I have Morgoths Ring of the HOME series and I really like what it says about rebirth. The soul is reborn, but doesn't remember its previous life untill the elf has grown up. And then he/she will have had two childhoods, which is seen as the most cherishable part of an elfs life. What a gift!

It is the story that gets complicated since I then would have to add the life of another elf, his parents, family, friends, upbringing since it would be a part of the reborn elf. That is if Findrod ever gets reborn and if I don't find another reborn-theory I like and blabla. But of course, if I just sit down and sort my thoughts and actually start thinking about making it into a story instead of a pile of what-ifs, then I might actually decide on something.

See? And you claimed it wasn't complicated!

Of course they would bond with their child, he or she is just like any other child untill he/she is grown up. But it must be a bit strange for the parents... Oh no... Another plot bunny...

*lines up cannons.*
*loads with plot bunnies*
*aim at the two singers*
Fire!!!


Cannon and canonical are words with very different meanings, depending on context. Me thinks you use it here the same way as for a "cannon of art"? Not the theological meaning or the way the word is canonically used in physics! (like vanilla in US english)

LOL those smiley's. In Fan Fiction worlds Cannon is quite usual to indicated that is is (strictly) based on what Tolkien wrote. Since I completely have no knowledge on physics... you lost me there

Amarie wrote:


And it will keep on growing if you write much and loads. Just give it a try and see where the story takes you. English is not my native language, but with the necessarry encouragement I stepped over that big hurdle and started writing anyway. With loads of support from my beta's and friends I tend to keep on writing So just write write write write....

I have tried, several times for years. I just haven't been able to write stories. A scene or more, an ending, but not how they got there, quite detailed but still just bits and pieces. So I found shared author stories to be perfect for me. Practicing, twisting my brain and having fun and creating something with others while waiting for a whole story to find me. Now several plot bunnies are attacking at once, quite fun.

And it has nothing to do with typing. You only said that so you could use the typewriter smiley, Grev. Don't think I don't know that

I never had such problems. I do have problems with finishing a story though LOL. But look mommy!!! I finally did. You have no idea. It is a bane!

I do have some stories in the works and there are some chapters in between that cost me a lot of time to connect things. It is sometimes very frustrating if you want to go from a to b and ... a writersblock hits you. It helps sometimes to send it to a writer buddy (I always call those things my famous filler) for help. Such things are always returned. It helps when some one can help yourself out of a corner you have yourself written into.

What strikes me is that dialogue comes very naturally to me. I mostly start with a rough draft and work from there, but the bigger picture, plotlines and character development is always in the back of my mind. Except for short stories, unless someone tells you that maybe more can be done with that. *hint*hint*

But writing with others can be so much fun! I agree! And it is a great way to practice. I am looking forward to your big step Amarie. No pressure here... really.

I didn't want anyone to give me ideas for the stories I tried to write, I wanted to write them on my own. My ideas from my head in my story, and then show it to people. I still want that. Later when the story has a head and a tail and legs to wobble on then maybe I'd get someone to see it and hear what they think. And any attempt to pressure or push me would only lead to that person being the absolute last to ever see the story, so it is good that you are not pressuring.

I think I know exactly how you feel, Loni. Just keep on having the stories in your head and suddenly one day you will be able to get the pen or keybard to write it exactly the way you want.

When I write fan fiction, I tend to concentrate on areas that Tolkien mentioned in passing, but did not concentrate on in too much detail. I then try to research the background as much as possible, tying in dates and places, plus other events, so that my plot does not contadict anything else. Once I have a reasonable framework, I see if I still have enthusiasm to continue the story or if the idea has been trashed by other events already written.

Once I begin, I then try to keep my characters as close to character as possible, generally avoiding the bigger star names (unless they are making cameo appearances).

As far as writing the story, I generally begin with a loose idea for a plot, but then spend lots of time in the bath etc thinking how to develop it into a story. Sometimes, this idea can just be a simple scene (my Rangers of the North story for instance, started from just a picture I had of the opening scene, from which the rest developed as I began writing). Likewise, my "Soldier's Tale" began with the scene which eventually became the ending; a mother waiting for her son to come home from war.

I do find, however, that everything I write evolves as it is written, new ideas forming all the while. As Rhapsody mentioned, the problem often then is linking these ideas together.

Keep it coming, Vee. I'm expecting nothing less than a full blown novel by the time you've finished.

My 12 year old son is also expecting a novel. Aaaaaaaaaargh! The pressure!

Sounds like my husband, Rhapsody. I can see his eyes glaze over when he reads my stories. He loves nonfiction, I love fiction.

I will be psychoanalyzing LOTR for my masters thesis. Any ideas for resources? (besides Freud, Rank and LOTR) .

Well, for the longest time I was going to write on William Blake because I thought it would be seen as more scholarly, and I really do love his work. But, of course, I have a much deeper passion and love for Tolkien, so I just decided to go for it. I proposed the idea to my professor who specializes in psychoanalyzing literature, and he said he thought it was an interesting an idea and to go for it (Crisis of the Self in LOTR and how it relates to its resurgence in the '60s). That's about it. In the end, what had seemed like such a painstaking and difficult process, was really quite simple if I just followed my heart. I thought about what I would want to get up and read and write about every morning, and realized that after a semester of Blake I might be ready to jump off a bridge. So remember to really contemplate what you would want to get up and write about every day.

Thanks for the tip regarding the place to locate journals. I'll check if my university has access to the site.

Like Val, I like to explore the areas about which Tolkien said little. That is particularly why I like the first half of the Third Age, and the boyhood adventures of Legolas, whom I imagine was born in that era.

I like to write stories with a clear beginning, middle, and conclusion. In them I like to tell the readers stuff they might not already know. That’s the fun part ’ making things up that conform to Tolkien’s canon (in the US, a cannon is a big honking gun. I was in a law ethics class once and the professor asked the class ’Where do we find the Canons of Ethics?’ Smart aleck replies: ’Right next to the Guns of Navarrone.’)

I have only departed from the canon knowingly, twice, both times in the same way and for the same reason.

The easy part of writing a story is knowing the very last scenes and the very first scenes. The hard part (which is also fun) is plotting the story in between. In the first fan fiction story I ever wrote I wanted to show how Legolas the lad practiced and studied with great teachers to learn archery. I knew that the final scenes must contain a spectacularly dangerous challenge for Legolas, which had to have the following characteristics:
’ must endanger some Elves ’ the more the better
’ must have been caused mostly by Legolas
’ must take place in front of his parents, teachers, and others
’ Legolas must be there in the middle of the action, and
’ the reader thinks the outcome, that Legolas actually prevents the danger through his archery skills, is uncertain.

I knew these characteristics because I had seen them in kind of a dream, but how to get from Legolas the student to Legolas the boy hero was a mystery to me. I had to imagine the physical layout of the place where Legolas lived. There had to be a place where people could look down onto a large clearing. It could not take place in an underground cavern, and that had to be accomplished without damaging what little canon there is in The Hobbit. The danger that Legolas faced had to take place in front of a lot of people, so the reasons for a lot of Elves to be in one place had to be developed. The danger had to be really scary, so that the outcome was in doubt. Legolas had to have caused at least part of it, because that would make his failure worse and his success greater (heightens the tension). And it had to be the kind of danger that could be met with great archery skills, and I had to make his ability plausible. And it would help if the danger in question was brought about by Legolas through his trying to perfect a deficient archery skill.

Whoof.

How you do it is, tons of trial and error, asking what if, and writing the possibilities until you run out of steam. Then what you do (or what I do anyway) is research. I remember reading essays on hunting and doing internet searches on archery, and re-reading The Hobbit, and all kinds of reading. And then going back and rethinking it all, and writing and discarding and writing some more.

When you’ve finally got the story down in a first draft, you go back and eliminate the needless words (adverbs, passive voice, ’Did too! Did not!’ type dialog, etc.) and correct all the technical errors. Then you read it aloud and see what you think.

Well, that is how I wrote my first story and all the stories that I thought were any good.

I did not know this post was going to be so wordy, but I do like talking about writing. Regards ’ Chathol-linn

It's the knowing when to stop fiddling that I need to learn. Poor Val, I send him a version of the next story and within hours I've emailed him saying, Nooooooooo, here's another one... v2.1 or whatever. The ideas just pop into my head and I have to rewrite/amend/add etc. There must be a point when you have to say NO MORE! LEAVE IT ALONE!

Loni's post reminds me of some stories I wrote for my girls when they were toddlers. Not the best of stories but written for a purpose - in fact not so much written at first as just made up on the spot and written down when the girls kept asking for the same story. Anyway, youngest daughter, for whom these particular stories were written has asked for a good copy of them, preferably bound or laminated, together with illustrations! For Christmas! OK, I can get them bound easily enough I think and they are only a few hundred words each but I can't draw...... so I've asked our lovely Amarie if she can draw a Happy Blue Hippo for me. I hope she can. Happy Blue Hippo needs YOU!

A big me2. Just write and write and write... Get that first draft down, but don't toss it at your beta-reader straight away (although that depends on what kind of beta reader you have). I do tons of research, most of the time when an idea hits me I go back to the source itself, re-read it, plunge into my resource books and start to plot.

Another thing to keep an eye on: do not automatically assume the reader knows what you mean with your story. That doesn't mean add tons of details, thoughts and more to get it across. But simplifying, adding more layers, very gradually, works very good as well. How often have I not seen halfway a story that I actually wrote an extra layer in the story and that I thought... ok, how did I come up with that. It is good, but where was that coming from

I forced myself back to the drawing board for one of my stories. I was about to plummet my readers into something but that would have confused the hell out of them. It might have been clear to me what I wanted to tell, but that would have meant that readers would get very lost.

Chathol-linn: I love to talk about writing too, so be my guest.

Agreed! Always try to see the story from the reader's point of view. Although I will say that one of the great delights in telling a story is this: the writer knows what is going to happen and why, and the reader usually does not. If all goes well you can create a desire for them to keep reading to the end.



Right again. I've been a beta for lots of people, and I often see writers telling rather than showing (remember the old adage). Also, some writers love to use adverbs to make their points crystal clear: "May all you love come to grief!" he cursed bitterly, hating the creature who stood before him. Well - 'cursed' is unnecessary' because you can tell it's a curse from the content of the speech. 'Bitterly' is not necessary because you've already made the point, - curses aren't sweet - and 'hating the creature who stood before him' is even less necessary. The writer in this made-up example has made the point 3 times, when once would be enough: "May all you love come to grief!" he said.

I always think that the fewer words you use to make your point, the more powerful the prose. - Chathol-linn

True, although I sometimes surprise myself too It is more that you read back, especially a couple of chapters and you think... wait a minute. You can sometimes be wrapped up in your own created world that even your beta might go like: ok... I lost it somewhere. It is the a to b to get to c, but you move c forwards and forget the b. Or you assume your reader gets the b like that.

I am sometimes already at c, but I need to switch gears to get the a to b properly worked out first
But I don't want to miss those jewels of inspirations for the c-moment. So what I sometimes do is I get those things out of my system first and save them in a work file. When the time is there I look at them again and see if they fit in or not.



True, so true.

I actually don't have time to read, but when I do.... For example I was researching something for one of my tales I noted how many other ideas came to my mind.



My beta always says: if you can visualize it! You can write it!



In that sense it helps to read other people works. See how they treated it.