Remembering 10 Years of Back to Middle-earth Month: Memories of 2007

[dreamflower]

Discussion post for 2007

In 2007 there_n_back once more spearheaded Back-to-Middle-earth Month with a fun challenge, which may be found here, which also included the first of the alphabetical title prompts.

Here is a list of the fun and unusual prompts they used:

A: Like an Antagonistic Arwen
B: Like a Bathing Boromir
C: Like Certain Circumstances in the Citadel
D: Like a Dirty Dragon
E: Like an Evil Elrond
F: Like a Fearful Faramir
G: Like a Gasping Galadriel
H: Like a Hale Halbarad
I: Like Inspiring Ilúvatar
J: Like Juggling the Jewels of Fëanor
K: Like Kissing the King of Númenor
L: Like a Legacy of Legolas
M: Like Marrying Merry
N: Like a Nimble Nimrodel
O: Like an Ornery Oromë
P: Like a Pink Pippin
Q: Like a Querulous Quickbeam
R: Like a Radiant Radagast
S: Like a Sordid Sauron
T: Like a Turgid Turgon
U: Like Unsavory Urges in Umbar
V: Like a Visiting Varda
W: Like a Wet Warg
X: Like Excruciating Exertions on the Way to That Crucial X on the Mouldering Map
Y: Like a Yawning Yavanna
Z: Like Zooming Around Zirakzigil
: the G-rune - like Gandalf is no goon
Ð - eth - like a thirsty Third Marshal on the Thrihyrne.
Þ - thorn - like Þoughtful Þéoden.
Æ - like Ælfwine came ærly.

There were several people who contributed to that challenge, some only doing part of the prompts, others doing all or almost all of them. Several of the participants later archived the stories elsewhere under an anthology name.

In addition, the Silmarillion Writer's Guild issued a challenge to its members:

March Is Back to Middle-earth Month

Once again, it is March! And March--as many of you know--is Back to Middle-earth Month.

Different groups and individuals have plans for Back to Middle-earth Month this year. Last year's meme asked Tolkien fans to choose a day of the week and make an effort to post something Tolkien-related to their blogs or journals on that day. Just like last year, those of you who will be using March as a time to remember and reflect upon your own discoveries of Middle-earth are welcome to share your entries here as well.

However, I can't help but to feel that the spirit of B2MeM is somewhat lost for many of us. After all, we continue to journey to Middle-earth through stories, artwork, and discussion every day. So going back to Middle-earth doesn't exactly describe the journey for many of us, who feel that we have never left.

And so when thinking about the best way for SWG to commemorate Back to Middle-earth Month, I was somewhat at a loss. After all, how do we go back when we're still there? And recalling the heyday of the movie trilogy does little to promote The Silmarillion, which is what this group is about. And then I started to think about my own relationship with Tolkien's world and how it compares to the purpose of B2MeM, and I realized how much my focus has narrowed since I read The Silmarillion for the first time three years ago. I used to devour any piece of writing that I could find that mentioned Tolkien's world. Now, I have my favorite characters and my preferred eras of history. Rarely do I venture outside of these bounds. Running SWG, writing my own stories, beta-reading, and researching means little time to take chances on new authors and new ideas.

Sound familiar?

For many of us, I think that it will.

And so for B2MeM 2007, I think of it not so much as going back to Middle-earth as trying to look anew at the world that has enriched our lives. Each day for the month of March, I offer a quote from The Silmarillion from a different "stop" along our journey through the history of Arda. What should you do with these quotes? Why, whatever you'd like! Perhaps they will inspire stories or drabbles or poems. Or maybe allow you to recall an old favorite story that you haven't read in years and wish to share with others. Or draw a picture. Or just read and remember the first time you went to Nan Elmoth or Alqualondë or Avallónë. If the quotes inspire something that you wish to share, of course, feel free to share it or a link to it on that day's post.

The journey begins with the creation of Arda and can be found here.

Did you participate in the 2007 there_n_back Alphabet Challenge or the SWG's Quote Challenge? Did you make posts or write stories for it? If you did, please share your experience with us here in the comments. Give us links, share your anecdotes and memories.

Did you miss out on it, but find yourself curious about it? Check out the comments and ask questions and join in the discussions! And if you check out previous works, be sure to let the creator know how you liked them.

Comments

[dreamflower]

I fondly recall 2007. I wrote for 26 of the alphabet prompts, A-Z, but did not attempt the last four prompts.

I collected all of them and posted them at SoA, in an anthology called "An Alphabet for Middle-earth".

These titles were not easy! I think the one I had the most trouble with was "E: Like an Evil Elrond", as I could not think of him as evil. I did come up with a solution, though. My favorites were the poem I wrote for "I: Like an Inspiring Iluvatar", "P: Like a Pink Pippin", "U: Like Unsavory Urges in Umbar" and "X: Like Excruciating Exertions on the Way to That Crucial X on the Mouldering Map".

I also enjoyed reading the other responses to the challenges. lindahoyland also did the entire alphabet. If you want to check some of the other responses at there_n_back, you can find them in the comments to the prompts here.

Anyone else take part in 2007? Who is using those prompts this year?

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

2007, no, but I'm using them this year for inspiration and trying to give each one some kind of twist. I've done one for an antagonistic Arwen (set in the future of Isildurchil Dithen), bathing Boromir (Boromir of Ladros, but it ended up being Aegnor/Andreth-centric), and circumstances in the Citadel (of Osgiliath). I have an idea for "a dirty Dragon" but how to write it is eluding me...

Kaylee

[dreamflower]

I'm so glad that you are using some of those prompts!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Hah! I thought my first encounter with B2MeM was in 2008, but I actually did take part in the alphabet challenge... once. I wrote something very short for the "Like a thirsty Third Marshal on the Thrihyrne" prompt! Now I'll have to go hunting for it.

[dreamflower]

Here you are: http://there-n-back.livejournal.com/107857.html#comments

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Whoa! Thank you, that was super-fast! And it figures that it started out with some smart-assing on my side... >_> Well, it did end in a cute little ficlet. Phew.

[dreamflower]

Well, it helped that I'd just been combing through some of those in preparation for my own post!

It was a fun prompt. All of those titles were really cute and challenging.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I definitely think I'll tackle some more of them when I find the time this month. That's the great thing about this year's B2MeM theme, going back and having time for all the things we missed the first time around!

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

This was the first BTME challenge I took part in, I think. I decided to write a drabble each day and post them on LJ. It was then the "There and Back Community."

http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterlistview.asp?SID=5484

I was absurdly pleased with myself when I completed the challenge.

[dreamflower]

I know! I remember looking for your entries when I would be posting my own!

And yes, it was really a good feeling to get through the alphabet!

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed seeing what you came up with.

[shirebound]

What a clever alphabet list! :)

[dreamflower]

It was really a challenging list!

[dawn_felagund]

I remember loving There-and-Back's list! It was ridiculously clever.

I did not write for it, though, because this was the first year that I ran a B2MeM event! SWG's was modest: just a quote a day that people could do with what they pleased, each themed around a different location (kind of anticipating the passport challenge). As far as I know, no one did anything with the quotes! There-and-Back, justifiably, garnered much more attention for their challenge. And looking back, I can't even find where we planned this; I assume it must have been over email.

There-and-Back is probably largely to credit (blame? :^P) for my inability to think of B2MeM as anything but a daily challenge, despite trying to think of it in other terms (and occasionally even succeeding!) Their challenge really played a formative role, I think, in the evolution of B2MeM.

[dreamflower]

Yes, it really kind of set the tone for B2MeM to be a chance to have a LOT of fics to read (and to write) that month!

[hhimring]

I wasn't around then, but during my short stint in the HASA rescue project I came across quite a lot of pieces that had been written for prompts in this challenge (meaning the alphabet challenge) and thought that clearly it had been a popular one!

[dreamflower]

It was very popular. When I put a few of them up on FFN, I had a reviewer who accused me of plagiarizing the title from another author whom I knew had also participated in that challenge! I just let the reviewer know that the title was part of the challenge.

[hhimring]

They accused you of plagiarizing the title?!
Some people!

[dreamflower]

Yep. I didn't even go into "you can't copyright a title", but I did put a line in the summary explaining that the title was the prompt for the story.

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Some people...ARGH. >_< Sorry that you had to actually explain it...