J. R. R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings,
two of the most important stories of the twentieth century.
But before he could write those novels, and particularly the latter one,
he had to create Middle Earth, the Fantasy world in which they took place. For Tolkien, everything in those novels had to fit together into a logical, coherent system. Thus, after he finished The Hobbit, he spent
over a decade developing and enlarging Middle Earth, while he worked on The
Lord of the Rings. It wasn’t enough for a
given character to hold a sword, for example.
For his novel to be complete, Tolkien felt he must create the races and
cultures that mined the ore, refined the metal, and fashioned the sword. Equal consideration would be devoted to the
sword, which would be covered in runes and carvings, and sheathed in a history
of previous owners and battles waged. Of
course, he also needed to know the history, culture, agriculture, beliefs, and
all sorts of other things about the peoples involved in every stage of the
creation and life of the sword. And we
haven’t even talked about the individual wielding the sword yet: his history, family, and aspirations.
Tolkien felt that all of these types of facts, very little
of which would actually appear in the finished narrative, were necessary infrastructure for his Fantasy novel. A writer more prolific, such as his friend C.
S. Lewis, would no doubt have disagreed.
Lewis wrote many fiction and nonfiction books that were popular in his
day. Like Tolkien’s work, they have also
transcended their time. Yet Lewis was
not a Worldbuilder like Tolkien. It was
enough for him to select a given idea he wished to pursue, brainstorm a few
characters, story elements or essay points, and then leap into his
writing. Lewis also diverged from
Tolkien in other ways. He chose the
Church of England over the Catholic Church, he married a divorced woman, and he
promoted Charles Williams, a Christian author who combined Christian viewpoints
and teachings with secular issues and beliefs, in the process transforming what
conservatives like Tolkien might see as unquestionable and settled religious
teachings into spurious, if not heretical theological concepts.
Both men were Oxford educators, passionate about their
faith, and talented writers. Yet Tolkien
simply wasn’t as inclusive as Lewis. Tolkien
must have tried to stretch himself: his friendship with Lewis, despite the
other's differing beliefs and actions, seems like proof of that. Still, he also had to retreat to his comfort zone, where he knew who he was and what he believed, in order to
finish building Middle Earth, and then complete The Lord of the Rings.
As much as a voice inside tells me that much of my
Worldbuilding is unnecessary, like Tolkien I feel I must build a foundation firm enough to support the Fantasy elements of my eventual novel. So I labor each day to complete what work I
can, concentrating on my own strengths, and operating from the serenity and security of my comfort
zone. Yet, as Tolkien did, I also try to
learn from those around me, those whose beliefs and actions sometimes clash with
mine. Only God (whatever you call Him,
and however you define Him) is omnipotent. He alone encompasses everything.
I, like J. R. R. Tolkien, am a limited mortal. I may be more rock than rubber band, more brittle than elastic, but still, as a writer, and as a man, I yearn to
stretch.
Dragon Dave
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