A Tolkien fic rec

[thrihyrne]

Yes, you saw that right. I've been conferring with a couple of Tolkien-centric people on my flist, found via the Wraeththu fandom (yes, you also read that correctly), and found myself looking through the slashy_santa archives. I know I've mentioned before that I've been leaning more and more toward writing Tolkien fanfiction again, and this gem that I stumbled

Comments

[thrihyrne]

Excellent!

:throws confetti:

I think you'll really enjoy the story. Especially after your post about being locked out of the house. I can so commiserate with that. ((hugs))

p.s. my knitting misses me.

[ex_kisa_haw]

I'm off to read your rec in a moment (I trust your recs implicitly), but I was wondering: why do you not like fics in present tense? Is it simply a preference, or something else?

I ask because I write in present tense, and I read present and past tense, and I never even realized it was a big deal one way or another until someone on my flist posted a huge "I HATE PRESENT TENSE" post.

I'm just, you know, taking a survey.

[thrihyrne]

The whole present tense thing; it really is a preference. I do normally adhere to the personal preference of "past tense, third person limited" line of writing unless it's Tolkien, or Phillip Pullman, when all of a sudden I realize that I'm reading third person omniscient. Which I'd never dare try on my own.

I think that the past tense element is a subtle one, but I really do prefer it. Not sure why, except that it seems cleaner, somehow. That said, I've found that while writing, I've occasionally dropped from past tense to present, as well as the (perhaps more disturbing) going from third person limited to first person singular, for a couple of paragraphs, and wondering who the hell took over my purple pen. Very not cool

[ex_kisa_haw]

Hrm, thank you. That's really quite informative. I guess I currently write in present tense (I used to write only in past) because I've found in the fic I read (admittedly not much Tolkien, and mostly SGA, which is a thing in and of itself), I enjoy present tense, when handled correctly. I also enjoy multiple-POV if done for a specific purpose and not because the writer is lazy. I find it interesting that you find it tiring; I've never really thought of fic as tiring. Frustrating, annoying, just plain bad, but never tiring

[jaiden_s]

Wow. We have really different taste in fanfic. I don't think I even finished that one. It read awkwardly and seemed very forced. Anyway...we can't always like the same things. I'll bet you would probably hate most of my fic faves.

[thrihyrne]

I'll bet you would probably hate most of my fic faves.

I wouldn't say that, right off the bat… but we might have very different taste in fanfic. ;) And it definitely depends on the pairing, and what I'm looking for in the pairing, or trio, or whatever. This one just bowled me over, probably due to the Halbarad element, but I'll stand by my initial reaction to it. I found it beautiful.

:shrugs, demurely:

I look for different things in different areas. This one took me by surprise, and I quite enjoyed it. That said, I'll certainly not look away from other entries in the new postings. I just haven't been moved by Tolkien fic not written by people I didn't know beforehand in a while.

[jaiden_s]

I just haven't been moved by Tolkien fic not written by people I didn't know beforehand in a while.

Interesting. I'm the opposite. I'm tired of the same old crap and most of the authors I used to read are stuck in ruts. Life is too short to read bad fanfic. ;)

I think what bothered me the most about the above fic was the writing style. Like you, I dislike first person, but if I remember that story correctly, the author took the whole thing entirely too seriously. I find it annoying when a writer tries to out-Tolkien Tolkien. All I know is that I didn't finish it. If it's that good, I may give it another try.

[mrsquizzical]

ok. that's a big day! i hope the credit card thing sorts itself out!

*hugs*

[verdenia]

Hooray for England!!! That is awesome!

*HUGS* I've missed you! ;p