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[Boromir88]

To explain a little more about internal and external. Internal influence would be the books themselves, the words, the writings, the 'glimpses,' its the 'primary source.' External would be anything related to the books, but not the books themselves...so a forum, a guidebook, anything related to the books that gets you stimulated and created the 'magic.'

I think Bethberry, you and I are very similar than. I do read The Lord of the Rings quite a bit. But, this forum and others like it sort of keep me in it. With The Sil, or Book of the Lost Tales...etc I treat more as a reference. Not something I go cover to cover with and read. Because, I get a different feeling with them.

The Lord of the Ring's is a progressive storyline, it's got a quest motif. And it just seems awkward jumping somewhere in the middle, and just reading that part. It's one progressive story, where we follow the characters, the quest to destroy the Ring, and then all the other little subplots. And to hop right in the middle of that, just feels wierd. It seems like I have to read it from cover to cover.

Where The Silmarillion and books like that, it isn't that same feel. The Sil reminds me a lot like Graham Greene's Power and the Glory (which I did absolutely love). The Power and the Glory has this choppy pattern. The Priest (which I don't think is ever named) is trying to avoid the police because there is a mass extermination of them during this time in Mexico. But the chapters are very choppy. The Priest is in one town, he gets out of a problem, then next chapter, he's suddenly in another place, and the action picks right up again. You don't get to see what goes on 'inbetween the chapters,' the priest is from one place to the next. I feel the same way when reading the Sil...there is a rough timeline of stories, but we have a collection of stories, put together. We go from one to the next, and there's really nothing to 'connect them.' Where the Lord of the Rings is much more tightly written and progressive from one chapter to the next.

So, it doesn't feel as awkward jumping into the middle of the Sil and reading something, because of the way the chapters and the stories go. With the Silmarillion there was no 'quest' to follow our characters a long the entire way, it was a collection of stories from earlier ages and the battles of those earlier ages. We pretty much jump from one story to the next.

Maybe, after devoting much of his life to Middle Earth, Tolkien wanted to get away from fulfilling the insatiable fan requests and simply just write greeting card text.

That's what I thought as well, for a little while, and perhaps it bogged him down more, but he never really seemed to lose love for his stories. In Letter 250, with his declining health he is still jokingly referring to him being like the Ents. And also:

Of course the L.R. does not belong to me. It has been brought forth and must now go its appointed way in the world, though naturally I take a deep interest in its fortunes , as a person would of a child.~Letter # 328

I think he took a great interest in watching his stories grow and develop with the 'public's opinion,' and he never lost love for his stories. (As he always seemed to staunchly defend them if someone - Zimmerman - made a screen play or wanted to make them into 'movies.') I do think that he probably got frustrated, hampered down, but all the fan mail and people asking for 'more.' Of course I don't really know that, but I certainly would and could put myself in his situation...with his ailing health, answering letters, I think Sqautter brings up some good points with his 'perfectionism' of The Sil, making it fit with LOTR, it all bogged him down and had an effect...but I don't really think he ever lost a passion of the magic for his stories and still took interest in watching his books develop after being published.