J.R.R. Tolkien’s Process for Creating Middle-Earth and Personal Fantasy World Setting Creation

1. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Process for Creating Middle-Earth and Personal Fantasy World Setting Creation By John Merhar

2. Professor John Ronald Reuel TolkienorJ.R.R.T. Table of Contents: A The Lad B The Soldier C The Professor D The Author E Middle-Earth F Personal Fantasy World Setting Creation G Q&A and commentary

3. The Young Lad • Young Tolkien was born to Arthur and Mabel Tolkien in 1892. • Tolkien’s middle name “Reuel” translates in Hebrew to “friend of God” or “God is his friend.” • As a young reader, Tolkien enjoyed reading books such as: Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island, and The Pied Piper.

4. The Soldier • While being a student at Oxford University, he began drilling in the university parks with the Officers’ Training Corps. • He enjoyed the combination of his military drilling regime and academics. • In 1915 Tolkien graduated from Oxford University with First Class Honors and afterwards he gained commission as second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers,13th Battalion of the British Army. • On Friday, October 27, 1916 Tolkien became infected with “pyrexia of unknown origin”, which was commonly known among the soldiers as trench fever.

5. The Professor • J.R.R. Tolkien became a professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1925 and attained the Bosworth and Rawlinson Professorship in the autumn of that year. • In the autumn of 1937, Professor Tolkien published The Hobbit, and then began working on its sequel, The Lord of the Rings.

6. The Author • 1937 Publication of The Hobbit • 1949 Publication of Farmer Giles of Ham • 1954 Publication of the first two volumes of Lord of the Rings which were titled: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers • 1955 Publication of the third volume of the trilogy Lord of the Rings which is titled: The Return of the King • 1967 Publication of Smith of Wootton Major

7. Middle-Earth • It is opinion, that J.R.R.T. really no idea how vast and expansive the impact of his creation of Middle-Earth would become after his publication of The Hobbit and his trilogy “Lord of the Rings”. • Games: These publications have stimulated the generation of multitudes of games (RPG, Live Action, M.M.O.’s, PBM’s, Board Games, Video Play Station, and many others). • Writings: These publications have stimulated the generation of Fantasy Word Setting Creations (for paper based and electronic RPGs, settings for stories, and movies), Writings ( of all varieties), and the publication of a multitude of scholarly books.

8. Personal Fantasy World Setting Creation • I read The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy when I was in 5th grade. Reading these books has helped me to have the ability to create over twenty Fantasy World Settings from scratch for Table Top Role-Playing Games that I have ran proceeding after 5th grade. Through twenty-five years of running Fantasy RPGs I became a Grandmaster Game Master. Now, I am now currently at work on a new Fantastical World Setting which I have named “The Idea Metaphorical.” Since beginning this Fantasy World Setting creation, I have already published one short story which is set in the setting under creation which is titled, “The Demise of Harsh Harlan.”

9. Questions, Answers, and Commentary

10. The End

11. Sources of Information • The Hobbit and Lord of The Rings Trilogy By J.R.R. Tolkien • J.R.R. Tolkien, Architect of Middle-Earth A Biography by Daniel Grotta-Kurska • J.R.R. Tolkien, a biography by Humphrey Carpenter • Personal reading, research, and endeaver • My PBWiki website: “J R R Tolkien’s Process for Creating Middle-Earth and Personal Fantasy World Creation”

12. For further information and details contact: • John Merhar • elo@ipfw.edu