Let’s Talk Books! – J. R. R. Tolkien, The Father of Modern Fantasy Literature

There are many great authors out there, some no longer with us, and some just getting started. Some of the most famous authors, specifically in the fantasy genre, are two of my personal favorites, J. R. R. Tolkien and his friend and colleague, C. S. Lewis. Together these two authors changed the face of fantasy writing for the better! The worlds they built and the characters they created are still known by both fantasy fans and those who don’t often read in that genre! It seems that, even if one doesn’t read much about fantasy, they still know who these two writers are and what works they published. But for today’s author focus, I would like to focus on Tolkien. So, let’s dive in and learn a little about who this author was and how his most famous books, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, came to be.

A Brief Background

John Ronald Ruel Tolkien was born in South Africa on January 3rd, 1892 (reference 3). His father, a bank clerk, died in 1896, shortly after Tolkien’s birth (reference 2). After his father’s death, Tolkien’s mother moved him and his brother back to England, where he grew up in Bermingham. His mother, whose catholic beliefs influenced her son’s beliefs, passed away in 1904 (reference 1). After his mother’s death, Tolkien and his siblings were raised by a catholic priest (reference 1). Tolkien later fell in love with Edith Bratt, who eventually inspired one of his characters (reference 2). However, he was not able to marry her until he was released from his guardian’s legal authority and thus waited to purpose until he was twenty-one (reference 1).

Tolkien attended Exeter College, Oxford, even working with them later in his career to help develop the Oxford Dictionary (reference 4). Tolkien graduated in 1915 before joining the military, being a second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers (reference 3). His military service began rather slowly before he was deployed to the Battle of Somme, where he tragically lost multiple close friends (reference 3). Tolkien’s military service was cut short when he contracted Trench fever and was sent back on medical leave (reference 3). Though he served the military in other ways, he did not return to action due to a slow recovery from the fever (reference 3).

The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings

In 1917, Tolkien took to writing a history of a fictional world that would eventually be the basis for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. This collection of the history and stories of his fictional world is called The Silmarillion and was said to have been written “partly to provide a setting in which ‘Elvish’ languages he had invented could exist” (reference 1). After being discharged from military service, he worked at Oxford and the University of Leeds (reference 5). Sometime during his years as a professor, Tolkien was inspired to write the first line of The Hobbit. It was while he was grading papers that he wrote the line “In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit” (reference 6).

During his time working on the Oxford Dictionary, he exercised his love of linguistics, studying etymology while he worked on the project (reference 5). Language was something he formed an interest in very early on, and he began inventing languages at the age of thirteen or fourteen (reference 6). In one interview, he described his view of languages saying, “Languages have a flavor to me…a new language is like a new wine or some new sweetmeat…” (reference 6). This love of language inspired the creation of the Elvin language Quenya. Tolkien later wrote The Lord of the Rings, saying in one interview that he wrote it as a sequel to The Hobbit, all of which he wrote because he could not get through other “fairy stories” without wanting to write one himself (reference 7).

Legacy

The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings have influenced not only readers but writers as well. They have carried on his legacy as some of the most popular and commonly known fantasy stories. The books have all been made into highly popular movies, and more recently, The Silmarillion is being utilized to create a TV show, The Rings of Power, to try and explore Tolkien’s history of Middle-Earth. With these massive stories, collections of his fictional world’s history, and detailed languages changing the face of fantasy for us all, J. R. R. Tolkien is now known as the “father of modern fantasy literature,” a title I think very appropriate (Reference 5). His stories continue to hold their own against all other fantasy stories written since, and I don’t see them being overtaken in popularity any time soon.

Have you read The Lord of the Rings or any other works by J. R. R. Tolkien? Comment and let me know what you read. I would love to hear from you!

References

Reference 1: https://www.britannica.com/biography/J-R-R-Tolkien

Reference 2: https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Arthur_Tolkien

Reference 3: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/people/tolkien.htm

Reference 4: https://www.biographyonline.net/writers/tolkien_jrr.html

Reference 5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien#:~:text=Tolkien%20is%20popularly%20identified%20as%20the%20%22father%22%20of%20modern%20fantasy%20literature%20or%2C%20more%20precisely%2C%20of%20high%20fantasy

Reference 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTz2-im7s9k

Reference 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yCKXfz_wL8

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Writing Journal: First eBook Coming Soon!

Dear Journal,

Today I have a very short entry, but a very exciting one. It is finally going to happen! My first full-length novel will be published as an eBook this week! I will be publishing paperbacks shortly and hope to have hard backs available soon as well. But I am so excited! This has been a long process, and I have enjoyed it so much more than I initially thought possible. Things are just getting started, and I can’t wait to start getting this book into people’s hands and hearing what they think.

Sincerely,

Ondrea Keigh

Let’s Talk Books! – What Makes a Good Opening Image?

The opening image in a book is one of the most important parts of the story. It helps draw the reader into the story. For me personally, if an opening image doesn’t draw me in immediately, I don’t often end up reading the book. As a matter of fact, the books that have slower beginnings that I find myself liking were all recommended to me by other people who warned me the beginning was slow. However, I often find myself reading these books much slower or saving them for my audiobook list. But what exactly is an opening image? In Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, author Jessica Brody says, “In simplest terms, the Opening Image is a “before” snapshot. It’s a scene or chapter that depicts your hero’s life before you’ve gotten in there as the writer to shake things up. This beat helps the reader of your story understand exactly what kind of journey they’re about to go on and who they’re about to go on it with” (page 29). So, what makes a great opening image? In my opinion, there are at least three things that every opening image needs to draw me in: movement, location, and mood.

Before I continue, I should say that this is purely my personal viewpoint. There are many professional opinions as to what makes the best opening image. If you are writing a book or just curious about how it is done, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, is a great resource to check out. But for today’s post, I will focus on the three things that I have found most interesting and have put to use in my own writing.

Movement

While this is not a steadfast rule for me, I like the opening scene to have some description of movement. While in many cases, I prefer an action-packed opening scene, a basic depiction of movement is great as well. Sometimes the movement is more passive, like in this sentence I just made up, “Warm bodies swarmed around me as I made my way through the crowded streets of downtown New York.” Other times the movement is more subtle, only briefly being mentioned, such as in this line from a famous Star Wars Legends novel.

“Captain Pallaeon?" a voice called down the portside crew pit through the hum of background conversation, "Message from the sentry line: the scoutships have just come out of the lightspeed." Pallaeon, leaning over the shoulder of the man at the Chimaera’s bridge engineering monitory, ignored the shout.

Quote from page one of Heir to Empire by Timothy Zahn

Both of these examples offer an immediate grounding in a movement that the reader can latch onto. Most people know what it feels like to walk down a crowded sidewalk or bend over slightly to get a better look at something or listen more closely. Just this simple inclusion of movement brings up a whole collection of things in the mind of the reader that might help explain what the character is feeling and thinking about. Maybe if the character is in a still and quiet place, he is also trying to remain still and quiet and not disturb anyone. Or if he is in a crowded place, he is paying close attention to who is touching him and keeping an eye out for pickpockets. This type of movement or action helps immediately get the reader into the feel of what is happening and what world the main character is dealing with.

Mood

The book’s mood should be hinted at in the opening scene (the opening image doesn't necessarily need to be one scene). It doesn’t necessarily need to be included in the first sentence for it to draw me in, but it does need to be in the first scene. While Jessica Brody wasn’t referring directly to mood in this sentence, I think this quote from Save the Cat! Writes a Novel is very relevant. She says, “After reading the Opening Image, the reader should be gripping your book, thinking Aha! So that’s how it’s going to be, huh? I’m in!” (page 30). In reference to mood, I think the main character’s initial feelings toward the world around him or her should be clear early on. The audience should be able to understand how the character feels about the world they live in and even how they respond and react to it at this point in their story. I love it when the mood is depicted in a sentence like, “his words triggered a nearly uncontrollable bristle of irritation within me. How could he just say that without a second thought?” Or how about a line I didn’t invent on the spot, like this line that describes the mood of a character seeing land after a long sea voyage.

Kit Tayler had been on the forecastle deck since daybreak, standing close to the rail, staring hungrily at the first sight of land for five weeks.

Quote from page one of The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

If you have ever read this book, you know that Kit is looking for something this whole book, specifically who she is and how to be herself in a new land. The moods of urgency and seeking are moods that seems to sit within Kit throughout most of the book.

Location

Location is an excellent world-building tool. The mentioned location can be anything from a city to a flower-filled field. But whatever the location is, I think giving one upfront helps build the moment even more, as it offers the reader something physical to latch onto. Something like, “I listened to my steps echo as I ascended the enclosed stairwell. The stupid elevator was out again, and I only had three out of twenty-four floors to climb.” This sentence is not from any book but, just as an example, it gives the reader a location that brings about a certain feeling or experience. If you have never been in a stairwell in a tall building, this sentence offers enough information to give some of that feeling. If you have been in a stairwell like this, you know exactly what that echo sounds like and how it feels to be in that environment. Some authors will even use the location of a story to show a struggle the main character faces. Maybe the main character is claustrophobic. The stairwell would be a great place for the writer to show that without spending a long time explaining the problem.

Another way a location can be included is to use a readily recognizable real-life site. Monuments are great for this, or famous cities. This is harder in fantasy novels and the like, but for novels that take place in real locations, this one can do the audience a huge favor by placing them somewhere at least relatively familiar. A great example of a location used in an opening image is one of my favorite political thrillers by Vince Flynn.

A fine mist fell from the darkening spring sky as the black limousine turned off of E Street. The armor-plated car weaved through the concrete-and-steel barricades at a speed suggesting urgency. As the limousine turned onto West Executive Drive, it slowed briefly for the heavy black gate to open and then sped forward. After splashing through several puddles, the limo came to an abrupt stop in from of the ground-floor entrance to the West Wing of the White House.

Quote from page one of Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn

As a matter of fact, this example not only includes a great example of using a recognizable location but also includes movement and pinpoints the mood of the entire book! I think this is my favorite opening image so far.

There are many great books out there with some great opening images. Which is your favorite? Comment and let me know!

References

Save the Cat Writes a Novel – Page 29 -31

Heir to the Empire (page 1)

The Witch of Blackbird Pond (page 1)

Transfer of Power (page 1).

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon associate and I earn from qualifying purchases.