I’ve had a fascination with J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings since the 7th grade thanks to Robert E Cummins.

In addition to crafting an amazing story, Tolkien invented his own alphabets, and DREW maps, sketches, diagrams, etc in order to build the Middle-Earth world. Pretty cool stuff to get a glimpse into Tolkien’s process for building such an immersive story and world.

“In a letter to his publisher’s proofreader, he revealed his writing process. He ‘started with a map, and made the story fit (generally with meticulous care for distances),’ adding that its reverse, ‘to compose a map from a story’ is ‘weary work.’”

http://www.wired.com/2015/10/see-jrr-tolkien-lord-of-the-rings-middle-ea…