The death of her mother on December 30 , 1990 led Rowling to write Harry Potter as a boy longing for his dead parents . His pain became `` more deeper , more real '' than in earlier versions because she related to it herself . Her own mother 's death on 30 December 1990 inspired Rowling to write Harry Potter as a boy longing for his dead parents , his anguish becoming `` much deeper , much more real '' than in earlier drafts because she related to it herself .