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1Like Creator/JRRTolkien himself, you could teach yourself dead languages at the age of seven, live in an idyllic rural setting with your mom until she dies and you have to go live in a bleak industrial town, be forbidden to see the love of your life for years until you could barely relate to each other anymore, go fight in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the biggest and bloodiest war ever fought in your time]] and watch your friends die on a battlefield where death is the only victor, fall ill and while in hospital begin writing of a better world, return home to find your childhood ideals ruined in the name of progress, spend twenty years immersed in the dusty recesses of academia, then finally set pen to paper and make the words sing...
2
3...''or'' you could take the easy route, and just read this simple guide.
4
5!'''Necessary Tropes'''
6
7Your chosen genre is HighFantasy, so [[FunctionalMagic magic]] is essential. You also need a memorable BigBad, and a hero to defeat him. The setting will be generic high medieval, or a world of your own creation. Start the {{Worldbuilding}} by drawing up a [[FantasyWorldMap map]], but try to do a little research on geology first so you don't put [[PatchworkMap a swamp next to frozen tundra and spiral-shaped rivers that don't lead to the sea]] without any justification.
8
9Once you've got the map, it's time to write the history. Start with the present day, and work backwards.
10
11The mode of writing is Romance, in the technical sense, which means go easy on the psychological realism. The characters, and their deeds, are larger than life, verging on the archetypical.
12
13!'''Choices, Choices'''
14!!'''Sources'''
15
16Tolkien was ''deeply'' versed in Germanic, English, and Scandinavian lore and drew on them heavily for his inspiration. You want similar familiarity not only with the common fantasy tropes but with their roots in myth, legend, and folktale.
17
18!!'''Magic'''
19
20Decide how much [[FunctionalMagic magic]] you want, and what rules it follows. Tolkien had very little magic, so he could be fairly vague about the precise rules. In fact, while his main characters used magic items, they never had powers for themselves - and using the strongest magic item they had was a ''bad'' thing. Gandalf's magic was justified by his being [[AllThereInTheManual (roughly) an angel]], and if your eyes are sharp you'll realize that he doesn't use it all that much, or indeed in some occasions where you'd think magic was called for (leading to a potential parody: a "wizard" who continually [[InformedAbility claims to have powers]] but never does any magic - until even the other characters notice).
21
22If you want more magic you'll need to think about how it impacts society as a whole, and battles in particular, and you'll need to be specific about the rules. Magical healing means no plagues and a population right on the edge of what the land will support. Easy mind control means extensive precautions by royalty against subversion. A regiment of wizards, acting as artillery, means no massed charges. Like modern armies, the enemy soldiers would have to spread out so one fireball couldn't kill them all.
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24Magic should feel like an intrinsic part of the society, something that they've lived with since the beginning of time.
25
26!!'''Races'''
27
28How many races are there in your world? Just humans, or [[StandardFantasyRaces the full set]]? Decide what type of [[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]], [[OurOrcsAreDifferent orcs]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] and [[OurMonstersAreDifferent other creatures]] you want, then think about their past interactions with humans and each other.
29
30!!'''Big Bad'''
31
32Pick a BigBad. Something suitably epic. Popular choices are [[TheUndead undead]] wizards, demon lords, dark gods, and {{Eldritch Abomination}}s. The Undead can have a tragic background, but are relatively low powered. The main difference between demon lords and dark gods is where they live.
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34Give your BigBad some motivations, and background. Do they want to rule the world, or destroy it? Do they prefer cunning, or brute force? Were they always evil, or did they [[FaceHeelTurn fall]]?
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36You'll need a convincing portrayal of evil, not just TheThemeParkVersion, or you risk readers sympathizing with your villain. Make your Big Bad's crimes clear, and make them grand. It doesn't just cross the MoralEventHorizon, it corrupts the happy-go-lucky flower people [[AlwaysChaoticEvil past the same line]], turning the green meadows into a GardenOfEvil in the process. Spend some time contemplating the long litany of man's inhumanity to man, then come up with a crime that epitomizes your [[AnAesop view of evil]].
37
38Alternatively go for moral ambiguity. Make the Big Bad understandable, reasonable or even sympathetic. If you world is dark enough even make your hero the [[VillainProtagonist real villain]]. It's traditional to use fiction to demonstrate morality, but you don't have to. [[ValuesDissonance Resist the urge to make the values of the heroes sympathetic to the audience]] and get them excited in [[MagnificentBastard other ways]]. To some, [[AuthorTract doing]] [[UnfortunateImplications this]] [[WhatTheHellHero will]] [[CluelessAesop invite]] [[LostAesop certain accusations]]. [[MisaimedFandom Maybe people will even agree.]]
39
40Decide if you want the BigBad to appear in person at all. If they do, you'll need to take extra steps to maintain their mystique.
41
42Give your Big Bad some chief minions. Tolkien went for 9 interchangeable Nazgûl, but a QuirkyMinibossSquad and TheDragon are also good choices. They can serve as spokesmen for the BigBad, defeating them gives the heroes a minor victory, and they can each represent a different facet of evil.
43
44The BigBad will also need an army, but this is mostly decided by the choice of Big Bad. Undead wizards usually prefer zombie hordes, spirits, and the occasional monster. Demon lords have TheLegionsOfHell. Dark gods have conventional armies of fanatics. Eldritch abominations have both mortal cultists and nameless horrors.
45
46Decide how the Big Bad will die. It shouldn't be in [[CombatByChampion single combat with the hero]]; that's a [[HeroicFantasy different genre]]. Betrayal by TheDragon or SycophanticServant, and being undone by their own hubris are both popular choices.
47
48!'''Pitfalls'''
49
50Be very sparing with benign gods. If they stay off-stage, people will ask [[TheGodsMustBeLazy why they aren't more helpful]]. If they come onstage, the heroes will rather quickly get [[TheAce overshadowed]]. The heroes could be [[PhysicalGod gods themselves]], but that's difficult to carry off. This is an aspect of the theological problem of why evil exists, on which [[AuthorFilibuster whole oceans of ink have been spent]] in futile debate. You're not exactly likely to come up with a good solution, so just brush the whole issue firmly under the carpet.
51
52Watch out for EvilIsCool and the related DiminishingVillainThreat.
53
54If you're going to include Elves, [[CantArgueWithElves don't make them perfect]]. If they are beautiful, super-strong, immortal, intelligent, magically and technologically advanced, and also morally superior, then they're effectively minor Gods, with all the story-construction difficulties that implies. They would be an entire race of {{God Mode Sue}}s.
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56Tolkien did give his elves flaws, but that backstory is in the appendices. You can put it in the main text. Have bards sing songs about the Elven civil war. [[ElvesVersusDwarves Have dwarves complain about their ancestral grudges.]]
57
58To be more general -- if you include multiple races or sentient species in the setting, be sure to give all of them balanced qualities. A high race of perfect, super-strong, magical, hyper-intelligent cat-girls is just as bad as a Mary Suetopia of elves. On the other coin, a race of bestial, always chaotic, dark-skinned, evildoing creatures has UnfortunateImplications as well. (Tolkien himself fell prey to that one, although he at least tried to fix that once he realized it.)
59
60[[AlwaysLawfulGood A purely good race]] can work, if there's a reason they can't be involved in the main action. Perhaps they're dryads, who die if they go more than ten yards from their trees. Perhaps they're empaths, who faint in the presence of even minor violence. Such races can be powerful symbols of innocence, to be protected, though the imperfect heroes may find them insufferably sweet.
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62[[AlwaysChaoticEvil Purely evil races]] can also work, if they're the creation of a BigBad, but they should have some positive qualities, such as bravery or loyalty to a cause, qualities that would be admirable if they weren't in the service of evil. Tolkien came to regret portraying Orcs as purely evil and spent the last years of his life trying (and failing) to make sense of the trope.
63
64!'''Potential Subversions'''
65
66Take a [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism more cynical slant]]. Paint your {{Anti Hero}}es as {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s prepared to ShootTheDog to achieve their ends. Conversely, give your BigBad some redeeming features, or even make them good but misunderstood. Use a TechLevel other than MedievalStasis (but be careful of winding up with TotallyRadical or {{Zeerust}} if you go that route).
67
68Tolkien gave us a major subversion in his choice of quest. Most quests are about ''obtaining'' something. This was a quest to ''get rid of'' something. [[ArtifactOfDoom The One Ring]] and its [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic connotations of sin and power lust]] needed to be turned down time and time again during the journey, until its ultimate rejection in the fires of Mount Doom. And even ''then'', it left a mark on the one who had struggled with the temptation.
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70Most races with a VestigialEmpire seem to just take it in stride in Tolkien's work, as are races who are all sweetness and light. Try having an elf who remembers being waited on hand and foot by "lesser folk", and make him a bitter, sarcastic chain-smoker.
71----
72!'''Writers' Lounge'''
73!!'''Suggested Themes and Aesops'''
74
75-> ''"Heart shall be bolder, harder be purpose, \
76more proud the spirit as our power lessens! \
77Mind shall not falter nor mood waver, \
78though doom shall come and dark conquer."''
79--> Tolkien's phrasing of what he called the "Nordic theory of courage", on the basis of a famous passage from ''Literature/TheBattleOfMaldon''.
80
81This is the philosophy of the DoomedMoralVictor, which makes for many stirring {{last stand}}s; heroes battling against impossible odds before succumbing with a FacingTheBulletsOneLiner.
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83Tolkien combined this with the victory of the meek, ordinary people rising to the occasion, which fits well with modern sentiment.
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85For alternatives, think about the nature of heroism, and of courage.
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87[[HeelFaceTurn Redemption]] and [[FaceHeelTurn corruption]] are potent themes. Don't make them easy. Give your readers a real feel for how painful it is to grow a conscience, and how seductively sweet evil's lure is.
88
89!!'''Potential Motifs'''
90
91Give the BigBad a symbol, and wrap it in dread. It doesn't have to be black; almost any color can be given negative associations. Red, of course, is the color of blood and fire. Green is the color of rot and decay, of fetid swamps and gangrenous flesh. White is the color of sun-bleached bones, and the blinding light of the desert sun. Blue is the color of ice and frozen wastes. If you want a real challenge, try pink (hey, [[Creator/JKRowling Rowling]] pulled it off... at least with an [[SmugSnake underling]] - although if you want a truly horrific pink villain, who can forget [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Ramsay Bolton]]?)
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93For the good guys, pick something to match your morals. Tolkien had the stars, and moments of beauty in the dark places, which symbolize and inspire hope in the face of adversity.
94
95!!'''Suggested Plots'''
96
97Good versus Evil is your overarching plot, but not the only one. Give each hero a character development arc, and throw in a major [[DuringTheWar war]].
98
99Give some thoughts to the various archetypal plots: Start with TheHerosJourney by Campbell, then move into StructuralArchetypes by Walker and Literature/TheSevenBasicPlots by Booker. Any of these plots can serve as the backbone of your story, or you could mix-and-match the elements until you get what you want. But sticking by a classical structure can definitely help you achieve the epic feel of a true masterpiece.
100----
101!'''Departments'''
102!!'''Set Designer''' / '''Location Scout'''
103
104You've got an entire world to fill up. Sketch the coastline, lay down some mountains, and a great river, then start on the countries. TheEmpire goes at one edge, with {{Mordor}} in its middle, and the EvilTowerOfOminousness at its heart. Position at random the VestigialEmpire, TheGoodKingdom, the HiddenElfVillage, and the hero's home village, then fill the rest of the map with wilderness including an EnchantedForest, a desert, a swamp, and plenty of ancient ruins.
105
106For added realism, put the towns in sensible places; the junctions of major trade routes, the mouths of rivers. In the populated areas, villages should be a day's journey apart.
107
108!!'''Props Department'''
109
110Everyone gets their own weapons, which may or may not [[ICallItVera have its own name]].
111
112!!'''Costume Designer'''
113
114Mostly drab medieval, but the good nobles are in GorgeousPeriodDress, and the heroes get [[BadassCape cloaks]]. The bad guys get {{black cloak}}s and plenty of [[SpikesOfVillainy spikes]].
115
116!!'''Casting Director'''
117
118To set against the Big Bad, you need an [[{{ensembles}} ensemble]] of heroes, usually one from each country or race, and a [[{{mentors}} mentor]] to recruit and advise them. Give them each a different motivation for joining the good fight.
119
120Tolkien's fellowship was all male, but a few women may increase the appeal. Bear in mind, ''there's nothing wrong with an all-male cast''... so long as you're aware of the fact that the [[ExecutiveMeddling people]] who [[AdaptationDecay update]] your masterpiece will invariably believe it's a flaw no matter ''how'' [[Literature/WatershipDown crucial it is to the plot]]. But if you're going for an all-male team of heroes, avoid the trap of making any female supporting characters [[TokenGirl token]] and lifeless. Female relatives of the cast, female mentors (and wise women), and the like should be well developed even if they're only around for a chapter before the team moves on.
121
122Furthermore, that "one representative from each race" thing leads to some UnfortunateImplications, since we judge the entire race based on the one representative we see. If one elf is bigoted, surely ''all'' elves are bigoted. If one dwarf is against magic, surely ''all'' dwarves hate magic. If one halfling is surly, surely ''all'' halflings... you get the picture. You can set this up and then subvert it when the party encounters more elves/dwarves/halflings ("I expected you to be totally anti-dwarf." "Nah, that's just Bob. Bad experience when he was a kid"). But consider using more than one elf, dwarf, halfling, fairy, Vulcan, Klingon... yeah. Film/{{Willow}} gave us two brownies to play off each other, but they were almost the same character; on the other hand, the many Nelwyn characters were just as distinct as the humans were, because their character wasn't based entirely on their ''race'' (contrast Willow, Meegosh, the wizard, and Burglekutt).
123
124Also consider having multiple cultures per race. Just knowing a character is "human" doesn't tell you if he's capitalist, socialist, or anarchist, or what his religion is, or how he votes, or how he dresses... knowing that he's "Hispanic" doesn't tell you much more than "human" does, especially if you don't know from which group of Hispanics he hails (and no, "every Hispanic I ever met was X, Y, and Z" doesn't count as useful information here). It ''may'' tell you how certain people respond to him. So why should "dwarf" tell you much more than "human" or "Hispanic"? Get some variety into the mix!
125
126!!'''Stunt Department'''
127
128You'll need a RainOfArrows and a cavalry charge for the battle scenes, ImplausibleFencingPowers for the thrilling duel, plenty of pyrotechnics for the magic, and DressingAsTheEnemy, the TrojanHorse, and the TrojanPrisoner for sneaking into enemy strongholds.
129
130!'''Extra Credit'''
131!!'''The Greats'''
132
133* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' itself, of course.
134* David Eddings had fun with his work in ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' and its sequel [[strike:tri]]quint...ilogy... thing, ''The Mallorean''. While the plot is not particularly original, the characters have to be seen to be believed. And yes, he fell prey to a few UnfortunateImplications... don't let that keep you from studying his work.
135* ''Literature/TheDeedOfPaksenarrion'' by Creator/ElizabethMoon. A strong, vital sense of realistic detail in how the world works, along with memorable characters and a well-wrought CharacterArc as the sheepherder's daughter Paks goes from military recruit to war veteran to Paladin recruit to Christ figure. With a bit of Joan of Arc somewhere in there. Moon doesn't pull any punches, so this trilogy is for mature readers only - but not a single intense moment is gratuitous or pointless, as each moment, good or bad, carefully shapes Paks into the person she needs to be.
136* For a Young Adult version, try the ''Literature/DeltoraQuest'' series by Creator/EmilyRodda, an amazing landscape fraught with unbelievable perils and unexpected allies (who may hide perils of their own). Also worth checking out: Her ''Literature/RowanOfRin'' series.
137* Since Creator/GeorgeRRMartin has been hailed by some as the 'American Tolkien', you might want to check out the work that earned him that title: ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. It is fantasy with a deeply cynical and gritty edge.
138* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', by Robert Jordan. Loads of characters, all of whom are memorable. The plot is intricate and complex, and the battles are awesome.
139* The ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' series by Frank Herbert. It is the best-selling science fiction series of all time, with a world spanning over 20,000 years of history. Themes range from politics, economics, ecology, religion, sociology, linguistics, and philosophy. Many compare it to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', matching it in scope and world building, and commonly said to be the science fiction equivalent of Tolkien's work.
140* ''Series/BabylonFive'': possibly the best TV SpaceOpera ever. Has memorable characters and cultures, and draws heavily from many sources including Creator/JRRTolkien himself. Has an extremely well developed universe and powerful themes developed over a continuous plot spanning five seasons. In some ways it ''is'' HighFantasy. only RecycledInSpace.
141* ''Literature/TheFionavarTapestry'' by Creator/GuyGavrielKay has been explicitly written as close as possible to the pattern set by Tolkien, while retaining its own originality.

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