More interview questions...
Mar. 2nd, 2007 07:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamflowerI'm still owing some people answers to that interview meme.
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periantari asked me:
Who is your favorite hobbit and why?
I’m often asked this question, because people really seem to think that I *should* have one favorite hobbit--after all, almost everyone does. They will identify themselves as a “Pippin-fan” or a “Frodo-fan” or a “Sam-fan” or a “Merry-fan”.
But the truth is, I do not have any *one* favorite; I love all four of those lads equally--differently, but equally. Each of them has something very special about him, but what I love most of all is the dynamic *between* them, the relationships that they have among themselves. I’m fascinated by the idea that Frodo’s best friends were a gardener 12 years younger, and two cousins, 14 and 22 years younger respectively. I want to dig into what it was that made them love him so much they would give up their homes and follow him into mortal peril. I want to know how the remaining three related to one another when Frodo left for the West. I want to explore hobbity love and friendship and family ties in all the various ramifications.
This is not to say that sometimes I do not *treat* them differently, for as individuals, they present themselves to me as distinct personalities.
Merry seems to me to yield up his POV most easily. It is easy for me to get into his head, and figure out what he’s thinking, and with very rare exceptions, most of my first person ficlets are in *his* POV. And Merry has the most clearly defined personality in canon--there’s a lot to work with, with him.
I love to write Pippin as a child. He’s so delightful and warm-hearted and full of love, and that doesn’t change when he’s older, but as a little one, he’s so very open and willing to share himself with others. He often shares his POV with me, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out exactly what he’s thinking, his mind is so mercurial.
Sam seems a bit shy of sharing his POV with me; he only rarely blesses me with that. Furthermore, is the hindrance that canon places on him. Pre-Quest we have been firmly told that he’s never been further away from Hobbiton than twenty miles, so it’s unlikely that he would accompany Frodo on his expeditions--especially to Buckland, which we are specifically told Sam’s never been there. And after the Quest, Sam and Rose are very busy having children, which also puts a crimp in his taking part in any lengthy adventure.
Getting Sam in the story some way is why so many of my stories take place at Bag End.
Frodo is a very private person. He was even chary of sharing his POV in the books, and he’s not often forthcoming with me. It’s a struggle, sometimes to get inside his head. But when I do, it’s very rewarding.
If you were to change something about the movies what would it be?
Now *that* would be a lengthy list. Still, I’ll give it a try--1. There should be some indication that Merry and Pippin made the decision to go with Frodo deliberately, and not on some accidental lark. 2. Their blood relationship with Frodo should also be made clear early on. 3. “I’ll meet you in Bree”? when Gandalf has to go to Isengard first? PJ needed to fix that. 4. Glorfindel. 5. Gimli would be treated with a bit more dignity. 6. No Aragorn falling off cliffs. 7. Faramir would *not* take Frodo and Sam to Osgiliath, or give in, even temporarily, to the Ring. 8. More of Merry and Pippin, and especially more of Merry among the Rohirrim. 9. Beregond and Bergil. 10. They’d explain just exactly *what* Elrond found to do, after Aragorn left him among the Rohirrim. And none of that Arwen going off to the Grey Havens and changing her mind and the whole “dying” thing. Really dumb. 11. “Are you going to bury me?” left in, and more Houses of Healing scenes. And Merry staying in Minas Tirith like he should have. 12. Pippin should have gotten his troll! 13. None of that stupid lembas scene with Gollum and Sam, and the way Frodo sent Sam off; there were better ways to handle separating the two. 14. Cormallen. 15. If they did not include the Scouring of the Shire, they should at least have shown that Frodo’s pain and suffering was more than a sore shoulder!
Ummm…there’re probably a few other things, too, but I guess that will be enough to go on with.
Do you consider your husband to be your “Sam”? ;)
Yes. 8-)
After hobbits, which is your favorite race?
Elves, I think. But not just any Elves. There is only a handful of Elf-writers whose Elves I admire: Nilmandra, daw the minstrel, Bodkin, Le Rouret, and perhaps three or four others. I really love Nilmandra’s Elrond, and I like the take the others--especially Bodkin--have on Legolas.
What is your favorite book/series besides those by Tolkien?
Hmm…I’d have to say CS Lewis’ “Space Trilogy” Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength and the Narnia books.
I’m also fond of Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni stories, and Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books.
And thenfell_beast_2 asked me *these* questions:
1. Are you active in any other fandoms?
No, I’m not. I will occasionally read non-LotR fic, such as Harry Potter or Star Trek if it comes highly recommended, and if there is no new LotR fic available. But I’ve never *written* in any other fandom. (Though I am dipping my toes into a LotR/Narnia crossover.)
2. Who is your favourite non-hobbit character?
Gandalf, I do believe, though Aragorn’s a close runner-up.
3. How did you meet your husband?
I was going to college in Miami, to a very small Christian college, and he was in one of my classes. I didn’t really speak to him until I saw him in the Student Union one afternoon with his copy of Fellowship of the Ring. We started up a conversation then and there. (I was totally unaware at the time, by the way, that he’d had his eye on *me* for a while.) He asked me out--our first date was to a bookstore.
His first gift to me was a hardback copy of The Hobbit.
4. What was the most disappointing book you ever read?
Hmm…I know that one book I read, that I wished I had not, was James Blish’s Black Sunday; and another that really disappointed me--especially because I had *always* loved Heinlein, was The Cat Who Walked Through Walls. And I was really disappointed in Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. All of those had rather unsatisfying endings to me--not necessarily that they were unhappy, though I *do* prefer happy endings, I don‘t mind them not being sometimes, but that I thought the endings were sort of cop-outs. There've been a few others that disappointed me, but those are the only ones that come to mind right now.
5. If you could live the life of any LotR character, who would it be?
Oh, goodness! Perhaps Esmeralda Brandybuck--she had the privilege of more or less mothering three out of the four heroes of the Shire. I think she must have been a very special person, for they all turned out so well, and she was a Took as well as a Brandybuck by marriage.
So, I *think* that's all the people I owe answers to, but if you interviewed me and I have not answered you yet, please let me know.
periantari asked me:Who is your favorite hobbit and why?
I’m often asked this question, because people really seem to think that I *should* have one favorite hobbit--after all, almost everyone does. They will identify themselves as a “Pippin-fan” or a “Frodo-fan” or a “Sam-fan” or a “Merry-fan”.
But the truth is, I do not have any *one* favorite; I love all four of those lads equally--differently, but equally. Each of them has something very special about him, but what I love most of all is the dynamic *between* them, the relationships that they have among themselves. I’m fascinated by the idea that Frodo’s best friends were a gardener 12 years younger, and two cousins, 14 and 22 years younger respectively. I want to dig into what it was that made them love him so much they would give up their homes and follow him into mortal peril. I want to know how the remaining three related to one another when Frodo left for the West. I want to explore hobbity love and friendship and family ties in all the various ramifications.
This is not to say that sometimes I do not *treat* them differently, for as individuals, they present themselves to me as distinct personalities.
Merry seems to me to yield up his POV most easily. It is easy for me to get into his head, and figure out what he’s thinking, and with very rare exceptions, most of my first person ficlets are in *his* POV. And Merry has the most clearly defined personality in canon--there’s a lot to work with, with him.
I love to write Pippin as a child. He’s so delightful and warm-hearted and full of love, and that doesn’t change when he’s older, but as a little one, he’s so very open and willing to share himself with others. He often shares his POV with me, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out exactly what he’s thinking, his mind is so mercurial.
Sam seems a bit shy of sharing his POV with me; he only rarely blesses me with that. Furthermore, is the hindrance that canon places on him. Pre-Quest we have been firmly told that he’s never been further away from Hobbiton than twenty miles, so it’s unlikely that he would accompany Frodo on his expeditions--especially to Buckland, which we are specifically told Sam’s never been there. And after the Quest, Sam and Rose are very busy having children, which also puts a crimp in his taking part in any lengthy adventure.
Getting Sam in the story some way is why so many of my stories take place at Bag End.
Frodo is a very private person. He was even chary of sharing his POV in the books, and he’s not often forthcoming with me. It’s a struggle, sometimes to get inside his head. But when I do, it’s very rewarding.
If you were to change something about the movies what would it be?
Now *that* would be a lengthy list. Still, I’ll give it a try--1. There should be some indication that Merry and Pippin made the decision to go with Frodo deliberately, and not on some accidental lark. 2. Their blood relationship with Frodo should also be made clear early on. 3. “I’ll meet you in Bree”? when Gandalf has to go to Isengard first? PJ needed to fix that. 4. Glorfindel. 5. Gimli would be treated with a bit more dignity. 6. No Aragorn falling off cliffs. 7. Faramir would *not* take Frodo and Sam to Osgiliath, or give in, even temporarily, to the Ring. 8. More of Merry and Pippin, and especially more of Merry among the Rohirrim. 9. Beregond and Bergil. 10. They’d explain just exactly *what* Elrond found to do, after Aragorn left him among the Rohirrim. And none of that Arwen going off to the Grey Havens and changing her mind and the whole “dying” thing. Really dumb. 11. “Are you going to bury me?” left in, and more Houses of Healing scenes. And Merry staying in Minas Tirith like he should have. 12. Pippin should have gotten his troll! 13. None of that stupid lembas scene with Gollum and Sam, and the way Frodo sent Sam off; there were better ways to handle separating the two. 14. Cormallen. 15. If they did not include the Scouring of the Shire, they should at least have shown that Frodo’s pain and suffering was more than a sore shoulder!
Ummm…there’re probably a few other things, too, but I guess that will be enough to go on with.
Do you consider your husband to be your “Sam”? ;)
Yes. 8-)
After hobbits, which is your favorite race?
Elves, I think. But not just any Elves. There is only a handful of Elf-writers whose Elves I admire: Nilmandra, daw the minstrel, Bodkin, Le Rouret, and perhaps three or four others. I really love Nilmandra’s Elrond, and I like the take the others--especially Bodkin--have on Legolas.
What is your favorite book/series besides those by Tolkien?
Hmm…I’d have to say CS Lewis’ “Space Trilogy” Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength and the Narnia books.
I’m also fond of Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni stories, and Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books.
And then
fell_beast_2 asked me *these* questions:1. Are you active in any other fandoms?
No, I’m not. I will occasionally read non-LotR fic, such as Harry Potter or Star Trek if it comes highly recommended, and if there is no new LotR fic available. But I’ve never *written* in any other fandom. (Though I am dipping my toes into a LotR/Narnia crossover.)
2. Who is your favourite non-hobbit character?
Gandalf, I do believe, though Aragorn’s a close runner-up.
3. How did you meet your husband?
I was going to college in Miami, to a very small Christian college, and he was in one of my classes. I didn’t really speak to him until I saw him in the Student Union one afternoon with his copy of Fellowship of the Ring. We started up a conversation then and there. (I was totally unaware at the time, by the way, that he’d had his eye on *me* for a while.) He asked me out--our first date was to a bookstore.
His first gift to me was a hardback copy of The Hobbit.
4. What was the most disappointing book you ever read?
Hmm…I know that one book I read, that I wished I had not, was James Blish’s Black Sunday; and another that really disappointed me--especially because I had *always* loved Heinlein, was The Cat Who Walked Through Walls. And I was really disappointed in Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. All of those had rather unsatisfying endings to me--not necessarily that they were unhappy, though I *do* prefer happy endings, I don‘t mind them not being sometimes, but that I thought the endings were sort of cop-outs. There've been a few others that disappointed me, but those are the only ones that come to mind right now.
5. If you could live the life of any LotR character, who would it be?
Oh, goodness! Perhaps Esmeralda Brandybuck--she had the privilege of more or less mothering three out of the four heroes of the Shire. I think she must have been a very special person, for they all turned out so well, and she was a Took as well as a Brandybuck by marriage.
So, I *think* that's all the people I owe answers to, but if you interviewed me and I have not answered you yet, please let me know.
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no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 01:28 am (UTC)I didn’t really speak to him until I saw him in the Student Union one afternoon with his copy of Fellowship of the Ring. We started up a conversation then and there.
My best friend and I met because I was reading The Silmarillion and he asked me what it was about. When I described the exquisite "creation" story based in Music and Song, he went out and read it, then read LOTR, then... We're still good friends 25 years later, because of that one encounter.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 01:39 am (UTC)And you must have KNOWN it was true love if your husband gave you The Hobbit as a present! :-)
no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 01:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 03:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 03:21 am (UTC)I start doing that, sometimes, and it sounds to people like I didn't like the movies, which is *far* from the truth. But script was definitely not one of their best points. And Merry and Pippin most certainly got shorted.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 03:59 am (UTC)So that's how to snag a guy - carry around LOTR with you everywhere you go. At the least, he'll be more understanding about the fan fic obsession. :D
no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 04:11 am (UTC)I wonder what it would have been like if one of us (as in fanfic writers) had a chance at it...
Well, actually *he* was carrying *his* around. But he knew from the start that I was obsessed with LotR. He loves it, too. Just not quite as much as me, LOL!
no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 06:41 pm (UTC)That was my biggest complaint when I saw RotK.
Bookstore! Now that's a perfect date. *g*
no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 10:29 pm (UTC)I don't know about *biggest* complaint, but it's certainly a major one for me--I think it would have been awesome if he'd killed that troll that was after Aragorn just before the Ring melted.