On Writing

The LOTR trilogy was one of the most successful trilogies of the cinema age, and owes it's success largely to hordes of ardent fans of the source material - Tolkien's books. His books, in their own turn, were hugely successful for decades after their release. Why ? My theory is that readers loved them because they described an actual world: familiar in its own way and relatable to their own (same laws of physics, for example) yet strange and foreign all at once. There was a journey of discovery for the reader juxtaposed with the quest of the characters within the story.

And one level deeper, the total envelopment of the reader within this fantasy world - in my opinion - was achieved because of Tolkien's approach to its construction. He created Middle Earth: its languages, geographies, races, anthropology; only then did he set in motion the storyline.

Many of the books I've been reading on the writer's craft advocate a similar approach. Delve deep into the characters, their motivations, and the world around them. Place these characters together, or let events do so for you. Sit back and watch.