Can I just admit that I'm addicted to LotR fanfiction? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lush · 06-15-2008, 04:20 AM

Yesss! And fanfiction is a great way to dork-out.

Estelyn Telcontar · 06-15-2008, 12:03 PM

Some fan fiction can be a great supplement to Tolkien's stories. Those of you who have recommendations - or are looking for some - please check out the *Fan Fiction Information* thread.

Morthoron · 06-15-2008, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Some fan fiction can be a great supplement to Tolkien's stories. Those of you who have recommendations - or are looking for some - please check out the *Fan Fiction Information* thread.

Ummm...Estelyn, I can't even access the fan-fic forum any longer. And what I remember from when that forum was arbitrarily condensed months ago, all the newer stories (including mine) were abruptly terminated. I often enjoy reading other folk's fan-fic, but when I can't participate (the only reason seemingly being that I am not one of the 'original and accepted' posters) it leaves a rather bad taste in one's mouth.

By the way, here's the error message:

Error including required files: Can't locate /home2/barrowwight/cgi-bin/vars_display.cgi in @INC (@INC contains: /usr/lib/perl5/5.8.8/i686-linux /usr/lib/perl5/5.8.8 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.8/i686-linux /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.8 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.7 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.6 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.5 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl .) at ultimatebb.cgi line 54.
No such file or directory
Make sure these files exist, permissions are set properly, and paths are set correctly.

Estelyn Telcontar · 06-15-2008, 12:32 PM

Morthoron, I get the exact same error message, so it's not a personal problem of yours. I would guess that it's a remnant of the problems we had with forum software in the past. I will check with The Barrow-Wight to see what he can do about it - thanks for alerting the rest of us to the problem!

Lush · 06-15-2008, 03:39 PM

Oh dear.

Btw, anyone know of any good ones that center on Aragorn? The Legolas ones are a dime a dozen, and some are very, very good, but you kinda hate to see a King getting snubbed like that. Especially when you consider the wealth of material to work with there (and no, I don't just mean good looks

).

Lush · 06-16-2008, 02:08 AM

Here's a random observation,

A lot of the fanfics written by young girls mention abuse. Now obviously a checkered past is a staple of the Mary Sue, but you have to wonder how many of the authors are dealing with their own problems this way.

I certainly did when I was a kid. I look over my old stories now, and go, "hmmm, well this badly drawn character with the blue eyes had this nasty thing happen to her and look here, it says 'the scars on her soul.' Bad line, but hmmm."

Fanfiction as low-grade therapy, baby.

Nerwen · 06-22-2008, 09:54 AM

I think it's more often angst at being forced to do the dishes.

Most things you see a lot in fan-fiction are, purely and simply, the result of writers copying each other. People like me who mock it for a hobby– we call ourselves "sporkers", and it's practically a subculture– know that there are a few basic elements that recur with absurd frequency in story after story, e.g.

There is a tenth member of the Fellowship.

Boromir is an evil misogynist.

The main character is Elrond's other daughter.

Or Sauron's daughter.

Legolas and Aragorn are boyhood friends and have adventures together.

Thranduil is a drunk and beats Legolas.

Either Legolas or Aragorn is blind/deaf/mute/crippled/scarred.

A male character has a baby. (AKA "Mpreg".)

Elladan and Elrohir are pranksters (a la the Weasley twins).

And, of course,

Abused girl is hit by a car, wakes up in Middle-earth and finds out that she is the Chosen One.

We actually classify fan-fics by their dominant cliches: "Look, another Blind!Aragorn".

What I'm saying is, there's no way fan-fic authors could be coming up with all this independently.

Another thing: Because it's such a cliche, stories about abuse will attract a lot of negative reviews– Fan-fic authors get very upset at this and defend their stories hotly, but I've never known one to use the grounds that it all happened to her. I know many former "Suethors" who tell me they put all the trauma stuff in because, well, everyone else did and they kind of thought you had to. In fact– I'll come clean– I've produced some pretty melodramatic stories myself!

In fact, judging from my own travesties, I think the other thing at work here is that young writers know that you're meant to give the main character some kind of adversity to overcome, but they just haven't learned any sense of moderation yet.

Edit: I'm not saying every fan-fiction is terrible. There are some very good ones around. It's just that I deliberately seek out bad ones...

06-15-2008, 04:20 AM	#1
Lush Fair and Cold Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: the big onion Posts: 1,770	Yesss! And fanfiction is a great way to dork-out. __________________ ~The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories. This is one of mine~

06-15-2008, 12:03 PM	#2
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Some fan fiction can be a great supplement to Tolkien's stories. Those of you who have recommendations - or are looking for some - please check out the Fan Fiction Information thread. __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

06-15-2008, 12:32 PM	#4
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Morthoron, I get the exact same error message, so it's not a personal problem of yours. I would guess that it's a remnant of the problems we had with forum software in the past. I will check with The Barrow-Wight to see what he can do about it - thanks for alerting the rest of us to the problem! __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

06-15-2008, 03:39 PM	#5
Lush Fair and Cold Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: the big onion Posts: 1,770	Oh dear. Btw, anyone know of any good ones that center on Aragorn? The Legolas ones are a dime a dozen, and some are very, very good, but you kinda hate to see a King getting snubbed like that. Especially when you consider the wealth of material to work with there (and no, I don't just mean good looks ). __________________ ~The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories. This is one of mine~

06-16-2008, 02:08 AM	#6
Lush Fair and Cold Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: the big onion Posts: 1,770	Here's a random observation, A lot of the fanfics written by young girls mention abuse. Now obviously a checkered past is a staple of the Mary Sue, but you have to wonder how many of the authors are dealing with their own problems this way. I certainly did when I was a kid. I look over my old stories now, and go, "hmmm, well this badly drawn character with the blue eyes had this nasty thing happen to her and look here, it says 'the scars on her soul.' Bad line, but hmmm." Fanfiction as low-grade therapy, baby. __________________ ~The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories. This is one of mine~

06-22-2008, 09:54 AM	#7
Nerwen Wisest of the Noldor Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: ˙˙˙ssɐןƃ ƃuıʞooן ǝɥʇ ɥƃnoɹɥʇ Posts: 6,694	I think it's more often angst at being forced to do the dishes. Most things you see a lot in fan-fiction are, purely and simply, the result of writers copying each other. People like me who mock it for a hobby– we call ourselves "sporkers", and it's practically a subculture– know that there are a few basic elements that recur with absurd frequency in story after story, e.g. There is a tenth member of the Fellowship. Boromir is an evil misogynist. The main character is Elrond's other daughter. Or Sauron's daughter. Legolas and Aragorn are boyhood friends and have adventures together. Thranduil is a drunk and beats Legolas. Either Legolas or Aragorn is blind/deaf/mute/crippled/scarred. A male character has a baby. (AKA "Mpreg".) Elladan and Elrohir are pranksters (a la the Weasley twins). And, of course, Abused girl is hit by a car, wakes up in Middle-earth and finds out that she is the Chosen One. We actually classify fan-fics by their dominant cliches: "Look, another Blind!Aragorn". What I'm saying is, there's no way fan-fic authors could be coming up with all this independently. Another thing: Because it's such a cliche, stories about abuse will attract a lot of negative reviews– Fan-fic authors get very upset at this and defend their stories hotly, but I've never known one to use the grounds that it all happened to her. I know many former "Suethors" who tell me they put all the trauma stuff in because, well, everyone else did and they kind of thought you had to. In fact– I'll come clean– I've produced some pretty melodramatic stories myself! In fact, judging from my own travesties, I think the other thing at work here is that young writers know that you're meant to give the main character some kind of adversity to overcome, but they just haven't learned any sense of moderation yet. Edit: I'm not saying every fan-fiction is terrible. There are some very good ones around. It's just that I deliberately seek out bad ones... __________________ "Even Nerwen wasn't evil in the beginning." –Elmo. Last edited by Nerwen; 06-22-2008 at 10:52 AM. Reason: Adding a comment