The Fellowship of the Ring, by J. R. R. Tolkien

    I recently finished J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, his first volume in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. As many know, this is his three-part epic inspired by ancient Norse culture, the seed of all modern fantasy, and a very popular movie series, now.
    A few years ago, I had started this book, but never finished. About three days ago, however, I finally did, and this is my conclusion: wonderful.
    Tolkien writes very well. His balance between dialogue and description is very good, and the story is phenomenal. At some points, I was a bit confused about what was happening, but I blame that on watching the movies first.
    Reading the book really helped me to appreciate the characters better. Some say that Merry and Pippin are hard to tell apart in the books, at least until later on, but partly from seeing the movie first, their differences seemed evident far earlier.
    I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and good writing. The Lord of the Rings, I think, is the seed from which modern fantasy has sprung.
    Before Tolkien, elves were thought of generally as being tricksy thieves with pointed ears, small in size and not particularly ‘cool’. Now, elves, tall woodland folk, often skilled in archery, have become a staple to the fantasy world.
    I still have two more books to read, but generally, I really like them, and encourage you to try them, if you have not already.

My Favorites:

• Character:
• Aragorn, “Strider” (and other aliases)
• Passage:
• “‘And it is not our part here to take though only for a season, for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.’”
   -J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf

(Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I just had by wisdom teeth removed.)

Distraction

    Distractions are one of the banes of writers, at least in my opinion. Some distractions are good: relaxing ones, decompressing ones, fun ones… But sometimes it is hard to be in control of you distractions and not let them control you.
    I can’t tell you how many times I have been distracted by Pinterest, Facebook, a book I’m reading, or any number of things. Here are some ideas to help overcome distraction:

• Set a timer. If you set a timer, it helps block writing time away from work or play time. However long you set it for, don’t go on the internet, don’t get up and wash dishes. That is writing time. Writing time is sacred. 
• Have a writing spot. Sit at your table when you write. Sit at your desk, you sofa, somewhere specific. It will help your brain to recognize that when you are there, it is your ‘Writing Zone’. Do other work other places. 
• Set goals. Say to yourself, ‘I won’t check Facebook until I have written XXX number of words’. Once you have, check Facebook, or whatever you do. Set a timer. Give yourself five minutes. Get back to writing. 
• Keep away from the internet! The internet is one of the biggest distractions out there. Feel free to look up things if you must, but try to keep internet use to a minimal. Search engines are notorious for scattering thoughts and making it hard to concentrate on one thing. 

    Maybe this list helps you a little bit. Come up with your own. Identify what distracts you so you can work around it. And again, for most of us, our lives do not center around writing. That is why it is important to set a timer and make time for it, without outward distractions.

Zoë 

Writing Magic

    July, a month of writing, is over… and what do I have to show for it? I have half of a rough… rough novel that is very rough... did I say it was rough? It is. Rough. But I have half of it! And that is cause for celebration, if nothing else is.
    Stories are like rare, tropical birds… very difficult to catch without damaging their beauty…
    Yes, I haven’t gotten out much for the past month.
    Working on the same story every day for a month is tiring, not to mention boring, as I mentioned in my last post. After a while, you forget why you haven’t met with your friends in weeks, why you haven’t showered in days, and why the only food you’ve made the time to prepare yourself is PB & J.
    Why even bother? All I got was half of a ROUGH novel. It hurts me to even think about it, it’s so rough!
    I don’t have any answers. If you write, you do it because you are forced.
    I’m not joking.
    Who likes writing for the sake of writing? (Okay, I liked it when I was two, and I discovered Microsoft Word and felt like a grownup, wondering why there were so many squiggly red lines under my beautiful words.) That’s right: very, very few people.
    I remember getting horrible cramps in first grade after laboriously forming letters. It hurt! Writing was painful. I remember failing at typing, after the excitement wore off.
    No one likes being judged.
    No one likes exhibiting his or her work for other’s to judge. Writing (or art, or music, or anything else that requires creativity) is an expression of one’s self. It is a piece of us. If it is bad, so are we.
    We write because we are forced, like a student in English class.
    We’ll go crazy if we don’t write down the stories in our heads and hearts. Don’t worry. All writers hear voices: character’s voices, your voices in the guise of one of your characters.
    Writing isn’t fun.
    Reading’s fun.
    Sharing stories is fun. Hearing stories, experiencing ordinary or great things in the comfort of your own room…
    That’s magic.

Zoë