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Why Worldbuilding is Bad
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<blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 3481417" data-attributes="member: 18280"><p>This is a common belief, but the reality is quite a bit more complicated than that. LotR began due to his publisher's demand for a sequel to <em>The Hobbit</em>. The plot needs of the story forced him to revise the earlier work. He actually started a sequel to the LotR, taking place in the 4th Age, because his publisher demanded more. Eventually, this got scrapped (because he thought it hurt the LotR to have the Shadow re-emerge), and work got underway to publish his notes on Middle Earth.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, Tolkein didn't live long enough to rework this material into something truly great.</p><p></p><p>The order of events would be:</p><p></p><p>(1) The Hobbit.</p><p>(2) Request from publisher/fans for "More concerning Hobbits".</p><p>(3) A failed attempt to write another Bilbo story.</p><p>(4) The basic idea for the LotR plot.</p><p>(5) Beginning of the creation of a world background for Middle Earth.</p><p>(6) LotR...a long writing process that, judging from what the man wrote about it, demonstrates that he suffered the same doubts and problems as any other writer of a major work. Doing this required revision of the background material frequently to fit the setting to the needs of the plot.</p><p>(7) Publisher wants another Hobbit book.</p><p>(8) Tolkein starts the Return of the Shadow, then abandons it.</p><p>(9) Tolkein starts to work up The Silmarilion.</p><p>(10) Tolkein dies, leaving it for others to publish without sufficient polish.</p><p></p><p></p><p>RC</p><p></p><p></p><p>EDIT: People talk about Tolkein as a worldbuilder, but his genius for plotting was at least the equal of his genius for worldbuilding. The plot of LotR is <em>dense</em>, and many "inconsequential" details actually have plot relevance. Every time I read it I find plot connections that I missed previously.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Raven Crowking, post: 3481417, member: 18280"] This is a common belief, but the reality is quite a bit more complicated than that. LotR began due to his publisher's demand for a sequel to [i]The Hobbit[/i]. The plot needs of the story forced him to revise the earlier work. He actually started a sequel to the LotR, taking place in the 4th Age, because his publisher demanded more. Eventually, this got scrapped (because he thought it hurt the LotR to have the Shadow re-emerge), and work got underway to publish his notes on Middle Earth. Unfortunately, Tolkein didn't live long enough to rework this material into something truly great. The order of events would be: (1) The Hobbit. (2) Request from publisher/fans for "More concerning Hobbits". (3) A failed attempt to write another Bilbo story. (4) The basic idea for the LotR plot. (5) Beginning of the creation of a world background for Middle Earth. (6) LotR...a long writing process that, judging from what the man wrote about it, demonstrates that he suffered the same doubts and problems as any other writer of a major work. Doing this required revision of the background material frequently to fit the setting to the needs of the plot. (7) Publisher wants another Hobbit book. (8) Tolkein starts the Return of the Shadow, then abandons it. (9) Tolkein starts to work up The Silmarilion. (10) Tolkein dies, leaving it for others to publish without sufficient polish. RC EDIT: People talk about Tolkein as a worldbuilder, but his genius for plotting was at least the equal of his genius for worldbuilding. The plot of LotR is [i]dense[/i], and many "inconsequential" details actually have plot relevance. Every time I read it I find plot connections that I missed previously. [/QUOTE]
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