Server Room Gremlin
a.k.a. Curufin the Crafty
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2023
- Messages
- 2,647
Perhaps because there are few other distractions in such a small space, and the ambient sound of an aircraft is very similar to brown noise. :>
I followed the text of the Silmarillion exactly as I was writing. So I used all dialogue present in the text, and constructed some myself where there's only a description of what is said, or where I need it for my own narrative.
What Celegorm said here is exactly what was written at this point in the book.
As you discovered later on, these single lines of italicised text are the murmurings of the people in the hall. I didn't put them in quotes, as they're not dialogue distinctly spoken by any one person in particular.
^ I noted that these were the murmurs of the people before the words were spoken, rather than after them.
But straight after that, we do return to Curufin's inner thoughts, so I can see where the confusion arises.
Yes, in this story you can get a view of the whole Curvo! It's a little hard to show this side of him when most of our discussions and casual RPs involve Curufin interacting with his brothers and close family.
Curufin, Celegorm and Celebrimbor have not long ago narrowly escaped death when their lands were overrun during the Dagor Bragollach.
And unlike with Finrod's narrow escape from death (saved by Barahir), no-one came to their rescue, and they had to find their way to Nargothrond on their own strength.
So it's not even Curufin having a skewed view of things because he's depressed, it's also just reality to him, based on his recent experience. 🥺
💯
Elrond in LOTR definitely was thinking about all this when he advised the Fellowship against swearing oaths. 🙂
And it is indeed interesting.
People who view Celegorm and Curufin as being 100% driven by hunger for power in this story are only viewing it superficially, imo. They're looking at the text from the outside, rather than from the inside, considering the experiences these characters have had, and what the situation must look like to them.
Not long before this, Celegorm and Curufin have gone through a traumatic experience where the works of their hands have been brought to nothing, in what was essentially mere moments. They are going to be desperate, especially with the pressure to fulfil the Oath in this weakened state of theirs.
I also thought that Curufin's buried unresolved grievance about the kingship passing to Fingolfin would come back to bite him and everyone else. Volatile situations like this can bring up all sorts of other hurts and ugly feelings. Therefore this is what 'crushes' the last of Curufin's own hesitancy or guilt about doing this to Finrod.
The pair of them desire power, of course, but given the situation, I think this would be driven by a perceived need for it, and not arrogance and entitlement alone.
Indeed, poor Findo. 🥺
Literally right before this in the Silm, he's listening to Beren, and says 'Yet my own oath holds; and thus we are all ensnared'.
Thingol and his incredibly stupid demands... >:I
Curufin notes Orodreth's slight change of expression when he looks towards him: Orodreth is not quite as proud and unconcerned as he seems.
And Celegorm remains cheeky Tyelko even in this dire situation. 😂
Yesss, this is that moment! 🤭 "Celegorm and Curufin said nothing, but they smiled and went from the halls."
I had Curufin's smile as subtle and knowing, perhaps a bit mocking, and Celegorm's as friendly/cheery (which is meant in an intimidating manner, since both he and Orodreth know that Orodreth is totally powerless here).
I am glad you enjoyed it. 🤗
You can imagine how much processing power my brain was using up throughout the writing process! What with all the layered story threads, and character arcs, and themes, and scenes which are mirrored or echoed later on with a different situation or different characters.
It was a huge weight off my mind once I finished this story, because all of this was running or idling in the back of my mind when I wasn't actively writing too.
It's why I don't like having too many projects started at once, as they all take up space in my brain until I'm done with them.
Writing a story in prose form seems to pull from many different areas of my brain at once, which is why I find it taxing and I'm relatively slow at it, even though the end result is very satisfying.
When I write creatively, I'm essentially painting a picture with my words, and writing a poem at the same time.
My word choices are primarily informed by the image I'm trying to convey: so that the reader can see what I'm seeing, as close as possible.
But when I put the words together into a sentence, and the sentences together into a train of thought or narrative narration, they also have to follow a particular poetic rhythm that appears in my head, which changes according to what I think sounds fitting for that sentence.
So I might choose a different word if the syllable count will throw off the rhythm, or I might repeatedly rearrange the order of words until it sounds right.
I don't do the above for everything I write, it depends on what I feel is fitting for that particular project. TWC was a story where I did this the whole time. But I'm much less strict about the efficiency and poetry when writing an RP post, for example.
My descriptions also need to fit the pace of the action: short and brief when things are happening quickly, and longer and more descriptive when I want the reader to take more time pondering this moment.
And of course I love to include wordplay, and choose the word most fitting for what I'm trying to describe, considering all its possible meanings and definitions, and what connotations it has.
The chapter presents many things to think about because I was thinking about many many (many!) things while writing, I guess! 😁
Last edited: