Huzzah, writing

[huinare]

For quite a while I've been stricken with the odd dual phenomenon of a lot of ideas but total writer's block.  A couple circumstances lifted that these past few days, namely a new prompt set over at tolkien_weekly  (how could I resist the prospect of using the theme "Blessings" as ironically as possible?) that suddenly made finishing my long-delayed  responses to the "Bogey-stories" set easy, and  the January Action-Adventure Bechdel Test Challenge proposed byaliana1.

My finished drabble series concerning poor Gríma (two to date, each a chapter) can be found here.

For the Bechdel thing, I thought I was mainly going to write Thuringwethil, but Ungoliant (Wirilomë) came and stole the show instead and I've got nearly 4,000 words done.  Wirilomë is such a fun POV character for me as it turns out, because she has all these bizarre and inappropriate ideas such as might lead somebody to become a giant-ass spider.  AND. It's caused me to return to my pet project of trying to reconcile Arda's given history with Earth's geologic history (this gets easier the more I ponder it over time...shoot me, I used to want to be a geologist, okay?)  Thuringwethil is still going to be a major player, and my genderbent!Pallando had a cameo in a pivotal scene because any excuse to write Pallandë.  This is fun times  Thanks for spearheading this challenge, Aliana!

Comments

[aliana1.livejournal.com]

Wirilomë is such a fun POV character for me as it turns out, because she has all these bizarre and inappropriate ideas such as might lead somebody to become a giant-ass spider.

Dying.

And...genderbent!Pallando? DYING.

We wants it, Precious, we wants this story NOW! ;)

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Re: Genderbent!Pallando. My fanon’s got the Maia as female (Pallandë), and the later wizard as male. It was one of those lightbulb-over-the-head moments: “There’s nothing saying the wizards looked old when they were Maiar in the Blessed Realm--HOLD THE FUCK ON. There’s nothing saying the wizards looked like males when they were Maiar in the Blessed Realm.” It also means I’ll eventually have to write how it came about that apparently the Istari weren’t allowed to look young OR female.

[hhimring]

Well, who would have thought I'd find myself cheering for Ungoliant?
Not quite on the subject of Pallande, have you seen this?
http://sevkyo.deviantart.com/art/Ithryn-Luin-347056330

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I hadn't seen it yet, thanks!

I could totally see Pallando wearing that hat.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

'trying to reconcile Arda's given history with Earth's geologic history'

That is a truly insane and inspired pet project that I can only applaud!

[huinare.livejournal.com]

It's a fun puzzle for me, if sometimes hopeless. =D

[pandemonium-213.livejournal.com]

Wirilomë! Thuringwethil! And Pallandë! OMG. Just the character list alone is enough to make me wiggle.

AND. It's caused me to return to my pet project of trying to reconcile Arda's given history with Earth's geologic history.

Innnnnnteresting! I've always taken the easy way out, i.e., Tolkien's revisionism in "Myths Transformed." I can't begin to say how satisfying said revision is.

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Brief rambling about Pallandë in response to Aliana above.

Yeah, that should’ve said “Arda’s history as given in the Sil.” When I found Myths Transformed I approved, but by then the Silmarillion’s version of things was too entwined with my headcanon. And, frankly, the challenge of trying to make fanciful things reasonably consistent with geophysical reality was not one I wanted to give up.