5 storytelling concepts in Tolkien’s fiction world
How a few storytelling concepts can make your writing better
While reading The Storytelling Animal book by Jonathan Gottschall, the author describes how fiction captivates us humans and fuels our imagination. I immediately thought of J.R.R. Tolkien, who is a huge inspiration when it comes to storytelling. His fiction is filled with well-crafted storytelling concepts that can be valuable to any writer.
Here are a few concepts that hopefully will improve your storytelling.
1. Every story has a teller
Before the invention of writing, the story was exclusively oral. A teller gathered between listeners to create the story. He attracts the audience mentally and emotionally, exposing them to the same message.
Initially, the tale of The Hobbit was merely a bedtime story Tolkien told to his sons, John, Michael and Christopher. It began with the famous line that also opens the book that delivers the story as you know it:
‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.’ — The Hobbit
In The Hobbit, Gandalf is the teller that travels to The Shire to meet Bilbo Baggins. He is seen as a wanderer at first, talking about going on adventures and bothering Bilbo just at the thought of it. He gathers the group of dwarves at Bilbo’s house and shows them Thror’s map with moon-letters. This is just the beginning of what this quest is about: an unexpected journey.
Gandalf: I’m looking for someone to share in an adventure.
Bilbo Baggins: An adventure? No, I don’t imagine anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures. Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner. — The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
A teller is the salt to your story. In your flavored world, a pinch of salt will awaken the readers’ curiosity and will make their journey more enjoyable.
2. The hero’s journey
Also called monomyth, was a storytelling concept first discovered by Joseph Campbell in 1949 and it can be identified in many books and movies. The hero leaves his home and sets out on a difficult journey. He moves from a familiar place into a threatening unknown location. After overcoming various struggles, the hero returns home with a reward or a wisdom, but a completely changed person.
In Lord of the Rings, Frodo is the saviour that needs to take responsibility for the ring and the darkness it brings. This beautiful quote sums up his journey:
‘How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand… there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold.’ — Frodo Baggins, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Every story has a hero and readers get the best out of it when the hero’s story is relatable. All the challenging circumstances and struggles that your hero will overcome, will make the reading experience more enjoyable.
3. Good vs evil
The neverending war between good and evil exists not only in real-life, but is also masterfully crafted by Tolkien. In his world, good and evil are absolutely distinct, although good and evil people are not. In Lord of the Rings, Boromir wants the ring for Gondor at first, and when the darkness begins to cloud his judgement, he tries to take the ring for himself. But before he dies, he fights with the orcs and sacrifices himself for his kind.
Gandalf has a specific role at the border between good and evil. His role is to guide other characters on a spiritual level, not fight their battles for them. He uses his powers when meeting Balrog, a demonic monster in the Mines of Moria, so the others can escape. This good vs evil scene becomes an angel vs demon fight.
Another example is when Saruman corrupts the King of Rohan: Gandalf uses his magic to release Theoden from the evil spell and restore his freedom. Gandalf is most of the time an advisor, because other characters have to take responsibility and to make the right moral decisions.
A conflict between good and evil will improve your story, whether it’s from a people or scene perspective. Not everyone is on a good or evil side, there are also morally grey characters. But if there is diversity in your characters, the readers will want to take sides, advocate for their characters and never put your story down until their characters get justice.
4. Sharing real-life stories
‘The world is not in your books and maps. It is out there.’ — Gandalf, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The world is filled with stories and our life stories are fiction for other people. If you ask a friend how is he doing, he begins to narrate his life and trade stories with you over a cup of coffee or beer. Although you haven’t experienced his story, you begin to listen and you are drawn into it.
When the dwarves, Gandalf and the hobbit take shelter at night, one of the dwarves begins to tell a story about the leader of the group, Thorin and the great orc Azog. Everyone begins to listen with curiosity this slice of Thorin’s life and the struggles he had to face after the dragon took his home, the Lonely Mountain.
Relatable stories put readers into safe worlds to practice in for real-life situations. Imagine how your story will have an impact on a reader: it will give voice to his feelings, find a solution to a long-time problem or make him more empathetic.
5. Music tells a story
Storytelling lives across various forms. In The Storytelling Animal book, the musicologist and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin concluded that people hear about 5 hours of music/day. It may seem impossible, but he counted everything around us: the sound of the coffee machine, commercial jingles, birds chirping, the sound of the elevator, etc. The songs tell stories about people struggling to get what they want or about the love they lost.
Tolkien’s world also expresses itself through music, a part of his storytelling. At the beginning of The Hobbit, the dwarves’ story begin to unravel. Although visible upset about ruining his perfectly cozy evening, Bilbo is immediately drawn by the upcoming adventure described by Gandalf and his world stops for a couple of minutes when the dwarves start to sing:
Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day
To find our long forgotten gold.The pines were roaring on the height
The winds were moaning in the night
The fire was red, it flaming spread
The trees like torches blazed with light — The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Find inspiration for your stories everywhere, including music. So take a break and press play on your favorite playlist. Inspiration may be just around the corner of a great tune.
The world is full of stories and you are a character in a magical and dark place called Middle-Earth. People know it as life, but isn’t it great to have your own fiction story to share it with others as Tolkien did through his storytelling? Hopefully you are looking forward for new adventures, like I am.
