h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A there was me going along to see if was a bit lewd. Was disappointed by 'Shaving Ryan's Privates' as well.

Now, bearing in mind I've only seen the films, if I were going to write an entry about the whole thing, I think I'd look at something like this:

1. An intro that summarises the major themes and incidents in no more than 50 words and is as catchy and melodramatic as good writing might allow.

2. A couple of paragraphs on the background to the book. Why did Tolkien write it? How long did it take and what was the initial reaction? Alternatively, this might make a nice separate entry - 'Origins of the Lord of the Rings'.

3. The story so far - a precis of the history of Middle Earth as it is at the start of the book. Load of rings fashioned, one secretly controls them all, bad man got hold of it but was defeated, people have lived in fear of his return ever since - that kind of thing. Again, just a couple of paragraphs on that.

4. The first book. How are characters and general plot points introduced. I'd suggest being as general as possible. As has already been said, there's no need to write out the whole book. Four or five paragraphs should work well as an overview.

5 & 6 - the other two books, as with point 4.

7. A summary that outlines how important the book has become in popular culture. People know of Gandalf, of hobbits and of a number of other themes in the books despite having never read them. The influence can be felt in Harry Potter and most fantasy writing since the books were published. Now, with the birth of the critically-acclaimed film versions ('Return of the King' is the first film in the SF/Fantasy genre to ever win best film at the Oscars!), a whole new generation are discovering the books for the first time.

This would be a good collaborative topic for about four or five people, each one taking on an aspect of the above.

Hey Jimster,

I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be willing to give you their imput on the books if you were to write an entry. You'll probably end up with way more advice than you could possibly use. Your outline sounds like a good start to me.

- Don

Hello everyone!

The Lord of the Rings entry sounds as though it would be a big project that a lot of people will know about and have opinions about. Therefore, why not try out this new project idea: the Collaborative Account Project.

If you go here: U717892 and A2594324, you will find details on the Collaborator idea - an account that anybody can log in to and then create/edit entries of. You might think it sounds like a stupid idea, but to be safe, we are asking all contributors to back up the version of an entry in the Journal before editing it themselves.

If I am not too late, it could be worth considering...

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Challenge h2g2' to 'The Lord of the Rings'.