Post by rhyselle on Jun 16, 2008 23:11:46 GMT -5
I'm a relative newbie at Tolkien fanfiction, although I've been a Tolkien Fan for 33 years plus of my life. I've read the trilogy at least once a year since I first read it. My dad gave me the THE HOBBIT and LOTR for my 10th birthday and it changed my life.
OK, that sounds kind of over the top, but really, it gave me a whole new insight to the world. It introduced me to mythology and epic tales, and was my first known exposure to archetypes. It became my refuge from a fairly miserable stretch of time known as adolescence when I didn't fit in with anyone--not even my twin sister. And it taught me to dream and daydream, from whence came my original fanfics.
My first fanfic was a Star Trek: The Original Series story that I blush to have to admit to having written. It was, of course, pretty much a Mary Sue although at that time I had no idea what a Mary Sue was! But it was the start of my writing for something other than English classes, and look where it's led!
My next fandom (and longest lived as far as writing in it goes) was Star Wars, Episodes 4, 5, and 6. I generally wrote Princess Leia/Han Solo stuff, and it was pretty much "As the Galaxy Churns". Then I got married and had kids and when my first child discovered Harry Potter, so did I. I scribbled away in HP fandom for about five or six years total, but fell away from it after Order of the Phoenix came out because I just couldn't stand how poorly the book was edited and how some of the canon events totally screwed up my Muse in regards to my works in progress--leaving me with pretty much terminal writer's block there.
And that's when I first started looking at LOTR fanfic as a reader. Then a couple of years ago I considered writing it after having read a large amount of darn good stuff--some of it written by the folks on this writing workshop. The Muse came back and while I've been having a struggle with some of my WIPs, I have been able t write on a pretty much regular basis lately.
A lot of my work is based on THE SILMARILLION, but I also like writing about LOTR characters too. I'm not so great with Hobbits at this point, but eventually, I hope to be able to do a story about Merry and his farewell to Eomer-King before Merry goes to Gondor and dies there.
I like writing AUs, and I like writing about the Peredhel, and sometimes both at the same time *grin*. Faramir and Denethor are also favorites of mine.
I've got five kids and a full time job and a great husband who do take up a lot of my time, but somehow I manage to fit writing time in, even if it's carrying around a steno pad in my purse and scribbling on it between meetings or while eating lunch.
I appreciate tactful and honest concrit, and particularly suggestions for improvement. When I beta, I do tend to leave a lot of blue pencil marks on the pages, but I try to always explain why I think something ought to be changes or adjusted. What is interesting to me is that I was beta-reading when I was fifteen years old, three years before my first story made it into a fanzine. A harbinger of the future, I suppose! Mundanely, I'm an executive secretary and, when I'm not exhausted, I generally am able to catch 95% of the typos and grammar issues of what I'm writing. But I'll never say no to concrit and editing.
I don't think I have a philosophy on writing LOTR fanfic per se. I do know that I enjoy it, and that I get inspired by all the good stories I see out there. I read a good tale and I want to write a good tale too.
I look forward to working and writing with all of you!
OK, that sounds kind of over the top, but really, it gave me a whole new insight to the world. It introduced me to mythology and epic tales, and was my first known exposure to archetypes. It became my refuge from a fairly miserable stretch of time known as adolescence when I didn't fit in with anyone--not even my twin sister. And it taught me to dream and daydream, from whence came my original fanfics.
My first fanfic was a Star Trek: The Original Series story that I blush to have to admit to having written. It was, of course, pretty much a Mary Sue although at that time I had no idea what a Mary Sue was! But it was the start of my writing for something other than English classes, and look where it's led!
My next fandom (and longest lived as far as writing in it goes) was Star Wars, Episodes 4, 5, and 6. I generally wrote Princess Leia/Han Solo stuff, and it was pretty much "As the Galaxy Churns". Then I got married and had kids and when my first child discovered Harry Potter, so did I. I scribbled away in HP fandom for about five or six years total, but fell away from it after Order of the Phoenix came out because I just couldn't stand how poorly the book was edited and how some of the canon events totally screwed up my Muse in regards to my works in progress--leaving me with pretty much terminal writer's block there.
And that's when I first started looking at LOTR fanfic as a reader. Then a couple of years ago I considered writing it after having read a large amount of darn good stuff--some of it written by the folks on this writing workshop. The Muse came back and while I've been having a struggle with some of my WIPs, I have been able t write on a pretty much regular basis lately.
A lot of my work is based on THE SILMARILLION, but I also like writing about LOTR characters too. I'm not so great with Hobbits at this point, but eventually, I hope to be able to do a story about Merry and his farewell to Eomer-King before Merry goes to Gondor and dies there.
I like writing AUs, and I like writing about the Peredhel, and sometimes both at the same time *grin*. Faramir and Denethor are also favorites of mine.
I've got five kids and a full time job and a great husband who do take up a lot of my time, but somehow I manage to fit writing time in, even if it's carrying around a steno pad in my purse and scribbling on it between meetings or while eating lunch.
I appreciate tactful and honest concrit, and particularly suggestions for improvement. When I beta, I do tend to leave a lot of blue pencil marks on the pages, but I try to always explain why I think something ought to be changes or adjusted. What is interesting to me is that I was beta-reading when I was fifteen years old, three years before my first story made it into a fanzine. A harbinger of the future, I suppose! Mundanely, I'm an executive secretary and, when I'm not exhausted, I generally am able to catch 95% of the typos and grammar issues of what I'm writing. But I'll never say no to concrit and editing.
I don't think I have a philosophy on writing LOTR fanfic per se. I do know that I enjoy it, and that I get inspired by all the good stories I see out there. I read a good tale and I want to write a good tale too.
I look forward to working and writing with all of you!
