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Writer's Block: Boldly going
Sep. 26th, 2010 09:30 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]
I rarely ever do these Writer's Block questions, but this? This was a question I could not pass up.
So, anyone who's ever known me knows that I'm quite devoted to fantasy, which is a great source of alternate worlds. Lots of writers have come up with fantastic worlds I would like to visit, but at the top of the list is Tolkien's Middle-Earth. Specifically: Arda during the First Age (what was called Beleriand), and Aman during the Fourth Age and thereafter. While I do love the Trilogy, I have to say that after reading The Silmarillion, I have a significant preference for the First Age. For some odd reason, it just strikes me as a far more epic, far more dramatic time than the Third Age (setting of the main Trilogy). The stories and legends told during the Third Age occurred during the First, with the Sons of Feanor and the other great lords of the Eldar fighting against Morgoth, the biggest baddie of them all - bigger than Sauron, as Morgoth was Sauron's boss. While the Sil is a tough book to get through if you don't have the patience for it, it is actually exceedingly rewarding.
As for Aman during the Fourth Age, well... That's got a bit to do with the idea of what the Elves might be up to there, at least before the end of the world. In The Silmarillion, Aman is envisioned as a safe haven to the Elves, and in the Trilogy it functions in somewhat the same manner, except some others besides Elves have been made welcome (well, okay, in the Sil Earendil, Elwing's husband and Elrond's father, was the first non-Elf to be made welcome). With all the Elves gone from Arda and back in Aman, and with a significant amount of time before the end of the world (and Tolkien did mention such a scenario, though I don't remember where), I envision a second Golden Age for the Elves, as it were: a resurgence of everything that they once had before Morgoth ruined everything during the First Age. Would it be an improvement? Perhaps, given the lessons many of them had learned during their time spent in Arda. It's the possibilities that make me want to go to that particular aspect of Tolkien's Middle-Earth, to explore it and see what they can now accomplish.
Science fiction is, of course, replete with fictional universes, and the one I want to visit the most definitely has to be the Star Trek-verse. Prime Universe or not, I still think it would be fun to know what it would be like to live in a world where the idea of "cultural diversity" is linked not only to humans, but other species as well. And then there's that drive to explore, to see what has not been seen before, to boldly go where- Well, you get the picture. Would it be fun to be on a starship and explore regions unknown? Absolutely yes. It would be nice to be onboard the Enterprise during Kirk's time, but I'm not making that a requirement. Any starship will do, as long as it'll give me an opportunity to actually do some exploration.
While most people wouldn't think of historical periods as being a "world" per se, I like to think that certain periods in history have become so distinct that they might as well be other worlds entirely. If that's the case, then I would like to visit Italy during the Italian Renaissance. I love that country during that particular period in history, and I am particularly enamored of Florence: a place where geniuses gathered in Florence to create beautiful works of art, where the Medici ruled with grace and learning, where it seemed like anything was possible. There's a breathless energy about that time, and I would love to be in the center of it, if I could.
Oh, and if I could get a chance to kill Savonarola, that would be lovely too. His Bonfire of the Vanities is one of the greatest atrocities ever committed by a human being against fellow human beings.
I rarely ever do these Writer's Block questions, but this? This was a question I could not pass up.
So, anyone who's ever known me knows that I'm quite devoted to fantasy, which is a great source of alternate worlds. Lots of writers have come up with fantastic worlds I would like to visit, but at the top of the list is Tolkien's Middle-Earth. Specifically: Arda during the First Age (what was called Beleriand), and Aman during the Fourth Age and thereafter. While I do love the Trilogy, I have to say that after reading The Silmarillion, I have a significant preference for the First Age. For some odd reason, it just strikes me as a far more epic, far more dramatic time than the Third Age (setting of the main Trilogy). The stories and legends told during the Third Age occurred during the First, with the Sons of Feanor and the other great lords of the Eldar fighting against Morgoth, the biggest baddie of them all - bigger than Sauron, as Morgoth was Sauron's boss. While the Sil is a tough book to get through if you don't have the patience for it, it is actually exceedingly rewarding.
As for Aman during the Fourth Age, well... That's got a bit to do with the idea of what the Elves might be up to there, at least before the end of the world. In The Silmarillion, Aman is envisioned as a safe haven to the Elves, and in the Trilogy it functions in somewhat the same manner, except some others besides Elves have been made welcome (well, okay, in the Sil Earendil, Elwing's husband and Elrond's father, was the first non-Elf to be made welcome). With all the Elves gone from Arda and back in Aman, and with a significant amount of time before the end of the world (and Tolkien did mention such a scenario, though I don't remember where), I envision a second Golden Age for the Elves, as it were: a resurgence of everything that they once had before Morgoth ruined everything during the First Age. Would it be an improvement? Perhaps, given the lessons many of them had learned during their time spent in Arda. It's the possibilities that make me want to go to that particular aspect of Tolkien's Middle-Earth, to explore it and see what they can now accomplish.
Science fiction is, of course, replete with fictional universes, and the one I want to visit the most definitely has to be the Star Trek-verse. Prime Universe or not, I still think it would be fun to know what it would be like to live in a world where the idea of "cultural diversity" is linked not only to humans, but other species as well. And then there's that drive to explore, to see what has not been seen before, to boldly go where- Well, you get the picture. Would it be fun to be on a starship and explore regions unknown? Absolutely yes. It would be nice to be onboard the Enterprise during Kirk's time, but I'm not making that a requirement. Any starship will do, as long as it'll give me an opportunity to actually do some exploration.
While most people wouldn't think of historical periods as being a "world" per se, I like to think that certain periods in history have become so distinct that they might as well be other worlds entirely. If that's the case, then I would like to visit Italy during the Italian Renaissance. I love that country during that particular period in history, and I am particularly enamored of Florence: a place where geniuses gathered in Florence to create beautiful works of art, where the Medici ruled with grace and learning, where it seemed like anything was possible. There's a breathless energy about that time, and I would love to be in the center of it, if I could.
Oh, and if I could get a chance to kill Savonarola, that would be lovely too. His Bonfire of the Vanities is one of the greatest atrocities ever committed by a human being against fellow human beings.
