Challenge Corner #14 – The Road

Who here likes The Lord of the Rings? Or The Hobbit? The film of The Hobbit came out on DVD in the UK recently, and I caught myself listening to a whole lot of the soundtrack music from that and the older films the other day, so this challenge owes its inspiration to the wonderful J.R.R. Tolkien, and all those people who made lovely films out of his work. That being said, you don’t have to know anything about Middle Earth to take this challenge – any and all are welcome, so read right on!

Early on in the Lord of the Rings book, as Frodo sets out on his long and perilous journey, he relates to his companions the thoughts of his adventuring uncle Bilbo:

He used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs were at every doorstep, and every path was its tributary. ‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,’ he used to say. ‘You step onto the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.’

I think this is a really nice idea – so nice, in fact, that I’m making a challenge out of it. This one:

– You (or your main character) stepped out of your door, and onto the Road. Where did it sweep you off to?

There’s plenty of opportunity here, for epic tales of adventure, or stories of smaller journeys – you don’t have to travel a long way to end up somewhere you didn’t intend to be. And remember, any kind of writing is game for Challenge Corner, be it fiction, poetry or intense academic essay.

I’m going to skip by the super bonus options for this week, as I head into my final rush of exams, but I hope that will give you more determined challengers time and effort to devote to making really awesome things out of this. And let’s just say that if anyone takes this and turns out some real epic poetry, I’ll be impressed enough to send all the virtual cupcakes I can find your way!

Cadi x