JK ROWLING has revealed she would have had a career in dentistry – but didn’t get the grades.
The Harry Potter author, who penned the bestselling books in history, joked on Twitter that she could easily have chosen a different career path.
The announcement came during a conversation with fellow writers Val McDermid and Joanne Harris about pleasing their readers.
And it appears that from a young age, her career options centred around being able to cause people pain.
The conversation began when Joanne Harris, best known for her 1999 novel Chocolat, wrote: “Damnit, why can’t we do what everyone wants, huh?”
Crime writer Val McDermid, who wrote a series of suspense novels which led to the hit TV series The Wire, replied: “Because we just don’t care, I guess.”
Rowling joined in the conversation, saying: “I actively enjoy causing people pain. I only write because I didn’t get the grades in dentistry.”
Her followers then joked about the similarities between the professions.
Benjamin Johncock said: “Writing is a bit like pulling teeth…”
Another follower asked: “Is that why you made Hermione’s parents dentists? Because you wanted to be one yourself?”
Ardit Haliti wrote: “I swear all authors hold meetings where they discuss how they can break our hearts the best.”
Despite her jokes about dentistry, it seems that from a young age Rowling was destined to be a writer.
As a child, she often wrote fantasy stories which she would read to her sister, and enjoyed reading Dickens and Tolkein at university.
It has been suggested that some of the pain and suffering reflected in the Potter series comes from Rowling’s own life experiences.
Last year she said on Twitter that it “wouldn’t be easy” to write a novel where nobody dies, because she is “all about the death”.
