"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
Tolkien was a terrible, terrible writer. I find him to be incredibly stale, and boring. But you don't have to use his style in order to do the "Create A World" thing, there a millions of other variations you could use. You could try to use the Terry Pratchett approach, giving your book a humurous edge, and not trying to introduce the world through legthy, boring descriptions, but through the actions, and dialogues of your characters.
Seriously, Tolkien's not the only fantasy writer out there. You don't have to use his style, only because he's probably the most well-known.
there are many problems in our times
but none of them are mine
Ah, not quite sure I agree with Icaruss's evaluation of Tolkien, not quite sure you do the man justice.
But Tolkien was nothing if not thorough with world building. I suggest David Gerrold's Worlds of Wonder - it has everything you need for fantasy and science fiction. ^_^
I've always believed that if you get bored with your story, you're not telling the right one.
Ask yourself: Why do I need to share this world? What is special about this world, what about it demands telling? Why would others like to know this world? What makes your world different?
(You're not alone in your distaste of Tolkien. TRUST me.)
Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength.
I find editing a few things helps to make my work less 'boring'. Also, I think the way you write your piece is something that keeps you interested, if you've gone for a long-drawn story that the reader finds hard to grasp then you would probably have to try and simplify the piece.
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