Concerning beginnings. And sometimes hobbits.

              This week’s blog is about beginnings, my beginnings, both in books and in life. I decided to jump start my brain by comparing the first chapters or prologues of some of my favorite books, and was very surprised to find that, although I had already read these books once before, they didn’t all start out the way I had remembered them to. I have always been under the impression that a book should start with a punch. I guess that I just hadn’t considered what that punch could be. The way I remembered all of the books that I read always began with some traumatic event. Something would always happen in the beginning of the book that made me feel…something that I needed resolved so that I could sleep peacefully at night. And so, I would continue to read that story and go on that emotional rollercoaster so that at the end, I would feel fulfilled and relieved that all of the friends that I had just made were safe and sound. However, when I actually went back and read just the first chapter or so, I came across something both wonderful and surprising.

              Several of the books I went back and looked at did in fact start with an immediate battle of some proportion, begging me to continue on; books such as Eragon by Christopher Paolini, or Homeland by R.A.Salvatore. Even Monster by A. Lee Martinez begins with a fight between a blue guy and a yeti in a grocery store. However, a vast majority of the beginnings that I remembered didn’t actually start out that way. They started as a very soft and mellow description of the world, or of the characters that I would soon befriend. A few of them would even go as far as a few whole chapters of nothing much happening at all. Then the conflict would be revealed a subtle way. Somehow, this was every bit as captivating as an epic battle and I would read on. Yet, how is this so? I used to think that the only way to capture a reader was by making them immediately ask the question….what are they going to do now? Who is going to fix this? I am beginning to think now, that I was so captivated by great beginnings like “Concerning Hobbits” in Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien because by the time I had finished reading the several small chapters about hobbits, I found that I was totally and completely in love with them! So the book was actually even more important to me because I felt that in every adventure I went through and was a part of, was one more step towards protecting these little fuzzy beings that I had learned to love at the very first.

             This new perspective might seem less profound to a more experienced writer, but again....this is what I started blogging for, to force myself to write and to pay more attention, and most of all to learn. I believe that this two week project has done just that. My point of view about beginnings has been dramatically rearranged, and now, I have a good grasp on the beginning of my own book!

“When you re-read a classic you do not see in the book more than you did before.  You see more in you than there was before.”  ~Clifton Fadiman

Using school as a learning tool, go figure.

We had a project due in my business information systems class this week. It was supposed to be about our own life, and show that we could properly utilize the tools in Microsoft Word. I immediately saw this as a creative writing opportunity and promptly asked my professor if I could do the project about a fictional character. After explaining that I wanted to do this as a character development project for myself, she agreed. And so, with her permission, this is my project about my Lord of the Rings online avatar Nezbee Diggle. Enjoy!

Nezbee Diggle the Hobbit Minstrel

Contents

The Early Years. 3

My Years in School 3

Career Choices. 3

My Family. 3

My Life Now.. 4

My Future. 4

The Early Years

My name is Nezbee Diggle. I was born in the shire fifty years ago to Willow and Pronto Diggle. I grew up in Frogmorton, a little hobbit town to the east of the bigger Hobbiton. I remember having to walk to Hobbiton to go to school because Frogmorton wasn’t large enough to have one of its own. I had a wonderful childhood. Both of my parents were very understanding, even when I was brought home by one of the bounders for setting off fireworks in the Tookville inn. This sort of thing happened often, and every time they showed me stern love and compassion. Bounders are kind of like hobbit police officers, except they tend to run away from trouble more than towards it. This was one of the reasons why I gladly stepped forward much later when a call was made for brave adventurers to defend the Shire.

My Years in School

Hobbiton might have been larger than Frogmorton, but that only meant that there was more trouble to get into. I spent most of my traditional childhood school years in trouble. It wasn’t until much later, at the age of twenty that I began to take my schooling seriously. After I answered the call for defenders of the Shire, I realized that I needed a great deal of training. I had never been in a battle, but I had always been good at making music. It was at this point that I became a fully fledged Minstrel, with much training of course. For my instrument I could choose between: The drum, lute, clarinet, flute, theorbo, horn, bagpipe, and harp. I chose a beautiful harp and named it Silmaril.

Career Choices

It was at this point that I felt confident in my abilities to defend the Shire and to protect my friends in battle. With trusty Silmaril always in tune, I could boost the morale of my battle companions and give them enough fervor to push through any trouble we may have gotten ourselves into. Or that I may have gotten us into. In training I had learned to do damage with my anthems and my calls to war. I had also learned to give moral support to my friends and fellows with my songs, and to aid my companions with ballads during conflict. I felt better than ever, even during the darkest times and through the most hopeless situations. This had been my calling. I was a Minstrel.

My Family

As I said before, my parents are Willow and Pronto Diggle. They still live in Frogmorton, happy in the knowledge that their home and the Shire are safe once more. They are also excited that I have met someone, a dwarf. I know that sounds odd, but he is a wonderful person. He protects me, he pampers me, he makes me feel like I am the most important thing in his world, and he’s taller than me. His name is Drayvyn, and I am a better hobbit for our blooming relationship. We are planning to be married in the spring at the famous party tree in Hobbiton. Of course no family would be complete without the mention of our animal companions. My pony, Mango, is fearless and quick on his feet. Were it not for him, I probably wouldn’t have lived long enough to meet my dwarf.

My Life Now

My life currently consists of my adventures helping the people of Bree-Land. I have made many new friends and companions during the last few years and so, have joined a kinship. A kinship is a group of travelers and adventurers who have similar goals in mind. Or goal is to make our world a safer place. Of course I have my down time. I own a little hobbit hole of my own in the neighborhood of Stoopnotch. Drayvyn comes to visit me often, and we spend much of our time, telling stories by the fire, smoking pipe weed and fishing. Over the years, I and my companions have conquered many evils, including: Brigand leader Sharkey, Amdir the Ring Wraith, Witherbark the walking talking tree of evil and a huge bear that was terrorizing the people of Bree-Land. He is now stuffed and serving as a very large deterrent to thieves in my living room.

My Future

Although I am now fifty years of age, that is not so old for a hobbit. I still have many adventures planned for the future. The most immediate of which is getting married in the spring. I hope to have all of our friends and family there. Even if that does mean that the people of the Shire and the people of Thorin’s Hall have to get along for one whole day. I think things should be fine as long as we have enough ale and pipe weed for the bunch, and of course there will be fireworks being set off in the inn.

Drayvyn and I telling stories by the fire.

"Your effort to remain what you are is what limits you." The Puppet Master