]]
11	* ''Literature/ArchersGoon''
12	* ''Literature/BlackMaria'' (aka ''Aunt Maria'')
13	* ''Literature/{{Chrestomanci}}'' (or ''The Chronicles of Chrestomanci'')
14	** ''Charmed Life''
15	** ''The Magicians of Caprona''
16	** ''Witch Week''
17	** ''The Lives of Christopher Chant''
18	** ''Mixed Magics'' (a short story collection)
19	** ''Conrad's Fate''
20	** ''The Pinhoe Egg''
21	* ''Literature/TheDalemarkQuartet''
22	** ''Cart and Cwidder''
23	** ''Drowned Ammet''
24	** ''The Spellcoats''
25	** ''The Crown of Dalemark''
26	* ''Literature/DarkLordOfDerkholm'' (and its sequel, ''Year of the Griffin'')
27	* ''Literature/{{Dogsbody}}''
28	* ''Literature/EightDaysOfLuke''
29	* ''Literature/EnchantedGlass''
30	* ''Literature/FireAndHemlock''
31	* ''Literature/{{Hexwood}}''
32	* ''Literature/TheHomewardBounders''
33	* ''Literature/TheIslandsOfChaldea'' (a PosthumousCollaboration)
34	* ''The Magids''
35	** ''Literature/DeepSecret''
36	** ''Literature/TheMerlinConspiracy''
37	* ''Moving Castle'' series
38	** ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle''
39	** ''Literature/CastleInTheAir''
40	** ''Literature/HouseOfManyWays''
41	* ''Literature/TheOgreDownstairs''
42	* ''Literature/PowerOfThree''
43	* ''Literature/ASuddenWildMagic''
44	* ''Literature/ATaleOfTimeCity''
45	* ''Literature/TheTimeOfTheGhost''
46	* ''Literature/TheToughGuideToFantasyland'': An [[AffectionateParody affectionately parodic]] encyclopedia of standard fantasy elements, which reads like an undiscovered section of this wiki (or possibly vice versa).
47	[[/index]]
48
49	!! Her other works include:
50	* ''Literature/{{Changeover}}''
51	* "Literature/TheGame2007" (novella)
52	* ''Puss In Boots''
53	* ''Literature/WildRobert''
54	* ''Literature/WilkinsTooth'' (aka ''Witch's Business'' in the US)
55
56	!! Short story/novella collections:
57	* ''Literature/BelievingIsSeeing''
58	* ''Everard's Ride''
59	* ''Minor Arcana''
60	* ''Stopping for a Spell''
61	* ''Literature/UnexpectedMagic''
62	* ''Warlock at the Wheel and Other Stories''
63
64	!!Adaptations based on her works:
65	* ''Anime/EarwigAndTheWitch''
66	* ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle''
67
68	----
69
70	!! Common tropes
71	* ActionGirl: Pretty much all her UrbanFantasy protagonists are this.
72	* AdultsAreUseless: There were a lot of examples of this, based on both [[https://suberic.net/dwj/bio.html her own experience]] and a subversion of the common trope of parents who seem to be seeking AchievementsInIgnorance. Most prominently featured in Literature/FireAndHemlock with Polly's mother Ivy.
73	* AffectionateParody: Both the Derkholm series and ''Literature/TheToughGuideToFantasyland'' are this for the fantasy genre, and there's a soft skewering of fantasy in most of her works.
74	* BadassNormal: A lot of her stories revolve around someone normal struggling in a world of magic (or at least, [[spoiler:so it seems]]).
75	* BritainIsOnlyLondon: Averted. Most (if not all) of her books have at least one setting that isn't London.
76	* ChildrensLiterature: Everything she wrote, with the exception of ''Changeover'' and ''A Sudden Wild Magic'', is this.
77	* DemotedToExtra: Most of her sequels push the cast of the last book in the series into the background to focus on a new cast and anyone who wasn't a major protagonist tends to get only a brief mention or cameo at best. Howl's apprentice Micheal Fisher who was a notable supporting character in ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'' gets only a brief mention in ''Literature/CastleInTheAir'' and zero mention in ''Literature/HouseOfManyWays''.
78	* MindScrew: A pretty common complaint/praise.
79	* TheMultiverse: The Howl, Chrestomanci and Magid Series, and the stand-alone ''Literature/TheHomewardBounders'', are all set in multiverses (though, as far as we know, not the same one).
80	* {{Mythology}}: Pretty much everything she wrote took cues off some sort of mythology.
81	** Myth/CelticMythology: Literature/FireAndHemlock is based off the Tam Lin ballad and Thomas the Rhymer legend.
82	** Myth/ClassicalMythology: The Game, a novella, has golden apples as a major plot point.
83	** Myth/NorseMythology: ''Literature/EightDaysOfLuke'' is based all around the days of the week and the Norse god they correspond to.
84	* PublicDomainCharacter: ''Literature/TheHomewardBounders'' has a lot of this, but a lot of her work has this in spades.
85	* TheReveal: Many of her stories feature surprising revelations about one or more characters, the most frequent ones being that they're related to another character, are actually someone else, have special powers, and/or are secretly a villain. Sometimes the characters themselves were unaware of these things, leading to an IAmWho moment. ''Literature/ArchersGoon'', ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'', and ''Literature/TheMerlinConspiracy'' abound with multiple reveals, while ''Charmed Life'', ''Literature/EightDaysOfLuke'', ''Literature/ATaleOfTimeCity'' and ''The Lives of Christopher Chant'' have one or two major reveals each.

Context Creator / DianaWynneJones