Don't be Tolkienish
6 posts in this topic.
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Don't be Tolkienish. But how do we not? Or how do we not be Rowlingish or any of the other classic fantasy stories? I know now that I really really want to write an amazing epic fantasy, but how can I do that without using the characters of Tolkien's works that I love? I really need help.
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Don't think about it. Write what's in your head, and not in the Lord of the Rings. If you do tend to start writing in a Tolkien-ish way, don't worry. The writing style itself is very good. But you should be a little careful. It's easy to go from good, traditional writing to over-elaborate writing.
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I started writing in year ten and like most people I wrote what I knew: fantasy. I used the elves, magic, demons, dwarves, knights and vampires etc. And then as the story developed within this scaffolding of cliches it began to take on a life of its own. Genuine characters emerged from the original conception of "Elf hunter" "Elf Queen" or "Demon Lord" into genuine and far more well rounded persons.
Once you've got that genuine plot with believable, likeable characters, you can strip that intellectual scaffolding. I'm writing out the elves, I'm making the daemons and dragons unique (or at the very least different). My bad guys have reasons for being bad, and are no longer vampires.
So when you're just starting your writing career there's nothing wrong with being tolkienish or rowlandish. You write what you know and most people who get into writing do it because they like reading. Just make sure that once there's a real story there that you begin to strip that scaffolding away, because you won't need it anymore and it makes your art look amateurish.
Catchers and good luck. -
I think that as long as you're not going to start writing about a quest to destroy an all-magical ring, or about a bunch of wizards who go to a giant school and have to battle one big evil bad-y then you'll be just fine. xD
Basically what I mean is that as long as you aren't stealing plots, and are making characters and etc your own unique beings, then it doesn't matter if the writing sounds a bit similar to Tolkien or Rowling. Both are skilled writers with effective ways to write. And chances are, you with your own personal style, won't sound like them.
So stop worrying and just write.
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I didn't know this group existed, but I had to join to comment about this.
don't think about it. Write what's in your head, and not in the Lord of the Rings.
I think that is the problem though. When you read an amazing book all you can think about is how good those characters are and soon you are automatically basing your own characters to be like the authors. -
DayDreams wrote:
don't think about it. Write what's in your head, and not in the Lord of the Rings.
I think that is the problem though. When you read an amazing book all you can think about is how good those characters are and soon you are automatically basing your own characters to be like the authors.
This is why you should never write directly after reading a book/watching a movie/tv show with awesome characters. You run the risk of copying characters, plot, or style.
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