Aha! My Camp NaNoWriMo cabinmates are ahead of me! Must write. Pull up document. Carefully study what was written yesterday. Lean head forward on hands and think hard (a.k.a. Feel Like A Writer). Oh yes! I need to figure out that character's name, he'll enter the fray in only a chapter or two and needsContinue reading "What It Looks Like When I Write"
20 things that prove you’re obsessed with LOTR
Ages ago a friend and I made a list of more than 250 things that prove you're obsessed with The Lord of the Rings: well, here are 20 of mine. Most of them are taken from my personal experience. (Hmm, what about all of them?) Any word that looks like it's from LOTR catches yourContinue reading "20 things that prove you’re obsessed with LOTR"
Tuesdays with Tolkien: The Professor on Courage
"Courage is found in unlikely places." Tolkien had a lot to say about courage. The very heroes of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo and Sam, are half the height of a man and have never left the very homey comforts of the Shire. Yet they are the ones who make their way deep into Sauron'sContinue reading "Tuesdays with Tolkien: The Professor on Courage"
Tuesdays with Tolkien: My 10 favourite quotes
The Lord of the Rings is, as I've already proved in Tuesdays with Tolkien, chuck full of pearls of wisdom. The quotes I think are often neglected are the quotes that are simply beautiful. The ones that aren't what's generally termed 'inspirational' - the ones that fill you with a kind of ache whether you'reContinue reading "Tuesdays with Tolkien: My 10 favourite quotes"
Tuesdays with Tolkien: Life flitters by
I had the weirdest thought the other day... I was walking down the street to give a piano lesson, and then I thought of how a week ago I was doing the exact same thing, worried about a wedding I was playing organ for the next day. I'd been practising for the wedding for what seemedContinue reading "Tuesdays with Tolkien: Life flitters by"
Tuesdays with Tolkien: 10 favourite quotes
I did some posts in a couple G+ Lord of the Rings communities to see what fans' favourite quotes are. This list includes quotes from all three volumes of Lord of the Rings, as well as The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion. #1: "If more of us valued food and cheer and song over hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."Continue reading "Tuesdays with Tolkien: 10 favourite quotes"
The Song of Roland
I love the Song of Roland. Despite the fact its goriness sometimes rivals that of the Iliad (which is saying... a lot...), it's epic. Literally epic. And I'll admit it. I cried. Reading Beowulf was one thing, but the battle at Roncesvals actually happened, however the poem was embellished. Do you ever read a history book andContinue reading "The Song of Roland"
Tuesdays with Tolkien: The Greyscale
Tolkien is often blamed for creating black and white characters. Either they’re completely on the good side, or they’re completely on the bad side, and for this reason there are a ton of other authors who are way better at characterization that Tolkien is. When I come across assertions such as these, I find themContinue reading "Tuesdays with Tolkien: The Greyscale"
Night Noises
11:30, and I'm lying on the sofa, saying my prayers. The night is dark outside the trailer door, and it's all quiet, like the world is empty. Then, out of nowhere, there's a loud smacking clang! - like a large tin can being kicked. My eyes fly open and I freeze in place. Then the porch lightContinue reading "Night Noises"
Tuesdays with Tolkien: Put No Trust in Shifting Visions
In Middle-earth, there are various ways of seeing things far away both in distance and in time - the palantíri and Galadriel's Mirror, to name two. But whilst all this may suggest to some that Tolkien was promoting such activity, which resembles fortunetelling and other such occult activities, in fact it is quite the opposite. J.R.R. Tolkien inContinue reading "Tuesdays with Tolkien: Put No Trust in Shifting Visions"
