this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026
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Lord Of The Rings Memes
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A comm for Lord Of The Rings Memes!
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Don't be too rough with each other! We're here to appreciate, and sometimes lightly rib, Tolkien's fantastic creation, and all of its derivative works. Arguments happen, but remember, in the words of Tolkien, that food and cheer and good song are what make a merrier world!
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He started the Hobbit at 38 and had been writing fantasy stories for years prior to that. He was doing the things that would lead up to LotR for decades prior to starting that specific work.
But yes, just because you haven't created a genre defining book series by 45 doesn't mean there isn't still time.
The Hobbit was just a bedtime story at first. Every journey begins with the first step out the door. And it’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.
He didn't intend for his stories to become published or widespread. He was encouraged by others to submit The Hobbit, and when it did very well, he went from there. Which I guess is as inspiring as the OP's meme. If Tolkien needed a push to get going, what's to say any other reluctant author isn't the same and just needs that first success?
The point is that he was already writing stories in a rich world he developed long before he started working on LotR.
It’s nice to point this out because we focus a lot on prodigies or early achievers, and for most of us life spent work out that cleanly.