So who else writes?

[facher83]

Mummelmann said:

twesterm said:
I use to want to be a writer but I'm a terrible writer. Like Tolkien, I can make a good story but I'm a terrible writer.

Nowadays I just stick furry Teletubbies erotic fan fiction.

Good to see more folks who dare to be honest about what is possibly the most overrated author in Fantasy history. Tolkien was a good storyteller, not a writer imo, I've read loads of Fantasy authors who are easily better. I think liking Tolkien has become somewhat of a fashion statement after the films, somehow implying that reading him means you're really deep or some such. Notice though, that most of these "fashion fans" of his don't read any other fantasy books, or books at all for that matter...

I'm not opposed to the author or the films. In fact; those movies are among the best modern cinema or video can offer. I'm just thinking what if an even better story, written by a better author had been given that chance to shine on the big screen... 'starts to drool over the concept of a Betrayal at Krondor film...'

PS: I'm not talking about Robert Jordan if anyone wonders, writing an 800 page novel which can be adequately summarized in 3 minutes is not worthy of worship imo. I know the guy just died (and its sad for the fans and family), but it does nothing to redeem his writing.

 How does being a good storyteller not make you a good author?  An author, by definition, is most simply a creator of content.  A writer has a job to conve, in words or other communicable ways, to get a message across to another person.  Tolkien seems to do both of these objectives fine.

Tolkien is criticized for being a poor English writer, novel writer, and to have a lot of complaints against his novel 'setups' not being perfect.

 I'm not sure I agree with your account that Tolkien is a bad author - I mean, you supported him to be a good author already, but just sort of took it away based on a technicality that doesn't have anything to do with being an author, but being an editor, literary grammar police, or a strict reviewer who ignores content and pays attention to the fact that having a paperback cover must mean the writer sucks, because it's nto hardcover.

 I don't understand you.... you're on a bandwagon that doesn't exist.

 

(I've only read the first half of FotR, and I could really care less about Tolkien's image, but your reasonings seem way beyond flawed to discredit an 'author').