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 across has pushed me over the edge back into it.

Oh, and I bought my airline tickets to go to England in October. And then my credit card company blocked me and I had to explain myself. Still, I'll be at the Con and will meet Storm Constantine and veloona who will be visiting from Germany and hopefully callumjames as well, and maybe even ducking over to Ireland. If not, I'll spend a couple of days in Wales. Email me if you want flight details.

So! :cough: llembas, I know you've been having rather a craptastic week, and a couple of years ago when I was writing fic as Christmas gifts, you asked for a Halbarad-centric story and I wrote a wee one. This is an Erestor/Halbarad fic, though as the requester stated, s/he wanted characterization much more than explicit smut, and the author, Lady E, delivered a thousand-fold. It's quiet, understated prose, with some repetition of phrases that I know was intentional, to do with listening (on Erestor's end) and the cage of bones and pulse of blood (for the Man), and it's simply exquisite.

Those of you on my flist whom I've known initially since my Tolkien days, and many who crossover with the Ardaverse, please go here to read "And Whisper You to This Earth". You won't regret it. The only complaint I would lodge, if I had to, is that it's done in present tense, which, as a rule, I dislike. [ACK! In reading my story for Jen that is Halbarad-centric, I see it was also written in present tense. ::raps knuckles::] I was more than willing to overlook it for the rarepair-ness of the coupling (which, I'll admit, was what first drew me in), her canonical knowledge, the imagery and sparse tone to the story, and the innate tragedy of any mixing of Elves and Men. But this one is so inherently quiet in its presentation, which makes it all the more profound when it comes to both its passionate crux and pre-known tragedy.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Just saying.

Back to your weekend and watching the Olympics, or whatever else. I've maxxed out on Project Runway, Shear Genius and Britain's Next Top Model. I've been writing Ithiel-centric fic and dealing with my credit card company and booking my flight to England. Color me done for today. :P

Comments

[llembas.livejournal.com]

My week is much improved! The family is returning a day early and should get back tomorrow if all goes as planned. But I have been enjoying the rain and talking to Licia on aim and knitting and I'm feeling pretty good right now.

And now I have a Halbarad story to read! Woo! Thanks for the fic rec. He's still one of my favorites.

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

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.

[kisahawklin]

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.livejournal.com]

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.

Maybe it's the sense of distance that I appreciate in past tense versus present, or that present tense seems too 'hip' for me, and too exhausting as a reader. I'd much rather read from one character's POV, and it be past tense. That said, I acknowledge that 'head-hopping' isn't grammatically wrong; I just feel that you're abusing your readership if you do so.

Personal preference, as a reader: I'm in X character's headspace. I'll stay in X character's headspace from here on out unless there are typographical ornaments which may or may not herald a change in POV (but warning would be lovely), or it's third person omniscient. Even with that, though, as a fellow writer, I find that I obsess to figure out how the hell you do that. I really want to be in third person limited. I want to be in this person's headspace, and experience the narrative in her/his understanding, and if there needs to be documentary outside of that, fine, that can be put in without relative fuss. And then I want to be back with that one character and her/his relative limitations, precisely because that's how each of us as human beings experiences the world.

That said, it's transcendent to go beyond that, into the mind and heart of alien beings, or life forms, or whatever else.

But if you want to snag me from the get-go, pick third person limited, and stay there. ♥ And not present tense. ;)

[kisahawklin]

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.

That said, I think past tense is simpler (the neutral tone of tenses), and when I beta new writers I recommend they use it because it is a more natural storytelling style. (And if it's fanfic of a book - Tolkien and HP being the biggies - then I insist on past tense, as I've never read a novel not in past tense.)

I know I've heard an argument for episodic fic (again with the TV show thing) present tense seems to read more like the show, and feels more immediate. *shrug*

It only concerns me because I'd hate to have people not read a story I've written because of something like tense. Personally, I read just about anything, as long as it's decent writing, so a vehement reaction to tense is tough for me to understand. I notice it (though if it's really well done I don't) but it doesn't make me stop reading. I have friends who will stop reading, and I... I just don't get it.

I don't write much multi-POV anymore, and I've never written first person or future tense or anything else more 'unusual' than present tense. I almost want to try these things out now; I wonder if there isn't some way to make them more palatable? On the other hand, I prefer to let the story guide things, and framing something in a particular way seems like it'd be certain death to the story element.

[jaiden-s.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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.livejournal.com]

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

*hugs*

[verdenia.livejournal.com]

Hooray for England!!! That is awesome!

*HUGS* I've missed you! ;p