Despite what our first instinct might be, we must recognize that more much we like characters and how good they are really doesn’t correlate very well. Of course, we’re none too fond of Puppy Kicker McEvilface, and certain evils just
What makes a good ending? The question plagues us, sometimes. Why does this ending work and that one doesn’t? What’s too much, what’s too little? Why did Tolkien spend six of Book Six’s final chapters on the conclusion? The ending
The steady pattern of a story’s plot is to go downhill at three speeds: fast, faster, and even faster. Then, the climax hits and (if it’s a comedy) the thing suddenly shoots upwards, fast enough to make you dizzy. In
The Lord of the Rings is famous for taking ‘too long’ to end. The Ring is destroyed in chapter 3 of Book 6 of the story, followed by the final battle with Sauron in chapter 4. The next five chapters
The Crusades controversy this article and its prequel address is a local one, confined to certain circles of online Reformed people, not really a matter of concern for the wider culture or for those wise enough to exist beyond the
To understand the world, we must understand stories, because people understand the world through stories. Not numbers, not equations, not analytical trends, none of these are the lens of human sight. Stories are the framework and motivation of human thought.
The Lord of the Rings movies have three major pitched battles: Helms Deep, Pelennor Fields, and the Fields of Cormallen. Unfortunately, for all that Helms Deep is a (flawed) masterpiece, its successors are, in my opinion at least, not nearly
The Lord of the Rings is hands-down the greatest work of fiction ever penned by mortal man. I could talk for ages. Ask my family if you doubt me. The Lord of the Rings is the story that made me
Bilbo called himself, “thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread,” and our stories can be the same. A story can be stuffed with plot, bursting with characters, burdened down to the water by themes, and still
At various points in the writing process, it behooves all of us to sit down and ask some pointed questions about what we’re doing, where the story’s been, and where it’s going. Indeed, these questions are vital not just to