Our Last Motivational Post for SoWD 2013!

[dawn_felagund]

"Fantasy remains a human right ..."
-J.R.R. Tolkien, "On Fairy-Stories"

The 2013 Season of Writing Dangerously is a mere five days from ending. Some of us have cause to celebrate already; others of us (myself included!) aren't there yet and aren't sure if we will be. But I hope the last three months--whether you met your precise goal or not--resulted in something to be proud of, whether a story finished or a new friendship forged or something else entirely. I am personally of the opinion that any art made or any kindness shown in a world often sorely lacking in both is something special and to be proud of.

I am rereading Tolkien's letters for a research project I am working on. As I read the earliest letters, I am often struck by how similar to many of us he sounds. He worried that he wouldn't be taken seriously. He worried that his work wasn't good enough for an audience beyond those biased toward favoring him. He seized onto words of kindness offered by friends and publishers as motivation to keep writing during a time when his personal life left almost no room for creativity and it was much easier to quit than go on.

Like many of us, he also doubted at times if he would finish. He wondered where he was going with the massive and seemingly directionless story that would become The Lord of the Rings. And he worried that he didn't really have anything worth saying.

Sound familiar?

Tolkien's assertion that fantasy, of all things, is a human right may seem a little overblown in an era that had known tremendous sacrifice during two World Wars and witnessed one of the worst genocides in modern history. But that's part of the point. The essay from which this well-known quote comes, "On Fairy-Stories," argues in part for the power of and right to escapism through fantasy: When the world is dark, make your own light. Over the last three months, I have seen fans of Tolkien's fantasy world reach out to encourage friends and strangers alike. I have seen stories and art come into being that might not have been otherwise (and which will, in turn, bring enjoyment others). What a bright light Tolkien carried forth when he followed through on his right to fantasy! How grateful I am that he felt as strongly as he did that he had something worth saying.

I hope, in the next five days, that all of you will likewise believe you have something worth saying and find a way (whether with words or art) to say it, and keep carrying that light forth into the world.

SoWD participants should feel free to use the comments on this post as they please. I know some of you have reasons to celebrate! Please do! But if you need encouragement or need some last-minute help, don't be shy. Best of luck to all on the last leg of this journey!

Comments

[silver-trails.livejournal.com]

Almost done! Writing the last part of my fic right now! =)

Thank you for this year's SWD! It's my first time, and I've had lots of fun writing!

[dawn_felagund]

Woohoo! *cheers you on down the homestretch*

Congrats and I'm so glad you enjoy the event! :D

[silver-trails.livejournal.com]

I posted the link to my fic (I finished just now). I didn't know that posting links was spam. Anyway, I'm done! =)

[dawn_felagund]

Posting links certainly isn't spam from our perspective, but LJ feels differently! :) I can build a whitelist, which I really need to do. I'm not sure what happened to your comment. I received notification of it, but I don't see it screened here, where I can approve it. So I will repost the link, for anyone who is interested! Sorry for the mix-up ...

http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/archive/home/viewstory.php?sid=1905

And congrats again! *\0/*

[silver-trails.livejournal.com]

LJ can act up at times. Thank you for reposting the link.

And thanks! =)

[houkakyou.livejournal.com]

As of just a couple of days ago, I finished my goals!!! *gratuitous cheering* This was so much fun :)

[dawn_felagund]

Woohoo! That is awesome! Many congrats! :)

I'm really glad you enjoyed the event too--congrats again!

[lin4gondor.livejournal.com]

I will not meet my precise goal. Real Life was too real the last two months, and I didn't account for that in making my plans. That's not to say I've made no progress, thankfully. I am pleased that one third of my goal was accomplished (a new chapter written on a year-long stalled fic), and a second third was begun -- I will count it accomplished if I can post the first couple of chapters of a "new" WIP (old story but newly revised and posted for the first time) in the next few days. The remaining third (new chapter in a multi-year stalled fic) is proving too much for me to finish in the time that remains, so I'll have to take a rain check on that one. I'll get to it eventually, though!

I've loved participating this year, and it has helped me move forward in several ways with my writing, even if my goals weren't completely met. They are still good goals and I'm going to hang onto them and keep working towards them! Thanks for all the encouragement, everyone, it was great being part of and welcomed by this new group!

[dawn_felagund]

Congrats on your progress! Even if you didn't meet your goal (I didn't meet mine either), I like to think that anything that brings more stories and art to the fandom is a good thing. And I'm so glad that you felt the event helped you to move forward as a writer. That warms my little moderatorly heart! :D

Thank you for jumping in with both feet and for the encouragement you gave to others!

[independence1776]

I needed to read this.

I should have the first chapter of my last SoWD project posted this weekend, and the second posted after SoWD ends. Everything else I've completed.

[dawn_felagund]

I'm glad it was timely. It's so easy to get caught up in trying to cross the finish line that it's easy to lose sight of the fact that even if each of the 30-some (I think?) participants in this event posted one story or piece of art, that that is quite in itself quite a wealth of new creativity! :)

(I'm a pie-eyed idealist, as you know! :D)

Good luck with everything this weekend!

[independence1776]

Deadlines like this are helpful to me, actually. (The reason I couldn't post entirely during SoWD was something no one had any control over.) I just needed to read it in general; I need to remind myself of it more often. :)

It is absolutely awesome, the amount of creativity.

Now I just need to motivate myself to edit the second chapter… (I posted the first one yesterday.)

[ladybrooke]

Oh, I'm glad this is in the last motivational post! This (along with him being both a professor and a writer) is part of the reason that I find him one of my favorite and easiest for me to relate to writers. :D

While I had to drop my goals to whatever I had accomplished (which is probably going to end up being fifteen stories, having most of my stories crossposted between Ao3 and dA, a few more on the SWG, a start on my HP/Silm crossover, and one podfic, unless I end up with a few more short stories written), I wanted to point out that silmaril1701, aka Weavie/E&E to those of you who might have known her from elsewhere, wrote 9 of the Hobbit drabbles that were in her goal and posted them to Ao3. Drabbles with Dwarves is her story. They're humorous and gen fic, so if anyone wants to check them out...:D

[dawn_felagund]

I love reading the bits in his letters where he talks about his writing. (Not so much when he talks about his political views, where he and I are pretty much exact opposites ... ;) It's easy to feel neurotic as a writer and always sort of comforting to see that other and very successful and very much admired writers go through the exact same things.

Congrats to you and Weavie both! :)

[ladybrooke]

I do too! (I actually don't mind reading his political views. I'm the opposite of him as well, but he seems like many of my relatives to me. Add in him being a Catholic like my dad's family, and it's oddly comforting in a "this is home, with your elderly grandfather who might be a bit out there but you love him all the same" sort of way.) It's very easy, and it is nice to see that other people who actually succeeded did the same.

Thank you! :D

[j-flattermann.livejournal.com]

In accordance with this last encouragement post, I have posted my last encouragement doodle, for you who care to take a look.

http://j-flattermann.livejournal.com/378640.html

It's been wonderful and I enjoyed this very much. If you will have me again, I shall be happy to be back next year.

[dawn_felagund]

We would love to have you whenever you care to join us! :) Our special events are always open to anyone in the Tolkien fandom. We run b2mem each March as well (along with the Many Paths to Tread archive and Arda Inspired dA community). SoWD has not been an annual event in the past--this is only our second time in running it!--but it certainly could be, if interest in doing it regularly exists. From a moderator's perspective, it is a really easy event to run. I will likely survey the group like I did last year, around mid-spring, to see if there is interest in SoWD again.

And thank you for the weekly drawings! They've been lovely and something to look forward to each week. :)

[j-flattermann.livejournal.com]

Awe thanks, you are so kind.
I have joined up with both comms and look forward to the upcoming events.
*HUGS*

[(Anonymous)]

Finished!!! Too exhausted now to say much more – I can’t seem to be able to finish anything until just before the deadline…

Congratulations to everyone out there on your accomplishments! :-)

And a big “thank you” to those responsible for organizing the SoWD – I had a lot of fun :-)

-Loke

[dawn_felagund]

Continuing with the theme that, as a writer, JRRT was a lot like us, he has tons of letters apologizing for missing deadlines ... ;)

Had he participated in SoWD, he (like me) would probably at this point be hoping to finish his goals by October but more expecting November!

That said, a huge congrats to you for making it and for your first fic! \0/