I’ll start with the obvious. Many fantasy authors trace their writing chops back to Tolkien. There are many reasons; the likely suspects are his character development, multiple concurrent story conflicts, characters dealing with personal demons and his unique turn of a phrase.
When I first read The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien climbed to the top of my list of literary heroes. It took about three pages and I was lost in the world of Middle-Earth. Unlike a lot of my friends, I had not yet read The Hobbit. That meant my introduction to Tolkien’s writing was the result of his forty years of practice.
Since then, I’ve read anything I could get my hands on with the name Tolkien on it. I admit I went into The Children of Hurin with some reservations, knowing it was Christopher who had compiled the various pieces of the story from its many sources. Even then, though, it did not take many pages to convince me the writing was authentic Tolkien.
As I continue to prepare my first novel for publication, I look to Tolkien’s style for inspiration. Maybe in forty years my writing skills will develop to the same level his did.
Here’s to The Professor.
R.E. Moore 