The Doctor's channeling Harry Potter. He *is*!
So, something rather exciting happened today. I was talking to a friend after creative writing class about how it was sad we didn't get to write prose, because I'm much better at it. She replied, "Oh, yeah, Kiley said your prose is beyond awesome. You write fanfic, right
( Read more... )
Still, I have found some good HP gen. The one I recced I really enjoyed, and *at the time it was written* it could have been canon-compliant. (Of course, then the next book came out, rendering it AU.) RSF writes a lot of drabbles and some excellent LotR fic, but this is one of her rare long stories.
As I said, I write gen. I'm all over the place, timewise, pre-, during, and post-Quest, and even some gapfillers for The Hobbit. I write strictly book-verse, with the occasional tip of the hat to movie-verse, and with my imagery somewhat influenced by the movies. And I write everything from drabbles to multi-chapter epic to poetry. My favorite theme is the deep friendship between *all four* of the hobbits.
You can find my stories at Stories of Arda; here's the link to my Author page there:
http://www.storiesofarda.com/searchresults.asp
I've read RoP, and found it interesting; but I don't share WW's view of the Shire however fascinating it is, and very much have my own. My first "childhood" story was about Frodo coming to live with Bilbo, called "A Place for Gandalf".
http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterlistview.asp?SID=2107
I hope you enjoy! LotR is my One True Fandom, so it's always nice to find new friends who love it as much as I do!
Reply
RoP deserves kudos for its sheer scope and vision, but there are several elements that I had trouble with. There are a couple of ideas I want to play with in my own fic that I don't think were really dealt with in RoP. I'm really fascinated with the idea of class struggle in the Shire, and I'd like to see Pippin treated as something other than a troublemaking nuisance or a coddled infant for once. (And for some reason, I just really think he and Sam would be great playmates.)
I read "A Place for Gandalf," and I just loved it! It's a very sweet, very tender look at Frodo coming to Bag End, and I love Bilbo's surprise!
It's always great to meet a fellow fan...and once I looked at your user info, I realized you're a fellow Oklahoman, as well! Small world!
Reply
Yes, I had a some issues with RoP. It was well-written, but I found myself shaking my head over the interpretation of Frodo (not the slash which only bothers me when it is too graphic or poorly handled; after all, I can always skim over the graphic parts--but Frodo's attitude; he was far too self-absorbed and self-centered). And I dislike importing pagan elements into the Shire. Hobbits were not religious in any way. I will say that I did love the characterization of *Bilbo*! And she gave a good deal of breadth to parts of the Shire we don't often look at.
I really dislike Pippin being portrayed as, as you say, a nuisance. It's a very big pet peeve of mind. A bit of high spirits, and perhaps an occasional prank would not turn me off. But the Pippin portrayed in canon is a polite, hard-working, and very loving and devoted young person, with a good deal of personal courage--though he often does not realize it at the time. He was the "baby" of the group--I've no doubt that Frodo and Merry might have attempted to coddle and protect him to a certain degree; but I'm equally certain he'd not allow that. After the break-in at the Prancing Pony, he's the first one to tell Strider that they'll carry "as much as we must".
And I think Pippin probably got along just fine with Sam, who I think would have a lot of patience with his curiousity and energy.
I'm so glad you enjoyed "A Place for Gandalf". It was among my earliest fics, and the first one I wrote that dealt with young Frodo and little Merry. (Pippin, of course, not being born yet.) I got the idea from a discussion of Moria in an online forum, when we talked about the fact that Frodo's grief for Balin seemed personal. And the only time it might have been possible for Frodo to have met him would have been the year Bilbo adopted him--as I got to wondering about what would have taken Balin there before going to Moria, I thought "Why wouldn't he try to recruit his old friend, Bilbo the Burglar?" I had also been thinking of doing a story about Bilbo making a guest room for Gandalf--so the two notions rather combined. I had a good deal of fun with that story, so thank you for your kind words!
I saw you are in Norman. I'm in Cushing. I've only lived here a little under a year and a half, so I'm not real familiar with where everything is. But maybe we can get together sometime for a mini-moot. There's another LotR fan on LJ, poppymuddyfoot who's in OKC. I've yet to meet her either.
Reply
I think the movies have definitely tweaked everyone's perception of Pippin (and really, Merry, too). But as you said, it's not like he's this hyperactive explosion of mischief, and it really bothers me when people write him as such. He's Tookish, for sure, and growing up amongst sisters he's sure to be a bit of a prankster, but I think he's shortchanged as a character.
Huzzah for local fans! And huzzah for mini-moots! Huzzah for new friends, and huzzah for just about anything, really. I just really love the word huzzah.
Reply
Merry disliking Pippin was another thing I didn't care for, but that particular version of Pippin was so bratty I didn't blame him. I don't mind a little friction between them, as long as the love for one another underlies it--grey_wonderer does some wonderful Merry and Pippin humor, but no matter how much the two of them snark and snap at times, you can tell they love one another deeply. I also very much disliked the portrayal of Esmeralda as being antagonistic to Frodo. And the idea that Primula was suicidal and basically killed herself and Drogo made my skin crawl.
I did, as I said, like her Bilbo. And I very much liked some of the minor characters, such as her Widow Rumble, and her Daisy Gamgee, and the Gaffer. She had an interesting take on the S.B.s as well, though not my own interpretation. RoP works as an AU, but it falls down as an explanation for Frodo's character--the Frodo of RoP is far too self-centered to volunteer for a sacrifice of becoming the Ringbearer!
The problem with the movies is that they gutted Merry and Pippin's whole backstory. The viewer is never clued in to their close relationship to Frodo as blood-kin and best friends, and so there doesn't seem to be any motive for them to go on the Quest. It's compounded by treating them as comic relief. However, PJ never went as far as some fic writers do, in portraying Pippin as a childish whiner who in the midst of the serious business of the Quest plays pointless jokes. I just don't see how some writers get from point A to point B. Even PJ showed how Merry and Pippin tried to protect Frodo--if you look at shots on Weathertop, Moria, etc. whenever the Fellowship is threatened those two automatically place themselves between Frodo and danger. But even so, the two of them were horribly shortchanged in the movies--Merry even more so than Pippin!
I've beta'd some new writers who like to show Pippin acting like a child on the Quest, and I try to wean them away from that interpretation of his character. It's an uphill climb!
It would be great to get together! (And about the "huzzahs!" You wouldn't happen to also be in the SCA, would you? *crosses fingers hopefully*)
Reply
I'll have to check out those writers. I'd really like to see the characters from several different angles, to better give me an understanding of how they should act in my own fic. Even in cases like RoP, where I don't agree with everything, I at least have a view to work from. Speaking of...you wouldn't be open to beta requests, would you? I have somebody who usually betas my Who!fic, but I'd like a LotR aficionado, as it were, to beta the epic I'm planning. I'm working hard on it, and I'd really like for somebody who knows and understands the canon (and cares about the characters as much as I do) to beta it. (And if I'm putting all this work into it, I want it to be good!)
I'm all for meeting up! As for the SCA, alas, I am not an official member. However, I proudly participate in Norman's ren fair every year in my own homemade costume!
Reply
grey_wonderer specializes in side-splitting off the wall humor. She's a favorite of mine, in spite of occasional small canon errors and typos. Take it for granted that you need a beverage warning when you read her stuff, or you'll be splorking all over the monitor. Her young Merry insists he doesn't like "that baby", as he calls Pippin, but for some reason he's very protective and possessive of him all the same, and as they get older the relationship evolves--Merry often picks on Pippin; but woe betide anyone else who does so. And Frodo often helps Merry to understand his feelings. She has a great many wonderful stories, and I've recced several of them in the past on lotr_fic_recs. I think that two of my faves of hers are "It's No Mystery Really" and "Concerning Ladders", which are both post-Quest during the Crickhollow years. Of the childhood stories, "The Story of Poor Unfortunate Toffin" and "There are Friends and Then There's Merry" stand out for me. One of my favorites of her longer stories is "If I Had a Hammer", in which Sam gives a young Pippin carpentry lessons--it's both hilarious and heart-warming. Merry's jealous, and Frodo's about to pull his hair out...Here's a link to her Author page at Stories of Arda: http://www.storiesofarda.com/searchresults.asp
The shorter stories are all in "Trust a Took and a Brandybuck" which contains all of her Merry and Pippin short stories.
lily_the_hobbit posts as simply Lily at SoA. She's a German, now living in Scotland, and I've done some beta-ing for her. I am incredibly impressed by her ability to write in a second language, though sometimes it can be a challenge for me as a beta! Here's a link to her Author page: http://www.storiesofarda.com/searchresults.asp
She has several stories featuring Merimac as either the main character, or as one of the main characters. I really like her Merimac. She's just recently begun a long story about the year of the Troubles in Buckland, which I am beta-ing for her. And she has a really long epic story I've never read, because it's in German. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll see fit to translate it one day.
While I'm at it, here's my own Author page: http://www.storiesofarda.com/searchresults.asp
I enjoy beta-ing, so I'd be glad to take a look at your stuff.
I've been trying to get back active in the SCA since the move, but everythings so far away here in OK, and with the price of gas right now, it's hard to go to all the activities. But I'd love for us to figure out a way to get together. When *is* the Norman ren fair?
Reply
As for my own fic, I'm still in the gathering/planning stage, trying to get everything where I want it, but when I get the first few chapters written, I'd be forever indebted if you'd take a look!
The Norman ren fair was actually two weekends ago. ;_; We'll have to think of an alternate plan for mini-moot time.
Reply
Anyway, glad you found GW! She is a-mazing, LOL! I don't know how her mind comes up with some of those crazy plots, much less how she pulls them off. I've met her in RL, too, and she's just as sweet and crazy and funny in person!
*sigh* Two weekends ago, my husband was in the hospital, so it's no wonder I missed out.
We'll figure something out. Where *is* Norman in relation to Cushing?
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment