I was adored once too

[altariel]

From thrihyrne, via fileg and windswept1:

My other writing friends: I invite you to share with me your top 5 phrases of your own stories that you adore. Sentences, short paragraphs, one particular image or feeling that you think you captured perfectly and you are proud of...



From The Burial of the Dead: Denethor on the pyre looking into the palantír

Thirty years gone; a boy with a sword and a boy with a book; quick as a river and keen as a flame, possessed of a spirit that is not mine.

I like this because all four of them are in it.


From The Sickle of the Valar: Denethor again

Grief, he observed, had form; absence had presence. At its end, her life had been light, feather-like, a wisp waiting trembling for the cut. Sheared, he had made for her a monument – white slabs of marble levelled in unequal remembrance of her brittle beauty. In death, she had taken on the presence, and the permanence, of stone.

Although it does make me sad.


From The King's Shilling: Faramir to Gandalf

‘Take this with you on your journey, lord,’ he said. ‘For this is our final parting, is it not?’

The old man nodded.

‘And should you ever, in that bliss, happen to look upon it – remember us, the men of Minas Tirith, who chose, in the end, to be your willing pawns.’

This one makes me sad too.


From A Kind of Valediction: Faramir to Denethor

' - And I have a son,' he said softly. 'And not a tomb.'

And this...


From A Game of Chess: Aragorn to Faramir

'Duck,' he said.

But this one makes me laugh.

Comments

[hafren.livejournal.com]

Yes, I like those too!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

:-D

[windswept1.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Love them all! They're really beautiful.
Those two make me sad too, esp. the one from The King's Shilling.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thinking about it, this might be the only place where I've written mortals alongside immortals. It really is extremely melancholy-inducing.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

Yes, you *should* adore them.

Thank you for them, and for the reminder of the full pieces. I was about to nominate the Sickle of the Valar extract as my favourite, but the exchange from The King's Shilling is overwhelmingly sad. Then there's Denethor on the pyre, and the glimpse of the boys. And... *sigh* So much altariel goodness to choose from.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

:-)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

That one from The King's Shilling really does me in, I have to confess. I think it's because I don't often put the Men I write about alongside the immortals who knew them, by writing about Elves or wizards, etc. I know this is what's really at the heart of Tolkien, but I just find it too bloody miserable to contemplate too often, to be honest.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

You're right, it *is* miserable, from just about every point of view.

[ex-seasalt15.livejournal.com]

In addition to all of the above, especially the first one, I would add:
"what is it that you want from me, dear lady? I am not your king, nor your conscience, not even the man that you love", complete with the mirror metaphor (I am haunted by that Pauline verse) and the change of narrator.
This exchange:
"I will not let them have you... I will not surrender you...
He looks at his own children – his daughter, his two sons – feels that desire to defend them so fiercely the violence of it shocks him—
“Father?”
It passes; becomes – he hopes – understanding.
“There was a fire,” he begins, then levels his voice. “There was a fire...”
And, lastly:
"And the wind alone now whispers
Our fading song that I failed to sing.
(...) Outside, the wind keened, and the rain still came, in great waves. "

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I was trying to pick one from Through A Glass, but couldn't decide. I find it very hard to detach single sentences from the whole, to be honest.

[kathyh]

From A Kind of Valediction: Faramir to Denethor

' - And I have a son,' he said softly. 'And not a tomb.'

Of all of them I love this one particularly (and I love them all really) because it is both an answer, a reckoning between the two of them, and an offering of hope.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It was particularly hard to pull a line from that story, because it depends so much on having all the themes set up earlier on. But that line I wrote practically at the outset, so obviously my subconscious thought it was pivotal!

[fileg.livejournal.com]

I love the magic of your words, but when you ended a story with a perfect haiku, you blew me away.

“There was a fire,” he begins, then levels his voice. “There was a fire...”

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I hadn't realized, when writing it, that it was a haiku. I just liked the balance of the sentence.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Mmm, all beautiful. Though I perhaps like the precise succinctness of the 'Kind of Valediction' quote the best. It's a very interesting exercise, which seems to have turned into a meme even though Thevina denied it being one :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It has been a good meme, even if not intended :-) I wasn't sure I could do it at first, but I homed in on certain stories fairly quickly, and then on the lines themselves. There were a couple of alternate choices from one or two of the stories, but I was stern and kept it to five.

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

Hey there!
I didn't know you all had gone and done these at your own LJs… I feel awful! I would have commented before now, but I wanted you to drop them off over at my site. Sorry. But I'm glad you did it!

From A Game of Chess: Aragorn to Faramir

'Duck,' he said.

I love that one, too, given the context.

Then again, you know what my favorite few sentences/phrases are of yours, since they were in my footer for at least a month. ;)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I wanted you to drop them off over at my site.

Oops, sorry! Glad you found them.


you know what my favorite few sentences/phrases are of yours, since they were in my footer for at least a month. ;)

;-D "Ridiculous language!"