Discussing: Quickies 2003
Quickies 2003
Anglachel
Message: 1494
13 Dec 02 10:20 PM
Original Post
General Audience
Read-Only
Message: 1494
13 Dec 02 10:20 PM
Original Post
General Audience
Read-Only
First meetings with Gandalf - any era, any character
Final partings implied or mentioned, but not described by JRRT
Finwë first sees the light of the Two Trees
First ever meeting of elf and dwarf
Thranduil watches the assault of the Fëanorians on Menegroth
A king accepts a ring from a mysterious stranger
Cirdan receives Narya from Gil-galad
A shipwright of Númenor watches Alcarondas set sail to the West
A woman of Esgaroth sells wine to the Wood Elves
How did Gollum get out of Moria if the bridge was broken?
Háma frees Éomer from jail on Théoden's command
Faramir being told of the manner of Denethor's death
Legolas figuring out where he wishese to live in South Ithilien
A girl of Minas Tirith learns something from Queen Arwen
Pippin asks Diamond to marry him
So, there are a few ideas. Let me know which ones appeal, which ones do not, and what else you think is better or would like in addition to these.
Ang
Re: Quickies 2003
The minstrel at the Field of Cormallen gets a voice and meets someone who'd like to thank him for his song.
The exploits of Master Spy Merry: How did he get a look at Bilbo's red book, and what exactly did he read?
Related: forming the conspiracy to watch Frodo.
The Balrog's waking and confrontation with the Fellowship, from its POV.
I'll add others for consideration if I think of any.
Thanks Ang!
Re: Quickies 2003
Incurable romantic that I am, this one is quite appealing. I would love to see what people did with this.
Oh, dear. I am sorry, Dwim. I should have read your post before putting a challenge in the hutch...
I will delete it and post it here to see if anyone is interested.
Ariel
Re: Quickies 2003
Aragorn's reaction to Elrond's revelations about Aragorn's ancestry and possible destiny.
Gimli receiving the word that he is to be a member of the fellowship.
Glorfindel in Valinor after release from the Halls of Mandos.
A lesson for Elflings in Valinor about Middle-earth.
Elendil reflects on the sinking of Numenor.
An encounter between Ted Sandyman and Sam after the Scouring of the Shire.
Any humorous moment between the three hunters, possibly with any two ganging up on the third.
Earendil's reflections on his descendents, one or more.
I think I'd better stop now, as I could type new ones in until forcibly stopped.
Lyllyn
Re: Quickies 2003
Re: Quickies 2003
Ooh, hey, another nuzgul: Why wasn't Radagast at Rhosgobel when the Rangers went to check in with him when searching the area for signs of Black Riders (FOTR, I believe)? Maybe we could have a quick vignette of someone going to his house? It'd be fun to peep through a wizard's window, even if he's not home.
I'll stop now, really.
Re: Quickies 2003
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And after all, people can still write a story or vignette that would answer a Challenge even if the Challenge is closed... it's just not as much fun.
Cel
Re: Quickies 2003
I'll stop now, really.
Ok, so I lied.
*Racing the Black Riders: Asfaloth's POV.
*What did Gandalf "see" lying on the mountaintop after casting down the Balrog?
*Háma's last stand (I swear, I'm not doing this to make Roc cry!).
*Aerial reconnaissance: become one of the crébain. Did you notice that pony hanging out in Hollin? Or anything else unusual?
*What did Éothain say to Éomer after the three hunters rode off to Fangorn?
*The fish who swallowed the Ring (I'm not obsessed with this, really).
*"Teaching his grandmother to suck... "Eggses!""--write this sorry, possibly funny, episode in Sméagol's life.
*A snapshot in the life of your average Haradrim mumâk trainer--how does he (she?) feel about her oliphants?
No promises this time about not thinking up any others.
Re: Quickies 2003
Re: Quickies 2003
*Swimming lessons: Boromir and Faramir as kids. You just know that this skill will come in handy twenty, thirty years later at Osgiliath. And you know that Boromir would do his utmost to half-drown Faramir once little bro got the hang of things. It's a sibling thing.
*Faramir learning the constellations--has some fun questions about Eärendil.
*Faramir and Arwen's first meeting
*Harp lessons. Would the rest of the family have to cower in the other room with their fingers in their ears?
[some minutes later] Can't leave well enough alone, can I?
*For the author of "A Game Of Chess", I want to see you write an actual chess game between Faramir and any character of your choice.
So there! Write!
Re: Quickies 2003
Re: Quickies 2003
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*How do Mablung, Damrod, and Anborn view their new commander? (Ok, this is more about them than Faramir, I suppose, but it'd be an interesting reversal. Pick any one or any combination of the three, and they can have any history you like--did they precede Faramir in that company? Or did they join later?)
*The first time Faramir ever had that dream of drowning Númenor
*After Sam and Frodo fell asleep, and before Gollum appeared at HA, what did Faramir do/think?
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I would like to see accounts of the Ring War from across the whole of Middle-earth. Denethor says that all the East is moving (OK, not the most reliable witness at this point), and Gandalf says at the Council of Elrond that the black tongue will be heard in every part of the West.
*A child evacuated from Minas Tirith.
*The hopes and policies of a captain from Khand.
*Farmer Maggot's account of the strange goings-on at Crickhollow and that queer fellow Sharkey.
*The home front at Rivendell, or the battle for Lorien.
*The last stands of Dain and Brand.
*What the Woses were doing to fight the gorgun before the Horse-men came to ask for their help.
*Why the Dunlendings were right to fight.
Or an appendices challenge. Take a name from the Annals of the Kings and Rulers, and write them a first-person POV story.
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Oo, dibs!
I've had this one stewing in my head for a while already...Some others:
- the slaying of Moria's watcher
- Butterbur meets Elessar (and Arwen, too, if you like)
- Celeborn and Celebrimbor have a conversation
- Beorn startles some Rohirrim
Re: Quickies 2003
About the first quickies way up there, I want to try my hand at final partings, king receiving a ring of power, woman sells wine to wood elves, Legolas figuring Ithilien and girl learns from Queen Arwen. So do me a favor and keep these in.
More quickies? How about some pre-LotR for the "The Hobbit" lover in you?

# neighbour watching 13 dwarves and a wizard invade Bilbo's house;
# Bert, William and Tom. Anything with them;
# a scene from one of those two oh so happy weeks at Elrond's;
# Gollum's agony as he realises he lost Bilbo and Preciousss for good;
# one day of invisible Bilbo at Mirkwood sneaking around;
# a dwarf's thoughts in Thranduil's prison or inside a barril. Pick your fav dwarf;
Yes, I fancy this much overlooked period in ME's history and, yes, I think we need more dwarf stories. Hehe.
Re: Quickies 2003
Re: Quickies 2003
- The fathers of Men awaken with the first rising of the Sun. OR
- Morgoth's servants quail at the harsh light of the Sun
- An Elf's thoughts when the star of Earendil first appears in the night sky. (a lot of firsts, hmm)
Re: I think having the challenge in quarters is a good idea, but we should keep the old ones open till the end of the year, in case anyone gets inspiration to write some of them.
-Klose
Re: Quickies 2003
I'm thinking that there will be a set that is open year-round (i.e., repeated for each quarter), and then a new set unique to each quarter. But, hey, my attitude is if it is on the 2003 list, and you *really* want to write it, write it, even if it isn't explicitly on the list for that quarter.
I do want to keep vignettes limited to what is on the list, however, so it isn't a total free for all. I think one of the really cool things was seeing how different writers interpreted the same scene. The Pelennor pyre set is magnificent, for example.
Hey, Una, why not end the Denenthor Poetry contest this year end, so we can release it, and start up a new one for 2003? Or, is there another character who has a poetic turn and should be featured? Maybe a Poet of the Quarter? Hmm, this could get quite fun!
Toodles - Ang
Re: Quickies 2003
Good call! Or even just Poetry Challenge of the Quarter.
Hm. Some nominations:
* Poor, besotted Eomer wrestles with love poetry for Lothiriel.
* Gollum composes disturbing ditties in the dark.
* Eol vents his feelings. (Middle-earth's first and last writer of free verse?)
* Retell the entire Silmarillion in limericks. (Group challenge? I'll take this chapter, you take that?)
* A Fourth Age hobbit scholar is commissioned to set the Scouring of the Shire to verse.
- Stulti the Certified Poetry Nut

Re: Quickies 2003
Heh. Hehehe... Yes, I like that enormously.
OK, I'll bring the Denethor challenge to an end; I've extended it enough times after all. Last chance for people to show what the Steward can do. Never did get round to writing anything myself.
Re: Quickies 2003
OK, if this is not a Challenge, I do not know what is!
Una, Princess of Poetry, please do satisfy the poetic cravings of the membership! Give us Poetry Challenges worthy of the name!
Toodles - Ang
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Personally, for poetry, I'd go with Goldberry. You know she has some hidden away--she has to, for the sake of her sanity, around Bombadil.
Quarters: opening challenges by quarters and then keeping them for the rest of the year is one way of dealing with the possiblity of someone coming late to a challenge. But it also means the winter quarter vignettes will have a much shorter shelf life than will those from the spring quarter. Would there be an automatic hold-over for them into the next year's opening quarter? Or should we attempt strategic organization, putting the 'easier' ones near the end?
Re: Quickies 2003
Ang
PS - Just posted one last entry to the Bilbo Birthday challenge.
Re: Quickies 2003
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Keep some of these as challenges. Put the rest in the hutch. If enough people are interested, they'll soon be picked up anyway. If not, well, I'm planning a "plotbunny of the week" scheme for next year anyway, so they'll at least get some publicity.
Plus I can offer them comfortable accommodation, as well as food, water, and regular mucking out.
Meg (Nuzgûl hutch keeper)
--
Re: Quickies 2003
Also, "plotbunny of the week"? Do hear a call for a little programming there? :-) Let's talk about that one, too. You, Dwim, Adreinne & me need to figure out some Qtr 1 upgrade plans to the Hutch/Challenge stuff.
Ang
Re: Quickies 2003
Actually, no, you don't. Sorry, I'm a helldesk type, and that means that I prefer low-tech, simple systems which have the minimum number of possible things that can go wrong with them. It's not that I'm a luddite, it's just that working helldesk has made me very aware of the myriad possible number of ways that a system can go wrong, and a long-term strong belief in the accuracy of Murphy's Law tends to mean that I give old Murphy as little space for interfering as possible.
Or in other words, my plan to this point was to just pick one at random out of the "unadopted" list, and set it loose on the list each week.
*grin* Of course, if you *want* to program something, feel free.
Meg
--
Re: Quickies 2003
Re: Quickies 2003
The son of King Valacar of Gondor and Vidumavi. Vidumavi was the daughter of Vidugavia of the Northmen, the self-styled King of Rhovanion, and so Eldacar was of only half-Gondorian descent, a fact that led many to doubt Eldacar's right to rule. After his father's death, he sat on the throne for just five years when civil war broke out in Gondor. Ultimately, he was deposed by his Captain of Ships, Castamir, who took the throne himself.
Eldacar escaped into the north, where he spent ten years raising an army before he returned to reclaim his throne. In a great and bloody battle at the Crossings of Erui, Castamir was defeated and the remnant of his forces fled into the south, to Umbar. Eldacar ruled for another forty-three years after this war, known as the Kin-strife. His eldest son Ornendil had died at Castamir's hands, and he was succeeded by his second son, Aldamir.
I would like to see one of two vignette quickies....
(1) I would like to see the Moment when Eldacar was sitting there pondering the possibility that the civil war was fueled to fruition by his questionable right to rule. Something brooding and angsty.....
and...
(2) I would like to see a moment when Eldecar is dealing with the death of Ornendil. The grief, the anger, the bittersweet nature of his victory over Castamir....
Yes, I am in a mood.....
E.W.
Re: Quickies 2003
These are the quickies that will be available starting January 1 and running through March 31, 2003:
- The fathers of Men awaken with the first rising of the Sun
- Thranduil watches the assault of the Fëanorians on Menegroth
- Celeborn and Celebrimbor have a conversation
- A king accepts a ring from a mysterious stranger
- A member of the Argonath construction crew looks on their work...
- One day of invisible Bilbo at Mirkwood sneaking around;
- Theoden's thoughts on the death of his wife in childbirth.
- Swimming lessons: Boromir and Faramir as kids
- Radagast at Rhosgobel when the Rangers went to check in with him when searching the area for signs of Black Riders
- Racing the Black Riders: Asfaloth's POV.
- How did Gollum get out of Moria if the bridge was broken?
- The last stands of Dain and Brand.
- Pippin asks Diamond to marry him
- A woman of Esgaroth sells wine to the Wood Elves
- A snapshot in the life of your average Haradrim mumâk trainer--how does he (she?) feel about her oliphants?
Ang
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"The History of Galadriel and Celeborn" Unfinished Tales
So, writers have the option of Gil-galad giving Círdan Narya at once, or having him hand over the ring at a later date. In any event, the ring came to Gil-galad's hand first, and he entrusted it to Círdan, so it will be interesting to see how the bauble is explained.
Ang
Re: Quickies 2003
Re: Quickies 2003
The forum for questions about challenges is probably either 'Challenge Announcements' or to set up a new discussion thread in this forum, 'Prospective Challenges' which you can do simply by clicking on the red text 'post new topic' in the forum multi-threads view.
In the mean time - are challenges here always plot based as opposed to style based?
Interesting question. There are poetry challenges, but I don't recall a challenge based on style for a prose piece. I'd potentially be interested in such a project, do you have something in particular to propose?
Tavia
Re: Quickies 2003
Avon
Re: Quickies 2003
Please *don't* post in Challenge Annoucnements, as that is for Dwim to be alerting people to big changes & developments pertaining to challenges as such.
Hope this helps clarify things! :-)
Ang
Re: New quarter?
Found it!

15 brand new scenarios for the delectation of the membership.
Be sure to get your Quickies for Qtr 1 in ASAP!
Ang
PS - While the Challenge for Qtr 1 will close as of April 1, there will be a perpetual Nuzgul with all of the challenges for the year, increased as each quarter of Quickies closes. And *every* quickie story idea is available to any HASA member to take and elaborate as you wish.
Re: New quarter?
1. details on why did Fatty Bolger end up in prison before the hobbits returned to the Shire.
2. An elf moving to Ithilien post war of the Ring
3 . Bergil's search for athelas during ROTK
4. Faramir explaining to any noblewoman at court on why he decided to marry Eowyn
5. Gilraen and Aragorn as a toddler meet Elrond for the first time in Rivendell after Arathorn's death.
6. A Breelander's encounter with a Black Rider
7. Grima first comes to Theoden
8. Saruman wins Grima over to his side
Re: New quarter?
Re: Quickies 2003
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And can we go ahead & use some old ideas even if the deadline for entering the challenge is past? The wine sale nuzgul is calling my name. . .
Also--Altariel, do you have any objections to me using the Faramir chess game idea someone proposed to you? Would be between he & Merry, & set between chapters 11 & 12 of "Snowdrops & Bluebells."

