I’m always intrigued when I hear someone say, “That was a really good book” or “This is great writing.” I’ll ask, “What makes it so?” Inevitably, I’ll get varied answers.
Probably the first response is, “Because I liked it.” Or, “Because it held my interest.” Or, “I could hear the voice as if it were talking directly to me.” Or, “It made a lot of sense.”
One of the greatest compliments a writer can get is, “I couldn’t put it down.” I’ve had a few of these over the years, and they really made my day. The best one was, “You. You kept me awake until four in the morning, and I had to go to work the next day.”
So, what makes writing good? I stumbled upon a meme the other day that made me reflect on what good writing is. Timeless storytelling techniques that still hold true and probably outclass most of what is taught to, and produced by, modern scribes.
It was a page by JRR Tolkien, the father of modern fantasy, who wrote The Hobbit in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in 1954-1955. I read it and reread it, paying attention to what Tolkien was pulling off. Here’s the image.
I’m not going to critique Tolkien, but I see touches I would have never considered.
Like using an exclamation point in the middle of a sentence. Repeating a sentence in the same paragraph but reframing it in backdrops. A single sentence of three repeated words…
World building… invented languages… unique and memorable character development… superb, captivating storytelling…
I can’t accurately explain why I think Tolkien was a good writer. It’s like Supreme Court Judge Potter Stewart said in his landmark ruing on obscenity, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it (pornography) when I see it.”
Kill Zoners — What are your thoughts on this Tolkien page? And what makes for good writing? BTW, you might have to open the page image in a separate tab to enlarge it for clarity.
Good morning, Garry!
I’m biased because I’m a Tolkien fan, I’ve probably read LOTR ten times since I first read it in 1977, For me, this passage is a powerful culmination of one of the arcs of LOTR. The writing is compelling in an almost Biblical fashion, with a suitably epic tone to it. “Silent and still,” and “deadly laughter.” The crowing of the rooster heralding both the dawn and the arrival of help still moves me.
There are a lot of things that make writing great, but, for me, at the heart of it is this: does it evoke emotion and immerse me in a vivid fictive dream? Tolkien’s writings, for instance, do that for me.
And good morning back, Dale. “Almost Biblical” That is a really good description/analogy. Yes, evoking emotion, I think, might be the bottom line. Enjoy your day!
Interesting topic, Garry. I think great writing may have to do with how well the author is able to convey some fundamental truth that resonates with the reader. Sort of like the heart-to-heart string Mr. Rochester talks about in Jane Eyre.
But the way that happens may depend on the genre. For example, a good mystery challenges the reader to use his/her powers of deduction to find the villain. I believe readers get satisfaction out of a story that’s put together so well they’re surprised by the ending. On the other hand, epics like LOTR transport readers into another world, and the satisfaction may come from the larger-than-life proportions of the story.
In either case, there’s a heart-to-heart connection with the reader. Just my not-yet-fully-caffeinated two cents. 🙂
Good comment, Kay. Transporting readers into another world – someone else who did well at it was JK Rowling 🙂
It’s KING JAMES BIBLE biblical. Very King James. Most of the American South’s greatest writers like Faulkner had their styles informed by that version of the BIBLE and the pulpit orators who used it. If you can imagine Martin Luther King, Jr., saying it, it’s the King-James style. This sounds straight out of “Revelations.”
Tolkien is a master writer, but, today, this style is only suitable for epic fantasy and a really good horror writer.
Hi Marilynn! Thanks for your view on King James. I think you’re absolutely right and I, too, was wondering if Tolkien could fit in with today’s writing style. Perhaps he’d invent a new genre. Happy Thursday!
Part of the answer, I’m sure, is that Tolkien was an utterly fearless writer, making him bold and sure.
Part, I’m sure, is his deep familiarity with reading (and writing) heroic verse. “Drums, drums, drums in the deep.” He’s way more aware of rhythm than I am.
He does something here that I don’t think is often done these days: he frames the action historically to enhance the current moment, not as belated exposition. (No enemy had ever passed through that archway.)
And then he interrupts the scene with something as ordinary as a cock crow (ordinary, yet strangely portentous), and nothing is the same.
Interesting perspective, Robert. You put this very well and it’s a great observation. Thanks!
Garry, in addition to showcasing an epic page, you also taught me a new tech trick today. I didn’t know it was possible to open an image in a new tab to enlarge it. I thank you and so do my aging eyes.
Stick with me, kid, there’s a lot more tricks you can learn from this old dawg. 🙂
Being Catholic was a solid underpinning to Tolkien’s writing – people are almost afraid to mention or credit that.
There is a belief in the mystical, the transcendent, the miraculous that is imbued in Catholicism that does not appear in the same way in the many different Protestant groups, though there is some of it in Old Testament writings.
Whatever your personal beliefs, it adds resonances to the writing that you might not expect in fantasy – Tolkien, after all, was postulating elves and orcs and a Middle Earth as a pre-modern layer of history – and the soul recognizes it and craves it.