Music for the Day

It’s something that both my dad and I talked about regarding stories in multiple formats, but especially books. A major flaw that even good writers fell in, which I hope to avoid, though don’t hold me on it. After all, the future is always unknown the farther you go, and though we say that we won’t fall for something like that, it is still likely. And I fell for that Steam scam myself (which I mentioned a couple of years back) when I should know better.

While I’m confident it can happen in multiple genres, it is most prominent in fantasy/science fiction stories. Namely, writers’ attempt to be the next J. R. R. Tolkien, whose works effectively changed the course of fantasy fiction. Once defined as fairy tales’ fantasy and barbarian fantasy, The Hobbit and especially The Lord of the Rings turned fantasy fiction into what we know today: a mythical past where gods once walked the earth and with elves and dwarves walking along with us humans.

A very tempting thing that writers do in being the next Tolkien is making multi-books epic where the scope of the world is even more enormous. Where the cast is at the hundreds, with each having their own point of view chapter. And where you delve into each town, city, or even country’s culture, each with their own history that shows how they came to be.

Except, that misses the hidden genius of Tolkien’s work.

The thing is, the scope of Middle-earth is vast. It has rich characters living within it, and each civilization’s culture is unique and distinct down to its language. Which makes sense. Tolkien himself stated in multiple letters in various different ways that Middle-earth was meant to be a mythological Europe past.

But here is the thing: Tolkien kept the story focused on what is truly important for the story. Namely, the titular fellowship themselves with a rare exception and their journeys. Whether it is Frodo and Sam journeying to Mordor, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas fighting various battles in the War of the Ring, or Merry and Pippin rousing the Ents to attack and destroy Isengard, the story still kept its focus on these characters.

That wasn’t to say that other parts of the conflict weren’t necessary. For example, the Battle of Dale was a crucial battle and siege that the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain and Men of Dale barely held, even losing both of their kings in the process. But because they did, they prevented Sauron’s forces from joining up the armies of Dol Guldur and ravaging west into Middle-earth, perhaps even going as far as Rivendell until Sauron’s fall. But it would’ve bloated this story, one with which none of the main characters could indirectly intervene.

By trying to focus on what is essential for the story, even if it meant leaving fantastic scenes in the appendices, Tolkien managed to create an epic fantasy that, even to this day, all fantasy fiction are scaled to. And when fantasy writers try to become the next Tolkien by making an even more epic story with a more epic scale, more characters, and such, they risk losing track of their stories. Sooner or later, especially if they don’t have all their notes in check, they risk derailing their stories, whether by padding or by trying to think of how to tie everything together.

So, that’s my advice if you plan on making a multi-book epic story. Instead of going big, try to focus on the essential parts, even if it means leaving stuff as extra materials. If you don’t, you risk writing yourself in a corner with little idea of resolving the story. Or writing a battle where much of the main characters do nothing of importance in it.