I guarantee that I'm not going to have something new to say about the Hobbit. Tolkien's works have been poured over by many others. However, I'm going to speak my piece anyway, because even though much has been written on it, perhaps, like me, you haven't read all that. The Hobbit is quite distinct from the Lord of the Rings. In a way, it is like a stepping stone to Tolkien's more popular work, though admittedly a masterpiece of its own. Though the Hobbit has moments of darkness, such as in the tunnels of the goblins and even in the homes of the elves, it is much lighter than the story that follows it.
Despite the darkness of Mirkwood, the Hobbit is a beautiful introduction to the world of Middle Earth with smaller sections of exposition and slow narration (such as the hunt of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli in Book III of the Lord of the Rings). The stakes, though high (the lives of Bilbo and the Dwarves), are not as high as in the Lord of the Rings where the entirety of Middle Earth and the souls of Frodo and of all those around him are. The Hobbit has its riddles with Gollum, its battles of wits with the dragon, and its peace-seeking tricks of Bilbo. Scenes of war are skipped or summed up in Bilbo's eyes. In the darkest moments of his story, instead of panicking or despairing, his mind goes into riddle-cracking solution mode and the impossible becomes possible. Instead of fighting without the hope of success (like Aragorn and Frodo), Bilbo automatically lives in the moment, especially after his dealings with the trolls. If he dies, he dies, so he considers that eventuality irrelevant. The difficulties become easier to handle with that point of view.
Another distinction between the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings is in their representation of elves. The elves of Mirkwood are so starkly different from the elves of the Lord of the Rings. The former elves are jolly, unwise, consumers of much wine and food. They throw troubled wanderers in the dungeon for mere unintentional trespassing.
At first I wondered if the reason for the difference was the evolution of Tolkien's mythology, the unwilling estrangement of the elves of Mirkwood from their kin in Lothlorien, or the setting. Tolkien spent a decade writing and editing his works with a great deal of forethought, so I would dismiss that theory. The elves of Mirkwood are not that estranged from the elves of Lothlorien yet at this point: the longevity of elves and their disinclination to change (as confirmed by Treebeard) rules out theory 2.
I think it's the third. Elves reflect their homes: Galadriel's people reflect the river Nimrodel and their golden trees and Elrond's people are tightly connected to their mysterious valley and powerful Ford of Bruinen. Mirkwood is dark, lightless, representative of, arguably, the darkest section of the book, dripping with bloodthirsty spiders and a sense of despair. Despair is the darkest feeling one can have, weakening Gimli's leg in the Two Towers in the hunt for the Uruk-hai and Frodo's trek in Mordor. Hope, despair's antithesis is what saves Middle Earth.
The elves of Mirkwood, Legolas' own people, are in part infected by the despair of their home, a despair greatly deepened at this time by the Necromancer (truly Sauron, if I am correct in my lore) and his hold in Dol Goldur in the far end of Mirkwood. Their celebrations reflect the inclination of the elves towards joy even in dark times, but despair has led to both a degree of gluttony among the servants (and the king too it seems, which might explain why his son, Legolas' father, is king in Frodo's time) as well as distrust, the source of the company's problems with the elves of Mirkwood.
However elves are so inured to change; I think the picture is not yet complete. The painting of the elves is in the eye of the beholder. The beholders are in this case dwarves and their inexperienced companion Bilbo. Is it any wonder the flaws of the elves would shine through more clearly than their great virtues? It is a superb example of POV bias.
Oh yeah, I highly recommend reading this book.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Strengthened Weakness In Me Sulks
A friend said original writings can be inspirational for a writer's blog. Poetry is NOT my forte, but here's something that I wrote today. It's very rough indeed, but they're just words that I heard in my heart during a rainstorm.
She didn't hear me when I called,
My voice as cold as the mountains fall.
But the pounding isn't new to her,
The space between is clouded all.
My wandering is stilled and roved,
Unsettled, quaked, my normal home.
I yearn to see, I hope to know,
I hide inside each every tome.
But answers avail no seeking soul
Who abides until the sacred dome.
What path I cross abandon still,
I stumble on uncertain filled.
I break, and crack and fail the route,
Bruised, thrown back upon the way unwilled.
Strengthened weakness in me sulks
Hoping one day to be tilled.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Stephen King's "On Writing"
I recently read Stephen King's "On Writing". It is quite different than any other writing book that I've read before. It is part memoir of a writer, part advice. When you first start reading "On Writing", you're not quite sure where it's going. Is Stephen King going to spend the entire book just talking about himself? Well, in a way yes, but it turns out it's not a bad thing. As you read on, you discover that each memory was specifically picked to build up to the picture of Stephen King the Writer, not Stephen King the Person, though obviously his writer-self is part of his person. But it is a distinct unit. The memoir becomes an encouraging and commiserating story that describes the struggles a writer can expect to find. Granted, his journey included writing short stories for magazines to work his way into the writing industry, a less defined or stable path than today where magazines and newspapers are dwindling and many a novel, let alone a short story, can be read online for free.
But even though his story will be different from any of his readers (because it is HIS story), it has a great amount of applicability for most writers. Most books on writing as a craft will tell you writing is not easy, getting published is a game of developing tough skin for the years of rejection to come, and it does not pay well with a few exceptions (many short-lived). Stephen King takes this Truth of the writer's life and that adds in the number one writing rule (in my opinion): Show, don't tell.
And that is why I recommend this book to any writer out there. It hits home where other books on writing fail: it shows how hard a writer's life can be, and also what rewards it can bring.
Of course, "On Writing" has more to offer than just that. The second half of the book delves into specific tools that Stephen King has found invaluable, the collection of which he calls the Toolbox. He also discusses what it means to write and what it means to be a writer. And this half of the book shouldn't be skipped over, particularly the inspirational post-script. In fact, the most memorable quote of the book for me belongs in the second half, which I will include here as it will explain many of my posts to come: "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or tools) to write." This may seem fairly obvious, but for me it was a wake-up call. I've always loved to read, but as my classes became more and more challenging and time-consuming in college, I stopped reading for myself but on rare occasions and vacations. I treated reading as a rare dessert that I was always wanted to taste, but hadn't earn the right to, not until my next three books for class and next four research papers were finished. Stephen King made me realize that if I wanted to be a writer, I had to read. I didn't have to find an excuse to read: I should read. And he makes a point of saying one should read all kinds of books of all genres and qualities; sometimes we learn better from mistakes than a good example.
He recommends reading and writing 4-6 hours a day. You may say, "I have a job! I have kids! I have one hour in the morning to write and that's it." I don't know what to tell you. Though I don't have a job or kids, I know that life can take up a lot of time. The closest I can come to understanding having a job and raising a family while writing is through my college experiences of taking 18-hour honors semester and living with three roommates, while also trying to make time for my health (gym, cooking, grocery shopping) and the people in my life.
So no, I don't get what it's like to be a working parent who is a writer. But Stephen King does. He describes in his memoirs of working full-time, low-paying jobs while also juggling a family. He would spend his lunch breaks writing in the humid, cramped, laundry room. He stay up late, get up early, read while he stood in line or at the dinner table. I'm not suggesting one should copy him, but realize that you might be able to find a balance. Give it a shot. If not, can you change things around, even if it takes two years to get that less time-consuming job? If you love writing, you can stick it out for the long haul. Just don't forget you can do it.
P.S. If you're thinking, "I don't have the money to buy a book on writing," keep in mind public libraries, amazon.com, and used bookstores are wonderful. That's what I do.
But even though his story will be different from any of his readers (because it is HIS story), it has a great amount of applicability for most writers. Most books on writing as a craft will tell you writing is not easy, getting published is a game of developing tough skin for the years of rejection to come, and it does not pay well with a few exceptions (many short-lived). Stephen King takes this Truth of the writer's life and that adds in the number one writing rule (in my opinion): Show, don't tell.
And that is why I recommend this book to any writer out there. It hits home where other books on writing fail: it shows how hard a writer's life can be, and also what rewards it can bring.
Of course, "On Writing" has more to offer than just that. The second half of the book delves into specific tools that Stephen King has found invaluable, the collection of which he calls the Toolbox. He also discusses what it means to write and what it means to be a writer. And this half of the book shouldn't be skipped over, particularly the inspirational post-script. In fact, the most memorable quote of the book for me belongs in the second half, which I will include here as it will explain many of my posts to come: "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or tools) to write." This may seem fairly obvious, but for me it was a wake-up call. I've always loved to read, but as my classes became more and more challenging and time-consuming in college, I stopped reading for myself but on rare occasions and vacations. I treated reading as a rare dessert that I was always wanted to taste, but hadn't earn the right to, not until my next three books for class and next four research papers were finished. Stephen King made me realize that if I wanted to be a writer, I had to read. I didn't have to find an excuse to read: I should read. And he makes a point of saying one should read all kinds of books of all genres and qualities; sometimes we learn better from mistakes than a good example.
He recommends reading and writing 4-6 hours a day. You may say, "I have a job! I have kids! I have one hour in the morning to write and that's it." I don't know what to tell you. Though I don't have a job or kids, I know that life can take up a lot of time. The closest I can come to understanding having a job and raising a family while writing is through my college experiences of taking 18-hour honors semester and living with three roommates, while also trying to make time for my health (gym, cooking, grocery shopping) and the people in my life.
So no, I don't get what it's like to be a working parent who is a writer. But Stephen King does. He describes in his memoirs of working full-time, low-paying jobs while also juggling a family. He would spend his lunch breaks writing in the humid, cramped, laundry room. He stay up late, get up early, read while he stood in line or at the dinner table. I'm not suggesting one should copy him, but realize that you might be able to find a balance. Give it a shot. If not, can you change things around, even if it takes two years to get that less time-consuming job? If you love writing, you can stick it out for the long haul. Just don't forget you can do it.
P.S. If you're thinking, "I don't have the money to buy a book on writing," keep in mind public libraries, amazon.com, and used bookstores are wonderful. That's what I do.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
What is this blog about (concise summary at the bottom)?
I'm going to be honest with you, and no you are not getting the full story. I do not have time for that. Do you? Didn't think so. Now, I'm pretty sure I'm just speaking to myself, and I always will be, because there are a bazillion blogs in the world right now, and mine's nothing special. But it's what I need right now. I've never written a blog before. Earlier this summer I tried to stop one. That lasted about half a peanut. If you don't know what that means, trying eating half a peanut (or cashew if you're allergic), or just ignore it, because it isn't important, just babbling.
I've always had my moments of ups and downs, as everyone does, though I rarely told anyone when I hit my down-want-to-die-and-turn-into-nothing moments, other than God. I was never going to harm myself, so no point in dragging someone's spirits down with mine. Not that I'm bipolar, my up and down swings aren't that severe (though it's debatable when I'm on my period).
But lately, it's been worse. I'm going through a very challenging point in my life right now. And I know my life is a cake-walk compared to others, and I'm not trying to complain. I'm just trying to make the best of my situation. That's where this blog comes in. Provides a somewhat productive outlook to my despair and challenges, successes and triumphs, and gets them out of the way so I can move on. Despair doesn't help anyone, so the sooner you get it off your back, the better. And who knows, maybe someone out there is going through a similar rough patch, will come across this, and feel less alone.
I've known since I was five, before I even knew how to write, that I wanted to be a writer, that I wanted to tell timeless, beautiful, flawed stories and help make a difference in someone's life through them. Stories have always had a great impact on me, giving me encouragement, inspiration, education, an outlet, and a good scolding sometimes too. I've also been quite aware for some time that writing was very unlikely to pay the bills. But I thought God would show me what to do, that one of the graduate programs in writing would accept me AND grant me tuition remission assistantships. And that if not, I could at least find a decent day job with my degree from Baylor with honors that could keep a roof, even a shabby one, over my head and let me write at night.
But I can barely find job opportunities, let alone anyone who will hire me (and apparently I need to pick grad programs more wisely). I couldn't even find a job in San Angelo, Texas, where honestly very few have a hankering to live, so that I wouldn't be long distance from boyfriend (you can write anywhere; why choose long distance unless you have to). And because I have fibromyalgia, I can't do a job that requires me to stand up for hours an end. I genuinely need to be able to sit down. That cancels out retail and restaurant work, which are the general fallback for desperate job-seekers like me.
So the girl who chose writing over an intense PhD program in Classics followed by an intense professor's life with little time for family let alone any writing other than research articles is jobless and living with her parents in Georgia, a good eighteen hour drive away from her boyfriend.
I worked for a couple of years in college for a professor as a research assistant. As her assistant, I performed all kinds of administrative and treasurial work for an international, non-profit, academic organization. I'm a fantastic organizer, so I was hoping to find an administrative assistant or receptionist job while looking for copy-editing/proof-reading opportunities, particularly for a publishing company. I'm completely lost on how to do all this. I signed up for monster.com and other job search websites and mostly came up with "work at home!" jobs and medical receptionist jobs (training provided! you click on it and it's a pay-for training site with small print on the bottom: job not assured at end of program). The few jobs other than those and engineering jobs (which I'm not qualified for. Engineers have a great market right now) that I found I applied to. So did a hundred other people. I generally don't even get a "thank you for applying" email, which if you have a hundred applicants is kind of understandable. I look at all the job postings in the newspaper everyday (always the same jobs, some of which I have applied for. Guess they didn't like that I was straight out of college or my resume). I've been asking around, using any connections of friends that I can scrounge up (it's not me to ask for help, but I'm learning how). I get great advice to be aggressive, go find those jobs, just keep applying, and everyone means well and I appreciate any advice I can get, but I'm just getting nowhere.
I know I just need to be persistent and determined, just like with query letters for my book, but it's hard not to despair when you hear such statistics as "50% of your age group is unemployed." Great, and a lot of them probably have business degrees rather than a degree in Greek and Latin. What's the use of a well-rounded, classical education if you can't pay the bills (though it's greatly improved my mind and writing).
By the way, this blog will include not just my rants, but will chronicle my struggle to get published, which could be helpful for others also trying to get published. Or it might not be helpful, but there's a chance. Perhaps you can at least learn from my mistakes.
Sum-up: Despair helps no one, and it's especially detrimental if you are in a high-rejection career such as writing, or if you are having trouble finding a job. Just get it out, then move on. I am a job-seeking writer struggling to improve my craft, get published, and keep a roof over my head. Here are my journeys, my thoughts, my mistakes, and the lessons that I learn.
I've always had my moments of ups and downs, as everyone does, though I rarely told anyone when I hit my down-want-to-die-and-turn-into-nothing moments, other than God. I was never going to harm myself, so no point in dragging someone's spirits down with mine. Not that I'm bipolar, my up and down swings aren't that severe (though it's debatable when I'm on my period).
But lately, it's been worse. I'm going through a very challenging point in my life right now. And I know my life is a cake-walk compared to others, and I'm not trying to complain. I'm just trying to make the best of my situation. That's where this blog comes in. Provides a somewhat productive outlook to my despair and challenges, successes and triumphs, and gets them out of the way so I can move on. Despair doesn't help anyone, so the sooner you get it off your back, the better. And who knows, maybe someone out there is going through a similar rough patch, will come across this, and feel less alone.
I've known since I was five, before I even knew how to write, that I wanted to be a writer, that I wanted to tell timeless, beautiful, flawed stories and help make a difference in someone's life through them. Stories have always had a great impact on me, giving me encouragement, inspiration, education, an outlet, and a good scolding sometimes too. I've also been quite aware for some time that writing was very unlikely to pay the bills. But I thought God would show me what to do, that one of the graduate programs in writing would accept me AND grant me tuition remission assistantships. And that if not, I could at least find a decent day job with my degree from Baylor with honors that could keep a roof, even a shabby one, over my head and let me write at night.
But I can barely find job opportunities, let alone anyone who will hire me (and apparently I need to pick grad programs more wisely). I couldn't even find a job in San Angelo, Texas, where honestly very few have a hankering to live, so that I wouldn't be long distance from boyfriend (you can write anywhere; why choose long distance unless you have to). And because I have fibromyalgia, I can't do a job that requires me to stand up for hours an end. I genuinely need to be able to sit down. That cancels out retail and restaurant work, which are the general fallback for desperate job-seekers like me.
So the girl who chose writing over an intense PhD program in Classics followed by an intense professor's life with little time for family let alone any writing other than research articles is jobless and living with her parents in Georgia, a good eighteen hour drive away from her boyfriend.
I worked for a couple of years in college for a professor as a research assistant. As her assistant, I performed all kinds of administrative and treasurial work for an international, non-profit, academic organization. I'm a fantastic organizer, so I was hoping to find an administrative assistant or receptionist job while looking for copy-editing/proof-reading opportunities, particularly for a publishing company. I'm completely lost on how to do all this. I signed up for monster.com and other job search websites and mostly came up with "work at home!" jobs and medical receptionist jobs (training provided! you click on it and it's a pay-for training site with small print on the bottom: job not assured at end of program). The few jobs other than those and engineering jobs (which I'm not qualified for. Engineers have a great market right now) that I found I applied to. So did a hundred other people. I generally don't even get a "thank you for applying" email, which if you have a hundred applicants is kind of understandable. I look at all the job postings in the newspaper everyday (always the same jobs, some of which I have applied for. Guess they didn't like that I was straight out of college or my resume). I've been asking around, using any connections of friends that I can scrounge up (it's not me to ask for help, but I'm learning how). I get great advice to be aggressive, go find those jobs, just keep applying, and everyone means well and I appreciate any advice I can get, but I'm just getting nowhere.
I know I just need to be persistent and determined, just like with query letters for my book, but it's hard not to despair when you hear such statistics as "50% of your age group is unemployed." Great, and a lot of them probably have business degrees rather than a degree in Greek and Latin. What's the use of a well-rounded, classical education if you can't pay the bills (though it's greatly improved my mind and writing).
By the way, this blog will include not just my rants, but will chronicle my struggle to get published, which could be helpful for others also trying to get published. Or it might not be helpful, but there's a chance. Perhaps you can at least learn from my mistakes.
Sum-up: Despair helps no one, and it's especially detrimental if you are in a high-rejection career such as writing, or if you are having trouble finding a job. Just get it out, then move on. I am a job-seeking writer struggling to improve my craft, get published, and keep a roof over my head. Here are my journeys, my thoughts, my mistakes, and the lessons that I learn.
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