The Small and Secret Things by Dawn Felagund
Fanwork Notes
In a time not long past, I used to write a drabble every day that used or was based upon the Word the Day from Dictionary.com and post it to my LiveJournal. It is said that writers should practice every day, if only for fifteen minutes, and this was a great opportunity for me to do so. Alas, the Powers That Be at my workplace blocked access to message boards and forums, including LiveJournal, and I was no longer able to keep up.
These days, as an admin for SWG and with a busy "real life" besides, I sometimes go for days--weeks?--without writing. This is simply unacceptable if I hope to continue growing as a writer. So I've decided to make another attempt at the Daily Drabble, posting this time on SWG. (Since I'm here every day anyway and the Powers That Be haven't blocked us yet!)
Those of you who are crazy masochistic inspired to join me are welcome to do so. Drop me a line and I'll create a series so that we can keep all of our work together. You're of course welcome to get the Word of the Day from my entries, but since I'm not always what one would call timely, then it's probably best to subscribe here to have it emailed to you daily. Of course, you don't even have to use the Word of the Day. I chose the Word of the Day so that I could also improve my vocabulary at the same time as getting my daily "fix" on writing, but the point is to write something every day based on what inspires you.
The rules are simple: There really aren't any rules. I use either the Word of the Day itself or its meaning/theme in my daily drabble. I also can't guarantee that I'll post on weekends, but I usually try to catch up come Monday. Usually, I choose to adhere to fixed word counts because (as my readers will attest) I do have a problem with discipline in my writing. But pieces that aren't a fixed count or that are longer than a "ficlet," of course, work as well.
Per usual, for my drabble series, I will mark pieces that contain adult content with an asterisk (*) so that they can be easily identified in the table of contents.
And (finally) the title "The Small and Secret Things" comes from the Valaquenta: "She is the lover of all things that grow in the earth, and all their countless forms she holds in her mind, from the trees like towers in forests long ago to the moss upon stones or the small and secret things in the mould." The quote is about Yavanna, of course, but I think it describes the outlook of successful writers too: Those who notice everything, from those large enough to change to world to the small and secret things that stir a single heart.
- Fanwork Information
-
Summary:
An attempt at writing a drabble or other short fiction every day, based on the Dictionary.com Word of the Day. Please see the story notes for more information. ETA: This project is on indefinite hiatus. I am working on my second degree as well as working full-time and so have had to tell the muses to take a hike. Hopefully, once my classes end, I'll be able to get back into writing.
Major Characters: Amandil, Ar-Pharazôn, Aulë, Caranthir, Celegorm, Eärwen, Fëanor, Finarfin, Fingolfin, Finwë, Haleth, Maedhros, Maglor, Mandos, Melkor, Míriel Serindë, Nerdanel, Original Character(s), Tar-Míriel, Tar-Palantir, Turgon
Major Relationships:
Genre: Fixed-Length Ficlet
Challenges: Gift of a Story
Rating: Teens
Warnings: Torture, Mature Themes, Violence (Moderate)
This fanwork belongs to the series
Chapters: 36 Word Count: 11, 218 Posted on 21 June 2007 Updated on 6 September 2007 This fanwork is a work in progress.
Table of Contents
The betrothal of Arafinwë and Eärwen. I tried here to capture the languor of Alqualondë in contrast to Arafinwë's restless anxiety at waiting for Eärwen's reply. This was tough ... in just 100 words!
Maedhros on standing up to Fëanor about burning the ships at Losgar. This moment has always had significance to me, for it is the first indication of Maedhros's understanding of the need--and power--of unity between the Noldor. Yet it also is the first proof of how the strife between the princes of the Noldor will forever damn their quest against Morgoth. It is a portent of many things to come.
Fingolfin tries to understand his half-brother's elusive affection. I have tried to use my "Nolofinwë voice" for this one: economical and to-the-point, focusing on physical (versus emotional) observations.
I totally blame Fëanáro for making him that way. ;)
I've never been a huge fan of the Valar, but I have always (oddly) possessed a weak spot for Námo "Named After My Halls" Mandos. It is always fun to try to get into the mind of someone strong (or cruel) enough to bear seeing the future and knowing that he can do nothing about it. Here, he watches the Eldar arrive in Aman.
A double-drabble where Celegorm remembers his friendship with Oromë before he swears the Oath of the Fëanorians. I often ponder which son went first and which went last; in my mind, I often change their roles and try to develop the motives for each choice. It could make an interesting series of stories someday. In the meanwhile, it's a fun characterization exercise at least!
Nerdanel remembers life before the Darkening and her estrangement from Fëanor. This is a weird tribble (300 words) with some darker themes but nothing graphic. It was inspired by Noliel's much brighter Swinging in the Rain for Seven in '07.
Maedhros on acclimating to Himring after life in Tirion.
Finwë considers Míriel's sacrifice for Fëanor. This loss--a husband's loss of his wife on an occasion supposed to be joyous--has always been to me one of the most tragic tales of The Silmarillion. My stories never quite do it justice … but I keep coming back to it nonetheless.
Maedhros gives Rochallor to Fingolfin. This particular detail is not canon, but Maedhros did gift horses to the people of Fingolfin:
Of those horses many of the sires came from Valinor, and they were given to Fingolfin by Maedhros in atonement of his losses, for they had been carried by ship to Losgar.
-"Of Beleriand and Its Realms"
This piece consists of six hundred-word drabbles.
Turgon contemplates the building of Gondolin. I have tried for an archaic, slightly overwrought style in this one because, well, today's word is archaic! It seemed fitting. Since I will soon be writing Turgon, it seemed the perfect opportunity to test his voice, which, in my mind is (you guessed it) archaic and slightly overwrought.
This piece is a quadrabble: exactly 400 words.
On the way to Alqualondë, Fëanor thinks on the Silmarils. It has always been my private theory that part of Fëanor's obsessive pursuit came with the association of the theft of the Silmarils with Finwë's murder, almost as though to resolve the first would also resolve the second. This drabble explores this idea.
Today is Friday the 13th, and today's word deals with a phobia more irrational than most (and phobias are inherently irrational). So today's tribble--exactly 300 words--deals with what appears at first glance to be borne of paranoia and irrationality, a misgiving that leads to the creation of the Silmarils. This idea is expressed in The Silmarillion:
In that time were made those things that afterwards were most renowned of all the works of the Elves. For Fëanor, being come to his full might, was filled with a new thought, or it may be that some shadow of foreknowledge came to him of the doom that drew near; and he pondered how the light of the Trees, the glory of the Blessed Realm, might be preserved imperishable.
Fëanor, it seems, has taken over the daily drabble. Today's tribble again features him, but when the Word of the Day means "fruitful and productive," then who else but Fëanor comes to mind?
I've always believed that Fëanor was a difficult, demanding father but nonetheless adoring of his children. In fact, I spent an entire novel developing this idea. Today's piece looks at the same in the more reasonable length of 300 hundred words.
Today's word is a funny one, so I've made an attempt at a humor piece. Celegorm cleans his room, in 200 words.
Today's tribble (300 words) is dual-purposed. For one, it is inspired by the Word of the Day, bibelot. For another, it is dedicated with fondest wishes to Cheryl, who asked for a birthday drabble called "Wet Elves." Well, it's only one wet Elf and I've chosen a different title, but I hope that it suffices. Happy birthday, my dear!
Eärwen watches her soon-to-be husband construct a special gift for her on the beach of Alqualondë.
It is said that Amandil set sail in a small ship at night, and steered first eastward, and then went about and passed into the west. And he took with him three servants, dear to his heart, and never again were they heard of by word or sign in this world, nor is there any tale or guess of their fate.
--Akallabêth
The fate of Amandil …
Fëanor and Finwë argue about the Valar. I've intended something of a chaotic feel to this piece; Finwë is only reluctantly coming to the realization that something is afoot. This will culminate, of course, with Fëanor's exile from Tirion and the Valar taking Finwë's right to make the decision concerning the fate of his son and subject.
Maedhros on the plasticity of memory following Angband. Please note: This double drabble contains violence, not quite enough to warrant an adult rating but enough that I ask readers to tread with care.
Fëanor replies to Finwë from Monday's double drabble Blindness about his growing mistrust of the Valar.
Maedhros on the day that Celegorm and Curufin arrive in Himring after being banished from Nargothrond. A double drabble.
Finwë, upon returning to his people from Valinor, ponders the difficulty of putting into words what he has seen. I've gone for a slightly surreal feel here in hopes of maybe conveying what it was like for the early Elves, dwelling in a world where so many things are new to them and there is much still to understand. This is a tribble, 300 words.
Morgoth attempts to persuade Maedhros into encouraging his brothers' surrender. Please be forewarned that this piece contains torture and violence, nothing graphic, but possibly bothersome to some readers.
This piece is a drabunculus. As far as I know, I invented the drabunculus form; at the very least, I invented the name drabunculus. Drabunculus is like homunculus: It is a single drabble with drabbles inside of it. In this particular piece, each number of the count (One, Two, Three) marks the start of a new drabble, a new introspection from Nelyo. The "container" of these three drabbles is also a drabble, bringing the word count for the piece to exactly 400 words.
It's not a particularly easy form to write, and I always swear that each drabunculus will be my last. But the form seemed well suited for this particular piece, so I brought it out again.
This is going to be the last, though. ;)
This is one of those double-purpose series again. It is first--like all of the ficlets and series here so far--inspired in part by the word of the day. It is also a birthday gift for Anglachel in response to her request on HASA for a story about a building.
I've chosen Fëanor's house in Formenos. I will make a quick note on canon interpretation before offering the story. In the Felakverse that I use for my stories, Formenos did exist before Fëanor used it as a fortress for hiding his treasures. It began as a mining town that developed a reputation for serving as a safe haven for craftsmen with extraordinary talent and eccentric tendencies. Hence Fëanor's attraction to it. He spent summers here for many years before his exile from Tirion; hence his decision to live and store his treasures there during his banishment.
The note that Formenos was built after Fëanor's exile was made my Christopher Tolkien, and I don't consider it canon as I have never found writings from J.R.R. Tolkien backing it up. The word Formenos does mean "northern fortress," and that is the only--and rather flimsy, in my opinion--evidence behind CT's addition to the index that I have found.
So here are three drabbles and three double-drabbles about Fëanor's house in Formenos. Happy birthday, Anglachel!
A silly little ficlet in 700 words. Celegorm gets stuck in a window, and Caranthir helps him out. Featuring hedgehogs, neglected laundry duty, and a bit of bathroom humor … literally. You've been warned.
Just after Fëanor's birth, before Míriel's condition is revealed, Finwë is tormented by unease. A perfect hundred-word drabble.
The dispute between Fëanor and Fingolfin, from the perspective of Fëanor, in 100 words.
Maglor gives his brothers the news of Maedhros's capture, in 100 words.
For Gadira, three double drabbles about Númenor. Tar-Palantir is troubled by visions of his daughter Míriel, her future, and her fate. Warning for implications of canon incest and non-consensual marriage. It's nothing particularly explicit, but readers sensitive to these subjects should tread with care.
A conscript of Maedhros fleetingly meets his lord on the night before the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. This is a fairly long piece--four double-drabbles and a tribble--but it begged to be written, so I obliged.
Notes on obscure canon follow in the endnotes.
Finarfin considers his choice, that of the majority of his people, and the illusion of freedom. A tribble.
Fëanor's words come from The Silmarillion, "Of the Flight of the Noldor."
Aulë considers Fëanáro, in 300 words.
One of Finarfin's children considers in retrospect his seeming frivolity in the face of political and familial upheaval. A drabble.
This, of course, hinges on the Felakverse notion that Finarfin tended to project an air of flightiness that was carefully contrived to preserve the delicate political and familial relationship between his brothers.
As for which of his children is speaking here? I have my own ideas, but you're welcome to picture whomever fits best for you.
For Sara, who asked for a story about Maedhros in love for her birthday, a quibble (500 words) about superstition, logic, and love. Happy birthday, my dear!
Maedhros thinks on Fingon and how to repay his cousin for his heroic deed. A double drabble.
I have fallen woefully behind in the daily drabble, though the reason behind this is not entirely bad: instead of drabbling, I am working on full-length stories. Nonetheless, I am attempting to catch up with some past Words of the Day that I found particularly inspiring.
This one is for Unsung Heroine and is a (very belated) birthday gift. She asked for a surprise, which I knew to mean "Caranthir/Haleth, preferably with some angst" (and which UH quickly verified!) The following six drabbles, I hope, accomplish just that. In these drabbles, I have incorporated her AU unconventional view of canon with my AU unconventional view of canon: Caranthir and Haleth were romantically involved, and Caranthir was unusually prescient and perceptive to the hidden thoughts and emotions of others. So it's safe to assume that this piece is AU unconventional.
This one is for Elleth, for her birthday (for which I am on time for once … by my time anyway), who asked for "something starring Feanor, Nerdanel and some fluff, with a dash (ok, a bit more) of melancholy thrown in, but sans the kidlets." Happy birthday, Elleth!
In exactly 600 words, Nerdanel and Fëanor spend their first night together. Sounds provocative, eh? Let me know at the end. ;)
Comments
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.