AMC--Chapter Forty-Two

[dawn_felagund]

Yes, it is a day early. Sort of. But I finished it this afternoon and thought, "What the heck?" since it's three days late already. And I have warrant-type things (a.k.a. real work) to do tomorrow morning.

So here is the elusive Chapter Forty-Two, from the PoV of the recalcitrant Carnistir. As it turns out, this chapter is too large for LJ! So it

Comments

[frenchpony]

Your Carnistir voice is improving, though I don't think you've really latched onto it quite yet. He still seems far more sophisticated in his observations and conclusions than a toddler ought to be, but I think you've started to find some real moments of childlike behavior in there. I think it's a very difficult thing to write from the perspective of someone who's hip-high; most of the things that happen in the family literally go over their heads, and they are very observant but don't yet have the skills or the experience to interpret everything they see correctly. Particularly with someone like Carnistir, who doesn't seem to be the most verbal of the kids, there's so much opportunity for him to misinterpret things for either dramatic or comedic effect

[dawn_felagund]

I think it's a very difficult thing to write from the perspective of someone who's hip-high

Yes, it is. :) Especially a hip-high Elf with a sense that I as a plain ol' Human have never experienced. Tolkien said that little Elves advance faster than little Humans in terms of language ability...but it's hard to walk the line of how far one can go with this and still remain believable to the audience. I was keeping your last comment about this in mind as writing it; visiting thesaurus.com for synonyms and ideas, I was tempted to use certain words and had to slap my own wrist and say, "He's four, Dawn!"

(Was it you who asked me once for the quote about language development in young Elves? I don't think I ever gave it if you did....)

It's such a kid thing to do, and it establishes the bond between Tyelkormo and Carnistir without having to chew up time 'splaining it.I'm glad--and amused!--that this scene was so well-liked overall. It wasn't planned at all but one of those scenes that just "happens" as I'm writing it

[frenchpony]

Tolkien said that little Elves advance faster than little Humans in terms of language ability...but it's hard to walk the line of how far one can go with this and still remain believable to the audience.Well, I think you could look at a little Elf's ability to use language versus his ability to understand it. That is, the kid might very well have a better command of complex grammar and syntax than a human of equivalent physical development, but he might not yet have the experience or the sophistication to really understand what all the words he knows mean, or why people do the things they do, or what, in general, is going on in the world

AMC42

[digdigil]

Hi, Dawn

Re: AMC42

[dawn_felagund]

Don't worry about not reading/commenting right away. As far behind as I am on Maglor/Daeron, I have no room to complain. :)

Little kids are superlative at reading body language and tones in your voice.

Or in Carni's case, reading auras, or whatever it is that he does! :^P

He's a hard character to write, being as I have little experience--or interest--in small children. Of course, I can blunder my way out of that by whining, "But he's an Elf...."

Teenagers are the opposite. You can hit a teenager over the head with a brick and he'll say "huh?" and he just won't get it.

*ahem*

*looks at Nelyo*

He doesn't get it. ;)

Actually, the plotbunnies are circling around and demanding that Carni's story be fleshed out and that his whole childhood and teenagehood be explored. Can you start a list, Dawn, for what you're going to be writing after you finish your Feany/Nerds romance fic? (Which is causing me to salivate as I think about it, btw.) Would you have room on your agenda for a 'Carni Growing Up' story?Oh, I'm sorry to unleash the

Re: AMC42

[digdigil]

Oh wow, thanks for the list of your planned fics. They ALL sound fabulous and so interesting! As I now have a particular interest in Maglor, the "Maglor's Fate" one has me drooling! If you ever do finish reading "LTSS" (I just finished it today so one less WIP) then you'll see that I left a huge gap of 12,018 years between the last chapter and the epilogue. That means there is huge space to be filled in! LOL!

Re: AMC42

[rhapsody11]

# Maglor's fate (this will either be a short story or--if it's novel-length--will have a lot of original content; maybe novella?)

I am slowly working on, what now feels like, a vignette series that covers Maglor's life. I started on it a year ago, so let me know when you finished this. I would love to see your take on it.

Re: AMC42

[dawn_felagund]

I (mentally) have a lot of it "written," since it is one of my stories that I "choreographed" to a song...in part, at least. :) It's part of this whole series that includes AMC; I am eager to work on it, but I hesitate until I establish more of the backstory, not wanting to paint myself into a corner.

But I will let you know when I do! :)

[dawn_felagund]

Of course, you'd pick a confection who's yet to make Turkish Delight! ;)

But most of the recipes that I'm finding involve some sort of citrus (orange, lime, or lemon). I found one that does not involve citrus but dates.

One, bizarrely, is made with peanut butter. Not sure how that one works.

I'd say the only problem I'd see is accounting for the citrus, which would depend on the geographical region, of course.

[frenchpony]

Can you determine, from reading the recipes, what the citrus does? That is, is it just a flavoring agent, or does it function to bind the candy together, or what? This candy isn't going to be real Turkish Delight; I'm just looking for something with that sort of gumdrop consistency. So, if the citrus is mainly there for flavoring, then it doesn't matter so much. If it's vital to the recipe, then I'd have to think about it some more.

I'm not even going to name the candy -- I just needed something that would be vaguely "foreign" to some of the characters involved in the scene and that would come in little bite-sized pieces. Stickiness is an added benefit.

[dawn_felagund]

It appears to be for flavoring. Either way, a lot isn't used.

The first recipe I grabbed:

2 tbsp. gelatin
1 tbsp. water
1 med. orange
1 med. lemon
4 tbsp. almonds
3 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
Icing sugar

Soak gelatin in 1 tablespoon of water and keep aside for about 10 minutes. Extract juice from orange and lemon. Wash the peels and keep aside. Blanche almonds and slice very fine. Combine sugar, water, juices and peels and bring to a boil. Add the gelatin and simmer until it dissolves. Strain the mixture. Cool for about 3 or 4 minutes. When the mixture is about to set, add the almonds. Mix well and pour into a wet bowl. Chill until completely set. Before serving, turn out the jelly onto a plate and cut into 1 inch pieces. Roll the pieces in icing sugar and serve. Makes 20 pieces.

[frenchpony]

Ooo, thanks! I'll have to try making that at home sometime.

It looks like, if the flavoring is rosewater rather than lemon-orange, and the gelatin comes from the seaweed, they could make a pretty similar candy right there. Cool. Thanks! I'll just keep the candy description that I have, then.

[dawn_felagund]

You're welcome. :) If you make the recipe, you'll have to let me know how it turns out!

[frenchpony]

Will do.