B2MeM09: Day One

[dawn_felagund]

Today is the first day of Back to Middle-earth Month 2009! Today's prompt is:

Margaret Atwood once wrote: "We are learning to make a fire." Create your own story, poem or piece of art around this.

Here is the project description and guidelines.
Here are the daily icons and participant banners.

Please feel free to share all of your Tolkien-based work (or links to it) inspired by this prompt in the comments on this post!

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Comments

[whitewave16.livejournal.com]

Hi,
I've posted my first entry here: http://whitewave16.livejournal.com/26189.html

The chibis can be found here:
http://s679.photobucket.com/albums/vv159/whitewave16/B2MEM%202009/

[dawn_felagund]

These are brilliant! I laughed my bum off! :D

[allie-meril.livejournal.com]

I have two old drabbles that I thought I might share: Legends and Truth (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4550735/10/Shiny_Little_Things). Nerdanel and her students after darkness falls on Valinor. Not precisely "making fire," but the theme of creating and finding light is there!

[dawn_felagund]

Allie, your drabbles are always so beautiful! Thank you for sharing these!

Building a fire...

[rhyselle.livejournal.com]

Here is my contribution for March 1st (http://rhyselle.livejournal.com/69672.html). Thanks for such a creative way to celebrate ME!

:)

Re: Building a fire...

[dawn_felagund]

*gasp!* Oh, lovely! And I like the figurative interpretation of "making a fire." ;)

And you're welcome! Thanks for sharing it with us! :)

[morethmusing.livejournal.com]

My rather literal interpretation of the prompt is over here (http://morethmusing.livejournal.com/)...

[dawn_felagund]

I love the bit about the fire living in the rocks. And (shocker!) the inclusion of any mythology makes me squee! :D

Btw, this is a really funny counterpoint to whitewave's reply to today's prompt, also involving Cuivienen. ;)

[independence1776]

Here's mine: http://indy1776.livejournal.com/2700.html?format=light

[dawn_felagund]

I love how you used a more figurative interpretation here! And wee!Cano is precious. :) *snuggles*

Thanks so much for sharing this!

[independence1776]

Thank you! That's actually the first time I've ever written a POV from anyone that young, so I'm glad it worked!

[dawn_felagund]

I might be weird (no comment, right? ;) but I like writing from the PoV of children. It's an interesting exercise in seeing the world that way again!

[independence1776]

It is an interesting exercise, one I plan on trying again sometime.

[telperion-fic.livejournal.com]

Great prompt. :-) Here's my contribution:

From the Ashes (http://telperion-fic.livejournal.com/52468.html#cutid1)

[dawn_felagund]

I think this one's Rhapsody's, if I'm not mistaken! :) (36 prompts later, they have all started to blur together!)

I really like your response for this one too. The theme of how life rises from destruction is lovely and, I think, very keeping with the source texts as well. You give it lovely expression here!

And, having experienced the same snowstorm you did today (though my ordeal was shoveling the driveway with the wind blowing the snow right back onto me!), then I can certainly appreciate the concept of making a fire right now as well. :)

[lanyon.livejournal.com]

my interest was piqued by the whole idea of a monthly challenge. here is my response to the first prompt: incendiary (http://community.livejournal.com/100_indecisions/13140.html), a drabble.

[dawn_felagund]

Oh, lovely! :) Feanor does seem to beg for a response to this particular challenge. I like how you connect all of the references to fire within his character so nicely here ... and in 100 words! *impressed*

[applegnat.livejournal.com]

Late response - but I wrote an Elros drabble, here (http://community.livejournal.com/applefic/10974.html#cutid1). Thank you again for doing this!

[dawn_felagund]

You're very welcome! The stories I've gotten to read in just three days have been well worth the bit of effort to post a new prompt each day. :)

I noted in the other comment that both of your drabbles here are incredible. I like your concept of mortals being afraid of the dark; that is an interesting take, and it certainly makes sense. Beautiful work; I enjoyed every moment! :)

[watersandwilds.livejournal.com]

A couple days late, but well-meant. :P

Making Fire (http://watersandwilds.livejournal.com/50997.html).

A short Finwë/Míriel drabble. Rated PG-13 for suggestiveness, but there's nothing explicit. :) Thanks for setting this up dawn_felagund! :D I'm looking forwards to writing/reading everything that gets created this month. :)

[dawn_felagund]

Oooh ... sensual and ominous--what a delightful combination! :) I really like this! And don't worry about being "late"; you have as long to write for the prompts as you'd like!

And you're welcome too. I have selfish motives, I assure you, in getting to read so many good stories every day. ;)

[watersandwilds.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :) It was fun to write.

Now I'm off to see what everyone else has done with the prompt, and make good use of the fruits of your selfish motives. ;)

[dawn_felagund]

Selfish though I may be, I do share at least. ;) Have fun!

[dawn_felagund]

There's no such thing as late for this project, so no worries! :) The only thing we ask is that those going for the thirty-one-prompt marathon be finished by mid-April so that we're not handing out banners forever. ;)

And as for how well "Three Wishes" fills the prompt ...

OME. Noliel, this story is gorgeous! I think it fills the prompt beautifully and, wow, just what an amazing story!

[dolamrothdame.livejournal.com]

Playing catch-up here, but here's mine:

http://www.tolkienfanfiction.com/Story_Read_Chapter.php?CHid=4354

[dawn_felagund]

Isabeau, I loved this! I don't know how to explain it, but you have a marvelous story-telling voice, if that makes any sense. And I love the last line! Beautiful! :)

[dolamrothdame.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much, Dawn! I wondered if it really shouldn't have been two drabbles, since it covered more than the prompt, but that's the way it chose to come out.

Learning to make a Fire

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Disclaimer - These characters all belong to the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. This story was written for pleasure and not for financial gain.

Dust and Ashes
Burning, all is burning! My world crumbles to dust and ashes. My son, now the only heir of my body that remains, burns with a fever that will soon consume him.
That Gondor should fall while I was entrusted with her keeping! I who loved her and offered all I held dear in her defence.
Why should I sit here waiting for Sauron’s minions to tear us limb from limb, my helpless son and I?
If Minas Tirith burns, then so will I together with the last scion of my house. Bring oil and kindling and let the flames burn!

Re: Learning to make a Fire

[dawn_felagund]

Oh ... *shiver* You do a good job here of showing the transitioning of Denethor's thoughts: fever --> Mina Tirith burning --> "let's immolate ourselves!" A very shudder-worthy (I mean that in a good way! ;) drabble!

Re: Learning to make a Fire

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Thank you,I'm pleased this worked for you.It is quite chilling even trying to imagine how Denethor must have felt!

[binkaslibrary.livejournal.com]

Reunion (http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/archive/home/viewstory.php?sid=105&chapter=10) in response to B2MeM Day First :)

Enjoy!

[dawn_felagund]

Binka, I'm so glad that the prompt fired up your muses a bit! (Yes, that pun was bad. Very bad. ;) I love the contrasts here between the Sindar and the Noldor and the Sindarin realization of what they must do to live alongside their new neighbors. It makes me wonder, at what cost will they learn to make a fire? Very nice! :)

[binkaslibrary.livejournal.com]

It makes me wonder, at what cost will they learn to make a fire?

Perhaps, some aspects of their tradition, some habits (I tend to believe the Sindar were kind of more unrestrained, though no one can say that the Noldor weren't passionate in what they were doing). Most likely, peace and quiet, to a certain extent.

Thank you very much for a kind comment :)

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

My take on this prompt is here (http://hrymfaxe.livejournal.com/33402.html#cutid1)

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Waaay late and not very creative, but I managed to cook something up after all.
Because anything with "fire" is an excuse to write about Fëanorians, right? (http://livingshapes.livejournal.com/21062.html)

[dawn_felagund]

I think we need a name for those bunnies that not only write much more than you ever wanted but completely change the direction of the story. (I used to call mine "Feanor." ;) However, I must say that I am glad of your rabid rabbits. This is really, really nice: You got wee!Nelyo's voice spot-on, and the contrasts work very well to show the fall of the Feanorians without much jumping and shouting and emphatic pointing. ;) As always, you handle moments that most writers would mire in angst with eloquence and grace. In the end, that really makes the ending of the story work for me.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Hares, because they, too, change direction suddenly and without warning and turn out to be larger than your common bunny? ;) Then again I'm a country gal. ;)

Thank you so much! *blushes* I'm glad it works; I was kind of worried about the weird time jumps, especially in the last part, but somehow I couldn't leave them out either, so I had to hope it was readable anyway. Any "eloquence and grace" is entirely coincidental.

(Of course Kleist would say that grace is always the result of either no skill at all or perfect skill, so I suppose it makes sense. ;))

[dawn_felagund]

I'm a country gal too, so "hare" works for me! :) Plothare has a nice ring to it. And, it is nice to pun along the lines of "having a wild hare/hair," and so on.

I've read enough of your writing now that I have to disagree that's it's entirely coincidental. ;)

[dawn_felagund]

Oh! And I got your postcard yesterday! Thank you so much. *hugs*

And, hopefully, I'll have the beta'ed beta this weekend or early next week. My last term paper is due this week. *whew* But I have not forgotten.

[f-ireworks.livejournal.com]

A little too late, hehehe, but here I go, and with a Silm fic, finally!

Strong Ties:
http://f-ireworks.livejournal.com/43213.html#cutid1
featuring the three Finwean princes :-)

[dawn_felagund]

I love the Finweans too, and Finarfin in particular! :D And thank you, thank you, thank you for not making him a sniveling wimp but showing his wisdom and, also, his courage. It could not have been easy to be between two personalities like Feanaro and Nolofinwe. I think that my Finarfin once drew the analogy of feeling like the foil between the hammer and the anvil, and you show that here, and how he possesses a strength that his brothers lack in being able to keep the peace.