How did Tolkien do it??

[Green_crayon42]

I just came back from walking my dog.
I found myself thinking "i should create a new world. how??how the hell did tolkien do it??"
Just a random thought I got.

I have read The Hobbit and the trilogy multiple times and have yet to read his other works.

[Imrae Myett]

Green_crayon42

I just came back from walking my dog.
I found myself thinking "i should create a new world. how??how the hell did tolkien do it??"
Just a random thought I got.

I have read The Hobbit and the trilogy multiple times and have yet to read his other works.

An active imagination, almost encyclopedia-like knowledge of languages and myth, and of course, persistence.

[Laeril]

Sintel Arthedain

Green_crayon42

I just came back from walking my dog.
I found myself thinking "i should create a new world. how??how the hell did tolkien do it??"
Just a random thought I got.

I have read The Hobbit and the trilogy multiple times and have yet to read his other works.

An active imagination, almost encyclopedia-like knowledge of languages and myth, and of course, persistence.

This! Although I doubt you need item 2 nearly as much as 1 and 3.

[Imrae Myett]

Laeril

Sintel Arthedain

Green_crayon42

I just came back from walking my dog.
I found myself thinking "i should create a new world. how??how the hell did tolkien do it??"
Just a random thought I got.

I have read The Hobbit and the trilogy multiple times and have yet to read his other works.

An active imagination, almost encyclopedia-like knowledge of languages and myth, and of course, persistence.

This! Although I doubt you need item 2 nearly as much as 1 and 3.

Item 2 is useful if you don't want your book to be slammed by so called "intellectuals" who say any fantasy is trash because it doesn't relate to "actual" literature. Also, with mythology, you never know what you'll come across next. 3nodding

[Green_crayon42]

Sintel Arthedain

Green_crayon42

I just came back from walking my dog.
I found myself thinking "i should create a new world. how??how the hell did tolkien do it??"
Just a random thought I got.

I have read The Hobbit and the trilogy multiple times and have yet to read his other works.

An active imagination, almost encyclopedia-like knowledge of languages and myth, and of course, persistence.

Merp. Don't have that. xp

[Laeril]

Green_crayon42

Sintel Arthedain

Green_crayon42

I just came back from walking my dog.
I found myself thinking "i should create a new world. how??how the hell did tolkien do it??"
Just a random thought I got.

I have read The Hobbit and the trilogy multiple times and have yet to read his other works.

An active imagination, almost encyclopedia-like knowledge of languages and myth, and of course, persistence.

Merp. Don't have that. xp

Doesn't mean you can't get it. After all, we have Wikipedia now. And like I said, imagination and persistence are just as important.

[Born Backwards]

Witchcraft

[Rudhe]

Green_crayon42

I just came back from walking my dog.
I found myself thinking "i should create a new world. how??how the hell did tolkien do it??"
Just a random thought I got.

I have read The Hobbit and the trilogy multiple times and have yet to read his other works.

I really like this question! I remember reading Tolkien's bio when I first read the books. He seems like quite a character himself. I got the impression that he was quite a stubborn man. Constantly improving his writing and developing his world. It took him like 50 years+ to develop his books (Quick says suggests 12-17 years for the first publication and many revisions afterwards). Inspiring to know even a great literary professor like Tolkien had to put tons of effect to create LOTR world...I thought it was intriguing that he was still working on LOTR world until the end of his life and the story was left unfinished....

[CyberianTsuinami]

Tolkien often mentions in his letters that he didn't create Middle Earth but 'found' it. To him, the story mostly just unfolded, and he loved writing to fans who asked deep questions about the books and the background story behind it. Whenever someone would question why there is a misspelling of an Elven word from one chapter to the next, he would often go into a deep explanation of how that word came to be pronounced differently in this area than the other. He loved when people came up with reasons why something or someone did what they did in the books or why a seeming error is actually correct. He encouraged the deep thoughts into his work because he said that he didn't know everything about the world either. To him, Middle Earth wasn't a fictional world but another realm of existence.

[Kokihi]

CyberianTsuinami

Tolkien often mentions in his letters that he didn't create Middle Earth but 'found' it. To him, the story mostly just unfolded, and he loved writing to fans who asked deep questions about the books and the background story behind it. Whenever someone would question why there is a misspelling of an Elven word from one chapter to the next, he would often go into a deep explanation of how that word came to be pronounced differently in this area than the other. He loved when people came up with reasons why something or someone did what they did in the books or why a seeming error is actually correct. He encouraged the deep thoughts into his work because he said that he didn't know everything about the world either. To him, Middle Earth wasn't a fictional world but another realm of existence.

Have you read his essay "On Fairy stories"? It's REALLY good, and he explains in it how while your'e reading you get sucked into the world of the story, and it becomes reality until you are interrupted and the spell is broken.

[Green_crayon42]

CyberianTsuinami

Tolkien often mentions in his letters that he didn't create Middle Earth but 'found' it. To him, the story mostly just unfolded, and he loved writing to fans who asked deep questions about the books and the background story behind it. Whenever someone would question why there is a misspelling of an Elven word from one chapter to the next, he would often go into a deep explanation of how that word came to be pronounced differently in this area than the other. He loved when people came up with reasons why something or someone did what they did in the books or why a seeming error is actually correct. He encouraged the deep thoughts into his work because he said that he didn't know everything about the world either. To him, Middle Earth wasn't a fictional world but another realm of existence.

eek wow. I read a book called "1 Minute Tolkien".
It did a basic outline of his life and written by John Howe. Pretty cool.

[CyberianTsuinami]

Kokihi

CyberianTsuinami

Tolkien often mentions in his letters that he didn't create Middle Earth but 'found' it. To him, the story mostly just unfolded, and he loved writing to fans who asked deep questions about the books and the background story behind it. Whenever someone would question why there is a misspelling of an Elven word from one chapter to the next, he would often go into a deep explanation of how that word came to be pronounced differently in this area than the other. He loved when people came up with reasons why something or someone did what they did in the books or why a seeming error is actually correct. He encouraged the deep thoughts into his work because he said that he didn't know everything about the world either. To him, Middle Earth wasn't a fictional world but another realm of existence.

Have you read his essay "On Fairy stories"? It's REALLY good, and he explains in it how while your'e reading you get sucked into the world of the story, and it becomes reality until you are interrupted and the spell is broken.

I have actually read his essay "On Fairy Stories". It was my main article for my senior thesis in college about the validity of Science Fiction and Fantasy in the literary world. I love many of the points he makes in it, especially the one about 'escape' and how it shouldn't be used in a negative aspect.

[CyberianTsuinami]

Green_crayon42

CyberianTsuinami

Tolkien often mentions in his letters that he didn't create Middle Earth but 'found' it. To him, the story mostly just unfolded, and he loved writing to fans who asked deep questions about the books and the background story behind it. Whenever someone would question why there is a misspelling of an Elven word from one chapter to the next, he would often go into a deep explanation of how that word came to be pronounced differently in this area than the other. He loved when people came up with reasons why something or someone did what they did in the books or why a seeming error is actually correct. He encouraged the deep thoughts into his work because he said that he didn't know everything about the world either. To him, Middle Earth wasn't a fictional world but another realm of existence.

eek wow. I read a book called "1 Minute Tolkien".
It did a basic outline of his life and written by John Howe. Pretty cool.

If you're really interested in a more detailed version, I highly recommend J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter actually met with Tolkien several times while writing the book and was even allowed to read some of Tolkien's, then unpublished, notes for the Silmarillion and other texts. Also, 'A Leaf by Niddle' is a short story written by Tolkein himself that a lot of people refer to as Tolkien's autobiography. It's a really interesting story.

[B Banzai]

Well, when your writing group consists of guys such as, among other luminaries, Lord David Cecil, Hugo Dyson, Roger Lancelyn Green and, oh yeah, his dear friend Jack, (professionally known as C.S. Lewis,) you have a pretty good chance at some brilliance in your feedback.

[Green_crayon42]

CyberianTsuinami

Green_crayon42

CyberianTsuinami

Tolkien often mentions in his letters that he didn't create Middle Earth but 'found' it. To him, the story mostly just unfolded, and he loved writing to fans who asked deep questions about the books and the background story behind it. Whenever someone would question why there is a misspelling of an Elven word from one chapter to the next, he would often go into a deep explanation of how that word came to be pronounced differently in this area than the other. He loved when people came up with reasons why something or someone did what they did in the books or why a seeming error is actually correct. He encouraged the deep thoughts into his work because he said that he didn't know everything about the world either. To him, Middle Earth wasn't a fictional world but another realm of existence.

eek wow. I read a book called "1 Minute Tolkien".
It did a basic outline of his life and written by John Howe. Pretty cool.

If you're really interested in a more detailed version, I highly recommend J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter actually met with Tolkien several times while writing the book and was even allowed to read some of Tolkien's, then unpublished, notes for the Silmarillion and other texts. Also, 'A Leaf by Niddle' is a short story written by Tolkein himself that a lot of people refer to as Tolkien's autobiography. It's a really interesting story.

i'll have to remember that.