Date

7-22-2025

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)

Chair

T. Marcus Christian

Keywords

Tolkien, fantasy, timeless, dragon

Disciplines

Creative Writing | English Language and Literature

Abstract

The first section of the thesis, my artist statement, discusses my purpose as a writer, what drives me to improve, how I hope to create lasting stories that will outlive me and how this will contribute to becoming a Christian scholar. The introduction will include when I discovered my love for writing and what inspired me to become a storyteller. I’ll briefly discuss my writing process, ideas, imagination and the power of feedback. The discussion will move to my desire to create memorable stories with staying power, similar to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, deep diving into my motivations for writing and what I believe is vital to creating these lasting stories. Lastly, I’ll discus the process of becoming a Christian scholar and how my writing and faith have informed my creative efforts. Throughout I weave relevant details about my thesis novel, My Next-Door Neighbor is a Dragon Princess. The second section, the critical paper, discusses the key elements necessary to create a detailed, believable fantasy world in such a way as to become a lasting endeavor so audiences decades from now will still read the book(s) and talk about them. I’ve decided to use J.R.R. Tolkien as a mentor and guide through the discussion with a focus on four key steps to world building: setting, history, morality and the Fall, and the human spirit. After a brief discussion about complete world building itself, I will touch upon enchantment and sub-creation in brief and delve into how Tolkien’s work has inspired me. I’ll briefly note some similarities in my own work or where I’m striving to emulate Tolkien the most. The depth and breadth of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the ultimate example of building a fantasy world that transcends time and trends, more than seventy years after they were written and fifty years since the author’s death.

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