The Way of the Wombat

I don't seem to have written much about life in general here for a little while.

It has been proceeding. I wrote about my day on Wednesday in monthlydiaryday here - it was a fairly ordinary day.

I have written about 6,000 words for my Back to Middle Earth Month story - but I can't post it here yet (or any of the other places I post stories), as it hasn't been revealed on the community yet. It has slowed down the next chapter of The Valinor Trail, but that is under way now, and the B2ME story is a Returnverse tale as well.

Yesterday D-d and I went up to Mum's and took her for lunch for the first time in a couple of months, as her arthritis and gout have been playing up so badly she hasn't felt like coming out. Then we took her for an optician's appointment. Fortunately the disabled parking space outside the opticians was available, and she had her rollator, so this went fairly smoothly.

The optician is, however, very worried about the blind spot that has developed in the middle of Mum's right eye (which was why she made the appointment), so she is asking Mum's GP to refer her to the ophthalmologist. It is one of the vagaries of our local services that the consultant ophthalmologist will only take referrals from doctors, not opticians.

My sister told me today that Slightly-goth niece has just been told she is to be made redundant later this year, a month or so before her wedding.

Brits who have been hearing so much stuff on the news about whether Big Banks will stay, or not stay, in Scotland if it becomes independent, will be somewhat amused, or possibly bemused, by the fact that this is because 'Barclays Wealth and Investment Management' are transferring her entire department's work to Glasgow.

Also - I've just been at our fortnightly on-line meeting to organise WriterConUK's event this year.

And people, friends of mine, if you didn't already know that this year's event will be in Coventry in September - then you do now - just GO HERE and sign up!

You get to see me! And these wonderful people - we are a really friendly bunch - why not just go for it? :)

I am procrastinating. I have a story to write for Back to Middle Earth Month, and it is all in my head - the characters, the story line, the beginning, the end. But actually getting all those pictures and scenes converted into words that sit nicely on the screen... I am procrastinating.

And I procrastinate, in part, by reading things I know and love, or things that have been recommended, but sometimes by rooting around in The Pit of Voles, reading the summaries.

There are some summaries that appeal - and about 1/2 of these turn out to be stories that I actually enjoy - like finding a truffle. But I can spend hours reading summaries and deciding not to read the stories - see, procrastinating.

Now and again there are summaries that simply make me smile.

And so, after spending much of two days off work at the beginning of the week procrastinating in that fashion, there are three or four summaries that I would really like to share. If you are interested ( Read more... )

I'm pretty sure that none of those were written by anyone I know. If so, I'm sorry for smiling - but perhaps you might like to look at that summary again.

There was also a story with an interesting premise, of which I read a few chapters, but I gave up because I got the giggles every time the writer called the ruling house of Rohan 'The House of Erol'...

As for the B2ME story - well there are now 308 words written... But there are about another 3 weeks to go, and I always find the first few paragraphs to be the worst, so it actually will be finished in time, I reckon!

I saw this at brutti_ma_buoni's journal and it produced some fascinating, and fun, answers. So this is the meme;

1) Make a list of fifteen characters first, and keep it to yourself for the moment.

2) Ask your f-list to post questions in the comments. For example: "One, nine, and fifteen are chosen by a prophecy to save the world from four. Do they succeed?", "Under what circumstances might five and fourteen fall in love?", "Which character on the list would you most want on your side in a zombie invasion?"

3) After your f-list has stopped asking questions, round them up and answer them using the fifteen characters you selected beforehand, then post them.

So, flist? I've written a list of characters from 3 or 4 different fandoms. Want to ask questions about these characters you can't yet identify? Pleeease?

I'll do the answers tomorrow so that no answer will give anyone else a clue as to who is who, just yet.

ETA Thank you - I have a lot of fun questions to consider now - good thing I have the afternoon off work! I think the list is now closed. Answers should be forthcoming later.

This is a set of drabbles written for Tolkien Weekly.

They are all cautionary tales told to little hobbits during the latter half of the sixteen century by Shire reckoning. (This would be the mid to late second century of the Fourth Age by the reckoning of the men of Gondor.) Or, in other words, almost 200 years after the events in Lord of the Rings. The Shire has had little contact with the outside world for some time. There is a tiny grain of Tolkien-truth in the pearl that is each of them - except one! I'll leave you to guess which one...




( click for the cautionary tales )

I have two or three short stories that I have written alongside writing the BigBang fic - or that won't really make sense when I post it. This is the first of them - it is set in Eryn Ithil about 70 years after the end of the Ring War - 20 or so years after the events of 'The Right Kind of Shield'.

Please point out any errors - even S2C is not infallible - if he was he'd be the pope.


Harvest Moon
Word count; 2,600
Rating; 15
Beta; Speaker-to-Customers

Summary - Haldirin is now a young adult - something happens to make Tindómë consider increasing the size of the family...

Warnings - mention of death from old age, and conception!

( Harvest Moon )

In other news - D-d got to Madrid, and got to the gate for the outgoing flight in time - so is currently on her way to Buenos Aires about 36 hours later than expected, but on her way.

Only a few pictures this week. It has not been weather conducive to going out with the camera, really. We have had rain and gales for much of the week. As the wind blew up yet again on Friday afternoon I said to a work colleague "It's a very good day to not be on the boat." ('The Boat' is local parlance for our ferries back and forwards to the UK aka 'the adjacent island'!)

Then I remembered that my sister and brother-in-law were actually going to be on the boat that evening. It sailed as usual at 7.45pm (Text from sister - 'we must be mad...'). They finally docked at 1.15am (Text from sister 'worse crossing I've ever been on.') I was right - it was a very good day to not be on the boat.

Today is also a very good day to not be on the boat - there are pictures to show you why under the cut. Guess when sister and brother-in-law are returning? Their boat sails from Heysham at 2.am in the morning, and both are back at work at 8.30am tomorrow. But it was a trip they felt they had to do as B-i-l's older brother is terminally ill and, as D-d puts it, every time he manages another month without actually dying they have to go and see him for the last time again.

It is a day for comfort food, today - the sort of weather that gives me the urge to bake. I think it is the comfort aspect of it - even though I can, and occasionally do, bake all sorts of more exotic things, when it is this sort of day I bake scones. Well - I had to really - dougalsservant gave me some very, very nice strawberry jam for Christmas, and it goes so well with fresh scones! And S2C prefers cheeses scones - so I made him some whilst I was at it. I should have taken a picture of the ones we have just had with coffee - but I did take a picture of the ones that are left.

So - this week's pictures include ( something that made me laugh, the sea, and scones! )

lialathuveril wrote, some weeks ago, a list of her favourite heroes and heroines of literature.

I thought what an interesting idea, and have finally got around to thinking of mine. I've put them here -


( under a cut )

I think perhaps I am predictable, and you can see that I like to read series of books or books by a particular author!

There are other characters that appeal when I read a particular book – but then I never go back and reread the book and/or I cannot remember their names when I come to do the list – so automatically disqualifying them from the post!

I haven’t put which books, or why perhaps that character and not a different one – except for why no Legolas? These are the heroes of literature - and I don't think he came over as any more heroic than Gimli, Faramir, Boromir... we weren't meant to think of him as a hero. Hero Legolas is more the invention of Peter Jackson and all the wonderful fanfic writers! As are hero Faramir, Boromir etc...

Feel free to agree/disagree/ask questions – or even simply see how many you recognise.

Feel free also to turn this into a meme and tell us your own lists.

I not only just fail, I am made of fail...

So - quinara decided that it would be good for there to be a community for writing Plot without Porn - with a posting window over this weekend. Now I don't usually get involved with 'post to order' communities - but this is Quinara, and it is such a good idea... So back in January I said - 'I'll do it!'

But I've been involved with Brotherhood - which has mostly plot, and only tasteful sex, honestly - and the story in my head for Plot without Porn simply stayed there - in my head.

Then I saw people mentioning it in their journals... Meep! I thought, better get on with it!

So - I went and checked the rules - including the all-important events must progress from beginning to end. To describe one of my own fics, a character walking into a room and catalysing a complicated reunion is not a plot. We want external action, people, not just internal. - and started writing.

Except that I am still only 1,500 words in, and at this point I still have Dawn aka Tindómë in Middle Earth worrying about Spike, and Spike in an unidentified small town in our world feeling lonely since Buffy died, and thinking about Dawn. So - not really past the 'character walking into a room and catalysing a complicated reunion' point - and it is Saturday.

I admit defeat - I fail - I haven't got to the plot. Apologies to Quinara.

And is it more fail, or a reason to not fret too much over not having the story finished, that when I wondered why I wasn't seeing other people's PwP posts on my Friends List I realised that I had never actually got around to joining the community?

Fail, wombat - fail, fail, fail!