Inspiration as Flown!

[Ruse]

Hey, I wanna crab about generally wanting to write, but not having a plot. Well, I have one plot...but alas, I know not enough about Tolkien's world to try and fit it in. I'm looking to write something large in scale.

Argh..it was so easy in The Mummy...I could take Egypt and make it my own. I really like settings, painting a setting into a reader's mind...but Lord of the Rings fans seem to want everything to remain untouched. It's very hard for one to make it their own in such a canonically detailed world. You know what fits and what doesn't...in Mummy you could give a monster power and create an artifact that stopped him.

Don't get me wrong, I love the orginal world and works, but it's hard to write in that because it's simply been done already, by him and by hundreds of fanfiction writers.

I want to write...but inspiration as yet to really take hold. *sigh*

[Karri]

Alas, inspiration for Middle-earth has never taken fully hold of me, either (though it has inspired several original fictions, which of course, are like an inspiration vacuum when it comes to fanfiction.) Argh! I also have much difficulty (especially involving my current WIP) with the problem of everything having been done already. *sigh*

Canon can be a big old bee sting on the arse, can't it? I know it pretty well right down to the Unfinished Tales and Histories of Middle-earth, and still people gripe about this, that, and the other thing I have interpreted incorrectly. Feel free to ask anything you might have a question about on the board.

Perhaps you should give a go at claiming Middle-earth for you own, like you have Egypt. Many an author has done it – Daw, Cassia, Elfeye, Adromir, to name a few. Daw comes the closest to canon, but her universe could also be argued by difficult people (like myself, who has argued this with daw once or twice) that it is also far from it. Cassia, Elfeye, and Adromir have pretty much invented their own canon. Cassia’s MC tales starting out fairly close to Tolkien, but they don’t really resemble it much at all these days; Elfeye and Adromir have never really even bothered to pretend canon. (I adore Elfeye, especially – not much angst, but very witty.)

If you are worried about people flaming you for non-canon, toss a handy 'AU' up in the summary. It might scare away a few reviews initially, but in all likelihood, with your skill, you’ll have an ever-growing legion of followers in no time.

[Karri]

(Forgot to subtly toss in there that there is an Elrond challenge in Flies and Spiders. )

[Ruse]

Hmm..yeah. I suppose the answer is just to make it my own. Run towards AU with open arms. Write for my pleasure, not reviews. *ssssiiiiiiggh* But those reviews sure do taste good when one gets one.

Elrond challenge? Where is Dale anyway? Is this a fluffy place?

[Karri]

LOL! I know a handful of authors that write purely for their own pleasure...I would like to say that I'm one, but, nay, I am a review junkie. In consolation, though, I'll add that Cassia, Daw and Adromir are three of the best reviewed authors in LOTR. (ElfEye has the disadvantage of calling Legolas by another name, thereby not snagging the eye of the Legofans, and a lack of angst.)

Dale was a town of Men that was situated in the valley at the mouth of the main gate of the Lonely Mountain in the East (about 50 miles or 5 days east of Thranduil's palace.) It was exceedingly wealthy, as most of the silver and gold trade out of the Lonely Mountain passed through the markets of Dale (which was especially reknowed for its merry bells and the production of marvelous and magical toys.) In 2770, Smaug the dragon (one of the last in M-e) came down out of the north and destroyed Dale and Laketown, killed most of the dwarves of the Lonely Mountain, and claimed it as his new home.

It is a place which, like all prosperous cities, has the potential to be both fluffy and exceedingly non-fluffy.

I will look for a good map resource and add the link to The Counsel of Wise Wizards. ;D

[Ruse]

Hmmm...*thinks about all the trouble Elrond could get into...*

[Gwenneth]

Hey! I too sometimes have difficulty with inspiration for LotR...all I can ever think to write is hurt so and so. I love to hurt characters, heck if they really went through my stories they would probably be dead!!

I find that fic challenges don't usually work for me....though I did do one. I have a problem with HAVING to use certain quotes. They are a lot of fun sometimes, but then again, people who are canon junkies will not like them a lot of times because they kind of tend to take the characters OOC. (The funny ones at least...)

I'm writing a story, When a Shadow Falls, my first lotr fic, and it is highly complicated. It started off as let's kill off all the elves in M-E except Legolas. THEN, it changed.

NOW nearly every main character and some supporting characters from the books are in it. Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir, Gandalf, Galadriel, Celeborn, Faramir, Glorfindel, Bilbo, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Sam, Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, Arwen, Eowyn, Eomer, Thranduil, *pants* I think that covers most of them.

Problem is...I'm not where near a Tolkien expert...I'm more like a kindergartner in Tolkien's world. SO..imagine ME trying to write a story of THAT scale AND keep to canon. Yeah right.

But I love lotr and wanted to share my fics...it's appallingly sad that people will reject well-written stories because the author is not well-versed enough in Tolkien to know the exact years Aragorn travelled as Thorongil or the exact story of Beren and Luthien. I know they existed and the times happened, I don't know when, nor the details....does that mean my story is not in Tolkien's world? Not exactly...perhaps if I did not specify a time frame...only wrong stories that could have happened in anytime...but I didn't want to.

All right, I'm done ranting...that was what this was for, right!!! Thanks for listening to me! I'm just sore that people can't understand not all of us writers have the time to learn Tolkien enough to get everything right by canon.

[The King's Butler]

Yipper skipper, Gwenneth. Ranting, moaning and groaning is what this category is all about...feels good to get things off your chest, eh?

And a perfectly understandable rant it is, too.

[Carol]

I don't write but read just about anything I can get my hands on about LOTR. I love the stories by all the MC's And really enjoy reviewing and giving feedback.
Your right! It's a shame when people won't post your stories because they don't think they are inline. The truth is I find the ones where people use thier own imagination the best. It's these little differences that make them original. Sometimes it only takes one little personal additive to make the story original, and originality is what I crave. If all the stories stayed inline we would be reading the same things over and over and over. Once in a while we all need a little change.

[Gwenneth]

Thank you Carol! That is so true....if everyone stayed COMPLETELY within canon, then a lot of stories would never be written and I for one would miss them. I love when people put some original ideas into the fics, as long as they aren't really, you know...using Harry Potter spells and wands in the fic! There IS a limit I guess.

But, some fics where main characters die before the War of the Ring even takes place are quite good. Obviously THEY are not canon!!! Who's got the right to say that they are not "worthy" of being posted on a site because of that!? Heck, last I checked, Mr. Tolkien was no longer living...he is the only one who really would be able to say, "That is inappropriate use of my characters..."

Okay...done ranting. *pants* That was sure a lot of work! But glad I did it!!!

;D

-Gwenneth, the archer

[dawtheminstrel]

One of the things that's changed a lot in the fandom since early 2003 when I first started writing is that there are many more places to post stories. I can remember looking at ff.net and HASA and thinking that was it.

So I'm sure you'll find lots of places to post your stories Gwenneth, where readers appreciate what you have to offer in the form of a well-written story that may not be purely canonical.

I have to admit that I like canon myself (even though Karri suggests I wander a little ), so I'm glad to find sites that give me what I'm looking for too. It's all in the match between the reader, the writer, and the site. Thank goodness we don't all have to be the same.

[Nilmandra]

Someone just pointed me to this site, but I will keep this as my one and only post, as the purpose of this thread is to rant and I don't intend to interfere with that. Or count this as my rant, if you want. I am sorry if you interpreted our conversation as meaning that I was telling you what was worthy to be written; my only intent was to explain what matched the guidelines at SoA.

People are welcome to write what they want, and post their works at any site that matches their needs. If you cannot find a site, start your own. There is open source code out there you can alter to fit your needs, then you find a host and pay their fees.

I have never tried to make SoA be all things to all people, and don't intend to start. As I said to you, I fell in love with Tolkien's world. I prefer stories set in that world. Since I have taken on the burden of hosting and running the site, I keep it within the limits I set for it. Other people like other things, and fortunately there are other sites out there that better fit their needs.

I wish you well with your story. As I also said to you, you write well and clearly, by all the reviews at ff.net, you have a fine audience.

[Gwenneth]

Ugh I was a bit pushy there. Heck...down right mean I guess. (But cut me a LITTLE slack...I've been writing like a maniac for four weeks with a fractured hand...I'm a bit on EDGE.)

Nil...I am not mad at you...just mad at not knowing enough canon to satisfy you. I love a lot of the stories on your site and I wanted to be a part of that wonderful world. Perhaps you don't know how much it hurts an author to hear that their story is not fit for your site...it made ME feel like you thought it wasn't worthy enough for your readers.

Perhaps that wasn't your intention...as a matter of fact, since you managed to remain cordial *smacks self* you probably didn't. But as I'm sure you know we all put a lot of work into our stories and it hurts to be rejected. I know there are plenty of other good sites out there to post on...but a rejection hurts no matter what. Especially a rejection that stems from something I have NO control over. I couldn't write strict canon if my life depended on it. Not unless I were to just stare at the different appendices and try to fit something in there and if I did that I wouldn't be writing what my heart wanted to write.

I'm glad you put all the work you do into your site...it is a good site. I'll send this to your email too...just in case you don't check here...

[Karri]

I have to admit that I like canon myself (even though Karri suggests I wander a little ), so I'm glad to find sites that give me what I'm looking for too.

Nay, I would not so much say that you wander -- since when dealing with Mirkwood canon is mostly in the eye of the beholder -- but that you have a different conception than I of elven life in Mirkwood. (Not that I am opinionated in the least when it comes to Wood-elves. ) The predominate take on Mirkwood matches yours in viewing it as militant. I could argue the point till I'm blue, and it will remain the predominate view. (So much so that the concensus would probably declare you straying from canon if you did not write it that way.) *shrug* I resignedly accept that and enjoy your universe (well, 'cept for Celuwen ) and others that write Mirkwood that way, but I still disagree.

(Nice use of eyeroll-smilie. Love that little guy.)

[Karri]

Someone just pointed me to this site, but I will keep this as my one and only post, as the purpose of this thread is to rant and I don't intend to interfere with that.

I shall scrap my plans for pestering you to sign up then, but you are most welcome, all the same.