Carpal Tunnel

I swear, I'm going to get carpal tunnel from writing so much on my book.

Writing a book is much harder than it sounds. It requires focus and details. I've been formulating the idea for this book for well over six years, and have the outline completely filled out, but it's the details that trip you up.

How is the character going to go about doing such and such? Where are they doing it, with whom?

The strange thing is that I am working closely with Tolkien's Silmarillion, which means I have to understand the different characters, make up how they would act, and understand their intricate family trees, which is harder than it sounds. I've kept my little paperback copy handy while writing, but I've had to leave spots blank so that I could fill in information later.

My paperback is pretty worn right now.

But I can only hope that in some way what I write will touch someone, somewhere. I know it'll never get published because it's based on Tolkien's stuff, which is cheating. But it's difficult for me to tell this story without it, because the very context of the world I've imagined cannot move from its roots.

Nevertheless, I hope in some way more people can read it. The first part of the manuscript is in the hands of a good friend, and I hope she enjoys it as much as I have writing it.

It's a rewarding experience.

Finrod's Hair Color, and Other Such Nonsense

Finrod's hair color was written by Tolkien as golden, like his sister, Galadriel. The pictures of him with dark hair are quite wrong.

In the Histories of Middle-Earth, one of the drafts that Tolkien wrote concerned itself with the movements of the first generations of Men throughout Middle-Earth/Beleriand. It's actually quite interesting, as Tolkien wrote about the views of Men as they grew.

After accepting the viewpoints of the Elves, some of the race of Men began to strongly question their motives, struggling internally between the philosophies of the Elves and of the Dark Lord Morgoth. Their arguments are quite realistic. Unfortunately, I returned the book that contains them to the library already, to my dismay, and I'll have to write about it later.

Tolkien actually did start a sequel to the Lord of the Rings - the few pages that he wrote are contained in the fourteenth book of the Histories of Middle-Earth, by Christopher Tolkien. Suffice to say that it's evident why Tolkien didn't continue with the idea - in his own words, he said that was "just a thriller." The basic plot is that there's some sort of plot against the throne of Gondor, and that no one really remembers what happened during the War of the Ring.

That's as far as he got, so don't go buying that book simply for that tidbit. My explorations of Middle-Earth will continue as I read The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, as he was evidently quite an avid writer and loved to write to his fans, answering their questions. I'm perfectly willing to answer any of yours.

Farewell, for now!

Elven Heraldry

Every single time I see how in-depth Tolkien's works are, I'm amazed. Every single time. One aspect of this was Tolkien's heraldry.

Even I didn't know how much Tolkien drew, but he was actually quite good. So, the linguist and author, as part of his world, decided to create a system of heraldry for the elves. It's kind of complicated, but really cool. For more in-depth stuff, check out J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull. I love that book.

There's also some made-up heraldry in the Art of the Fellowship of the Ring book, because the Weta folks needed some to put on banners. Notably, a device for Galadriel is there, where there wasn't one made for her by Tolkien.

Anyway, here goes. For female elves, their heraldry would be within a circle, while men would be in a diamond. A device that's created for an entire line would be in a square. Most devices are symmetrical, with Finrod's being one of the exceptions. According to Tolkien's notes, an elven prince would have four points reaching the outer rim of the device, kings would have six or eight, and really important folks could have 16.



Idril: "...the twelve flowers or points reaching the edge of the circle may reflect Idril's position as a king's daughter."



Earendil: (shown here in living 3D, since I couldn't find the original) Notably, Earendil's device shows a Silmaril (jewel) that reflects the way he sails the sky as a star. Elrond's device in the Art of FOTR is based on this device.



Gil-Galad: The elven king (note: eight points touching edge) who brought up Elrond. Gil-Galad's costume for the opening of FOTR was based on his heraldry. See below.





Finwe: With sixteen points, Finwe has one of the highest statures among the heraldry - he was High King of the Noldor in Aman. This is the device for his house, however. Note the fact that such a fiery emblem is for the father of Feanor, a fiery figure.



Elwe: He has merely eight points, denoting his position as a king. It is interesting that, since he stayed in Middle-Earth instead of returning to Aman, that his device has stars, also mirroring one of the devices of his daughter, Luthien.



Finarphin: The father of Finrod Felagund. Tolkien expressed that most likely this was very close to the one he had in mind for Finrod. The later one for Finrod was made by Men.



Fingolfin. I don't know much about him.



Woot! Melian, a Maia, mother of Luthien Tinuviel. Tolkien created this absolutely gorgeous device for her - it's really complex because she's a Maia - she's really important. There are stars present, which is reflective of her nature. The complexity is similar to Luthien's below.




For the sake of precision, we'll call the top device Luthien 1 and the bottom Luthien 2. Since Tolkien considered the story of Luthien and Beren similar to that of his love story with his wife, he probably considered drawing these an act of love (I know I would, but that's just me.) My personal favorite is the lower. The top one has twelve points touching the outside (she's a really important character), and I can't count the number on the second. There are twelve petals in the center, however. Luthien 1 reflects her father's device.



Interestingly enough, there's an elven device for Beor, the father of Beren. He spent a fair amount of time among the elves, but still, it's a bit weird.



Finrod Felagund. Tada! A tad boring, no? Nonetheless, it's important because he was so compassionate towards the human race. Here's a picture of him meeting them for the first time:

Aha!

This is a really well-done trailer, combining elements of Star Wars, LOTR, and the Matrix.

I guess one of the reasons I really like it is because it goes very loosely with the idea of a story I'm writing - sort of a sequel to LOTR, to take place in Valinor. It's onlyin the beginning stages, but I'm really excited about it, and don't ask too many questions.

By the way, I've never recalled what Tolkien said Finrod Felagund's hair color was. Any guesses?

Below is the best music video I've come across on Youtube.

Namarie.

This is another gorgeous small thing from the movies. In the books, Tolkien wrote a beautiful piece that Galadriel sings when Frodo is leaving Lothlorien. This piece was written and sung in the soundtrack for FOTR, in the background.

Since they didn't include it in the movie, it was nice to have it included in some way.


Quenya

Ai! Laurië lantar lassi súrinen,
yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron!
Yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier
mi oromardi lissë-miruvóreva
Andúnë pella, Vardo tellumar
nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni
ómaryo airetári-lírinen.

Sí man i yulma nin enquantuva?

An sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo
ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë
ar ilyë tier undulávë lumbulë
ar sindanóriello caita mornië
i falmalinnar imbë met,
ar hísië untúpa Calaciryo míri oialë.
Sí vanwa ná, Rómello vanwa, Valimar!
Namárië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar!
Nai elyë hiruva! Namárië!
****************************************
Tolkien's translation (not literal):

Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind,
long years numberless as the wings of trees!
The long years have passed like swift draughts
of the sweet mead in lofty halls
beyond the West, beneath the blue vaults of Varda
wherein the stars tremble
in the voice of her song, holy and queenly.

Who now shall refill the cup for me?

For now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the stars,
from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds
and all paths are drowned deep in shadow;
and out of a grey country darkness lies
on the foaming waves between us,
and mist covers the jewels of Calacirya for ever.
Now lost, lost to those of the East is Valimar!
Farewell! Maybe thou shalt find Valimar!
Maybe even thou shalt find it! Farewell!

Meditations on Middle-Earth

There's this interesting book out of different fantasy authors' writings about their experiences and impressions from reading the Lord of the Rings. It was compiled and published 1 year before the Fellowship of the Ring came out on film, and it's quite interesting to read. Some of the authors are quite funny - for example, Michael Swanwick wrote:

"[Frodo] offers [the Ring] outright to Galadriel, who says to him, 'Gently are you revenged for my testing of your heart at our first meeting;' and then, in one of the most memorable scenes in the book, proceeds to scare the snot out of him, before concluding, 'I pass the test. I will diminish, and go into the west, and remain Galadriel.'"

I laughed out loud, quite to the surprise of my mother, when reading the essay of Esther M. Friesner, whose experiences reading the Lord of the Rings was very similar to mine, even if they were over thirty years apart:

"The book did sound kind of....interesting. I went to the library and checked it out. Shortly thereafter I was back at the library, clawing at the card catalog like a refugee from a Romero movie, only instead of "Braaaaiiins....Braiiins...", I was moaning, "Tolkiiiiiieeeeeen.....Tolkiiiieeeenn...."...I turned on the television. There he was. Him. My him: Legolas the hottie elf. I could tell it was Legolas because he had pointy ears and, as everyone knows, all elves have pointy ears. Previous to beholding him, I had not realized that all elves likewise had pointy sideburns, puddingbowl hairstyles, upswept slanty eybrows, and blue velour shirts, but I was willing to learn. By the time I finally came to comprehend that what I was watching/drooling over was not a televised version of the trilogy (William Shatner would not make a good hobbit in this or any universe) it was too late - I'd become hooked on Star Trek. I was doomed."

In my personal experience, I actually bought library-cover versions of the books from the early seventies for fifty cents each at the library book sale after I read them. I still use them and haven't gotten any other copies. The movies came out shortly afterward, and I was truly doomed.

I'm still hooked, and not just on the Lord of the Rings.

I'm still in love with Star Trek.

A Elbereth Gilthoniel.

This is an awesome song in the LOTR trilogy. Sad, mournful, haunting...it's my favorite song from the movies. There's a similar scene from the books, where Frodo hears them singing and meets up with them. Alan Lee drew a fantastic illustration, below:



The sadness is mingled with joy and beauty. This is a recurring theme in the Lord of the Rings. James Gurney wrote this in his blog:

Sublimity is mixed with banality; joy with suffering; kindness with cruelty; beauty with ugliness. That is what our life is like. We are composed of light and clay. ~ James Gurney

The beauty of the soul, the ugliness of the body. The purity of mercy, the ugliness of sin. Light and clay.