Was Tolkien a manchild?
>>46478840
Undoubtedly. If he was born after 1985, he would undoubtedly be a fedora-wearing neckbeard.
>>46478840
No, but most of his fans are.
>>46478840
Absolutely.
He was a master linguist, researched for years about the Norse people and their mythos, a hardcore Christian, smoked a pipe, discussed all things fantasy and scholarly with a group of like-minded professors, and I believe once taught a class while dressed in armor.
>>46478840
Most great artists are. So are the majority of game devs who /v/ doesn't universally loathe. They're just -successful- manchildren, which is what differentiates them from the people on /tg/.
>>46478840
is OP taking memes too seriously
He served in WW1
>>46479080
>he's never hung out with military bros
Dude there's so many nerds, would-be NEETs if they could manage it, lazy dorks and weebs in the military that it's not even funny.
reminder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXAvF9p8nmM
>>46479365
this makes me feel terribly nostalgic
>>46478840
He had a job, did military service in the Somme, had a family's his own, had friends, was respected across the world for his work, left a great legacy for his children and has remembered long after his death.
>>46478840
He was independent, employed, contributed to society, and wrote some of the most beloved fantasy books ever.
He dressed appropriately, and as far as I can tell lived his life in a fairly average and ordinary way.
You, on the other hand..
>shitposting on an anonymous, anime imageboard
>think you have any business critiquing anything outside of snack food and internet porn
>>46479200
I can verify this as well. I was airborne infantry for 5 years, in two different units. The amount of /tg/ in the enlisted guys was shocking. Totally cool with it, but not expected.
>>46478840
All great fantasy writers were.
>>46479625
Same experience here, and I'm from the other side of the Atlantic. Made for fun tabletop rpg sessions.
>>46479814
Even the four evangelists?
>>46478840
>tfw Tolkien got CS Lewis's Space Trilogy published
>tfw CS Lewis pushed Tolkien to complete LOTR for years
Bros 4 Life
>>46479840
Especially the four evangelists.
>>46479848
>The Silmerilion was a result of Tolkien and Lewis spitballing ideas of various takes on mythos
>>46479876
If you haven't read it, I highly recommend 'A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and a Great War'
>>46479848
>>46479063
No, he's a troll. The people replying, however, are, well, I don't want to be mean, but they're not doing themselves many favours.
>>46479848
Except they weren't bros for life, because they got into a disagreement over Narnia which hurt their friendship.
>>46479840
That implies they were in any way "great", which they really weren't, save greatly influential.
>>46480004
>Aslan & Gandalf joining up on a Noble-bright Fantasy Adventure.
>>46479589
I was going point out that this isn't an anime board, and then I thought on it for a while, and decided that you probably are right
>>46479625
Actually many autists/aspergers like military life because it has rigid order and structure. Might be related.
>>46478997
That's positively awesome.
>>46478840
>Was Tolkien *insert meaningless bullshit*?
Ohai, person who has never achieved and never will achieve a single thing with their pointless half-existence! I wondered where you'd gone.
>>46478840
Perhaps, but not in a bad way.
>>46478840
Even if he was, anyone who had to fight in WW1 gets a free pass to be one.
>>46480972
>>46479830
>>46479625
>>46479200
>modern, elite, volunteer armies in virtual peacetime
>at all similar to large, conscript armies engaged in continuous trench warfare during one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history
Insert a joke here about military intelligence.
>>46478840
He spent his life writing a canon of massive books all about this cool language he invented and also how gross and scary spiders are.
>>46479080
Yeah, like about 70 millions other people, that makes him so fucking special...
>>46479509
>left a great legacy for his children
You mean he left them with never-ending tap of money? Because last time I checked, all his scions were busy milking whatever was left by the old grump
>>46478997
>and I believe once taught a class while dressed in armor.
My world history teacher in high school used to do shit like this. He was pretty awesome.
>>46480929
Except, 4chan as a whole is an anime board. There are various topics to choose from, but it's roots and it's theme are anime. Take a look at the page, the banners, the japanese shit everywhere..
I'm kind of surprised there is someone here that doesnt realize they are on an anime messageboard.
For the record, I dont like anime and think it's 1 step away from my little pony faggotry.
>>46480972
Autists/aspies dont survive in the infantry. We identify weakness, and send it to a support unit.
>>46482036
>>46480929
Look, don't try to fight it, you spend most of your day on a chinese cartoon image board.
>>46481445
>virtual peacetime
Anon, this ever so slightly offends me. I deployed to Iraq in 2005-6 and 2006-7. Nothing peaceful about living on an outpost in a hostile AO, 30 minutes from the nearest FOB.
>>46479365
Why should I watch this, again?
>>46478997
>smoked a pipe
>>46482073
Ehh, I work 40 hours a week. I spend short portions of my days off here.
>>46480618
>you can't ever disagree with your bros or you aren't bros anymore
Bro, you need to learn more about broship. The strongest bros are the bros that fight, and then come together anyway. There was also a big rift between them re: Anglicism vs. Catholocism, but they were still bros despite that.
>Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.
-- C. S. Lewis, Tolkien's pal
>>46478997
And fought bitterly contested battles in World War I. Including one of the bloodiest in history. He wrote about fantasy in part to make statements about reality.
He had a healthy marriage, raised four good children, had an incredible education, a great career at the top of his profession with solid scholarly achievements, a deeply held religious life where he contributed to philosophy and theology (not even his academic disciplines), and served his country in battle when it was required.
I'm trying to think of what makes a person more completely a man than that. I think your definition of manhood is flawed.
>>46482036
>I don't like anime
get a load of this faggot
>>46482146
Plus you can suck each others dicks and it's not gay due to being bros. That really helps conflict.
>>46480004
For a second there I thought Aslan was licking his crotch, like cats do. Sorry.
>>46480889
Can LotR be described adequately as "Noblebright," though? Just about everything in it has a theme of the world as slightly less than what it once was. The destruction of the Trees, the destruction of Númenor, the departure of the Elves, etc. It's certainly not grimdark, but it's not exactly all-the-way-bright-eyes-fairy-tale either. He arguably has some stories like that but I don't think LotR really qualifies.
I need to re-read Narnia.
>>46482234
>Plus you can suck each others dicks and it's not gay due to being bros
b-bro...
>>46482232
Ok, I like Akira. Thats it though, and I tried to watch it a couple years ago for the first time in 10+ years - it was excruciatingly cringy.
>>46482340
To be fair, anime has made some really good sci fi settings. GiTS, Gundam, NGE, ect...The list goes on and on.
>>46482264
I'd say LotR is light example of nobledark. Not stereotypical nobledark work, but it's not bright enough to be bright.
>>46482264
Have you read The Children of Hurin?
That pretty much takes Noblebright off the table for LoTR
>>46483122
I have, and that's certainly another example I could have used. Thanks.
>>46479200
One of the best little moments of my military career was when my psg and squad leaders were giving me shit about my 40k stuff during an inspection and then my fsg walked in and started talking shop. Was glorious.
>>46482117
the feels
>>46479200
But OP said manchild.
>>46483240
Damn thats awesome. I hated my first squad leader so much, I used to fantasize about killing him. God damn that motherfucker was dumb. Im still amazed he survived our deployment - I saw him do so much stupid ass shit.
>>46478840
Tolkien was not a manchild. He was a child who had to grow to become a man, as many children are fated to, and yet remained a man whom never lost the all-important fragment of child despite the many hardships life presented to him.
>>46478840
No. He just didn't need to maintain a facade of maturity 24/7 to prove his manhood: dude already served in the trenches.
>>46482113
Iraq war
6,800 US casualties in 13 years
WW1
658,700 British casualties in 4 years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fssPqRWx9U0
>>46478840
Everyone's a manchild by someone's standard, haven't you been on 4chan long enough to know that?
Fact is, only the most childish of them let it bother them.
>>46478840
>fought in WWI
>managed to become a productive member of society in spite of his wartime experiences
>had a successful marriage
>had several kids
>did a decent job of raising them
>held a steady job
>as a university professor
>at the most fucking prestigious university in the world
>on top of day job becomes a sucessful author
>an author who creates some the great works of fiction of the 20th century
>these works become a franchise that are beloved by millions of people helps provide for his decendants long after his death
>manchild
>>46485339
1 American life is worth at least 100 British lives so it evens out
>>46485740
>1 American life is worth the least, around 00.1 British lives.
Ftfy.
>>46485740
>>46485946
Meanwhile, everyone else would be content to see them die 1:1.
>>46485946
>American lives
>worth anything
Anon, I am disappoint.
>>46486028
>>46485339
>>46485740
Well that got very mean, very quickly.
>>46486028
>>46486028
>Be me, ( >>46485946 ) brain melted after studying for a big damn test in colleg tomorrow.
>Oh, this fag has slightly annoyed me, I'll insult him and all of his countrymen.
>Noone gets angry, some even agree.
>>46486059
Thanks anon.
>>46485946
That awful grammar makes it hard to tell, but, are you saying some James Bond shit? Any 1 American life no matter what quality is at least worth one 00 agent's life?
That's a nice compliment I guess. I can see why you'd want to suck up to the yanks considering how you didn't say that in grammatically poor German.
>>46486188
That's some desperate, reality-denying damage control right there. Your ego must look like Rihanna after she made Chris Brown's sammich wrong again.
>>46486149
Seriously Anon, what the fuck?
It's not even banter it's just nasty.
>>46485339
So you've never been on patrol in Anbar province during the Sunni uprising? Is that what you're trying to say here. Because we know you werent in WW1. And we know you wouldnt be trying to take anything away from my experience due to your own feelings of jealousy and being ineffectual?
I'll just assume you're a self-loathing pissant that can only catches glimpses of self-worth by insulting others. On the internet.
>>46481916
try googling the battle of the Somme one of these days.
>>46486331
To be fair, if Tolkien wasnt infantry or a small handful of other combat roles, his service doesnt amount to jack shit. I love the guy, but just saying.
>>46486320
You may have dealt with some shit, and I doubt I'd want to be in your shoes if I could trade, but get the fuck over yourself, anon.
Some people always have and always will be in absolute shitty conditions in comparison to others in the world. Sucks it was you, but that's life.
Using your own experiences to justify a claim that now is comparable to WW1 is narcissism to a revolting degree.
>>46482180
>>46486320
kek you went and killed some babies and think there's something legitimate to take away from?
reminder
>>46486384
>Tolkien arrived at the Somme in early July 1916. In between terms behind the lines at Bouzincourt, he participated in the assaults on the Schwaben Redoubt and the Leipzig Salient. On 27 October 1916, as his battalion attacked Regina Trench, Tolkien came down with trench fever.
He did some combat leading troops mostly since he was an officer but for the most part he kept catching the diseases in the trench and had to be sent back to the hospital. After he was sent back his entire unit was wiped out.
Btw his unit was the Lancashire fusiliers an infantry unit.
>>46486597
The I was just following orders line doesn't really work in modern time since you aren't exactly drafted. You go into war knowing and willing that you will kill and be killed for something that really couldn't even be classed as a great service to your country right now.
Bitchtit is to much of a pussy special snowflake that can't man up that he was wrong and thought the army was special get-fit and shoot guns gym time with added approving pats on the back.
>>46486597
Am I supposed to be upset with that guy? Was that your point?
>>46486320
>He signed up to go to a shitty desert and get spooked by IEDs on false premises while his wife cucks him back home
LMAOing at your life
His theology and ethics were so perfect that he could only live through fantasy.
>>46478840
Only in a select few ways, particularly his views on women and romance. He's really lucky he found a woman who put up with his shit.
>>46478840
No. He served in World War One. That was a century ago where fighting in war was still a symbol of manhood unlike the millions of basement dwelling neckbeards we have now.
>>46481935
They could be much, much more moneygrubbing about it... I think Chris Tolkien even bellyached about the LOTR movies and the merch that went with them because he hated his dad's work being plastered on Burger King cups.
If anything it seems like his legacy is a burden... sort of like having Elvis or Johnny Cash for a dad. Your whole life pretty much revolves around organizing dad's work, answering questions about dad, and it would have been apparent from a fairly early age that you'd be living under that shadow your whole life.
>>46487743
It still is the ultimate symbol of manhood, that will never change. What will is your inabilty to meet the challenge as a man.
>>46478840
He wrote fiction/fantasy. So yes, he was a manchild in that he made an occupation off of them instead of contributing to society.
But he also made a living and became a successful and well-published author who held his spaghetti in long enough to get a wife and a few kids. Not to mention he lived through the Big One and came out without serious shellshock. So the guy had to have some degree of resolve.
Childlike affinity? Yeah.
Manchild? No. He was a mature, if eccentric, contributing member of society.
>>46479625
The military/unironic Trump supporters/gun nuts may have a higher weeb concentration than any otherwise unrelated interest group on earth. I blame the /pol/ /a/ /k/ love triangle
>>46489985
Or... they may not. No, noooo, definately not as those are areas in which typical masculine traits are still valued. By definition they do not attract weebs and anime fags.
>>46478840
Yes, he was, TBh AF his best book was for children btw.
>>46478840
1) How hard is it to become a decent writer who can live off his writing, if you put in a respectable amount of time each day?
2) Is good writing an acquired skill or is it an unreachable goal for most people despite hard work?
3.) I'm 25 and working construction. I really want this monotony to end. Where would I start?
>>46492246
Hey anon. Not a writer, but I know some and work in a creative field.
>How hard
Imagine the time and effort it takes to become an engineer or a lawyer, only there's absolutely no guarantee you'll have even a mediocre living at the end of the training. I guess what I'm saying is don't quit your day job.
>learned or nah
Learning and practice is a must. IMO "talent" comes from an early interest in reading and storytelling, or a unique voice/point of view.
>where to start
Best place to start is to sit your ass down and start writing. A screenwriter once told me he had to write five shitty screenplays before he wrote one that was any good.
Charlie Stross is a sf writer with some excellent blog posts about the ups and downs of the publishing world.
Stephen King's book "On Writing" is one of the only books about writing I can really recommend.
>>46492246
>How hard is it to become a decent writer who can live off his writing, if you put in a respectable amount of time each day?
>2) Is good writing an acquired skill or is it an unreachable goal for most people despite hard work?
If you work at it, and take and apply correction from people that know what they're doing, you can get decent enough in time. However, making a living at it is really hard. You either have to be really, really prolific (like crapping out a romance novel a month), or really hit big and get big name recognition. The former is more likely, but the most likely is that, if you manage to even publish, you get one or two thousand over the course of your life. There's a lot of competition out there.
>>46482120
tfw I smoke a pipe
>"Bro is that weed"
>Nope. Tobacco.
>"Can I have a hit?"
Don't smoke a pipe. It's suffering.
>>46486320
How was the food?
How were the trenches? Any disease (non STD) or PTSD from shelling?
You get to call home or listen to music at all?
Any lice or rat infestations?
How long is the rotation on the front lines?
Serious questions military anon, I don't know what the field conditions are like in modern war.
>>46478840
HERETIC
>>46492246
1) being decent writer and living off your writing are two separate, frequently unrelated things - see: Stehenie Meyer, E.L.James, Dan Abnett, etc.
2) acquired skill attainable by majority of people who managed to finish secondary education, but it takes various amount of time
3) buy rubber hose, plastic bag and duct tape, borrow helium tank from construction site
>>46478840
He was a soldier and professor. So no.
>>46494134
People in academia are the worst kind of menchildren. Especially those with strong focus on their single field of expertise.
>>46482167
I used to agree with this phrase.
Then I noticed how many geeks are fucking spoiled brats.
(I also noticed that it's the only C.S. Lewis quote that geeks bother to mention anymore. Guess we don't want Michael Moorcock or Phillip Pullman do be sad...)
>>46482061
>infantry.
I never got why people do this to themselves.
>>46492246
>3.) I'm 25 and working construction. I really want this monotony to end. Where would I start?
Are you anglo or spanish? This is important, don't even think about writing career if you live in some irrelevant country such as Germany.
>>46494472
you need meatshields
>>46478840
Man child? No. Mildly autistic? Yes.
He loved his wife and invented an elven name for her. She made him promise not to out it on her grave
He did anyway
>>46494561
Slav-elf slave? What do?
>>46486597
>7tg/ is a proud SJW cuckhole
No news senpai.
>>46485108
T-thanks for reminding me he's dead.
I don't want to die.
>>46492246
I work as a writer for an online company. It pays pretty good and I'd be a rich man if I lived in a country with lower cost of living.I write lewd stuff though. Whether or not you want a career depends on what sort of material you're willing to write for a living.
>>46478840
The dude fought in a war and got laid. So nah
>>46493379
I know that feel
>>46485108
>"I never called Edith Luthien – but she was the source of the story that in time became the chief part of the Silmarillion. It was first conceived in a small woodland glade filled with hemlocks at Roos in Yorkshire (where I was for a brief time in command of an outpost of the Humber Garrison in 1917, and she was able to live with me for a while). In those days her hair was raven, her skin clear, her eyes brighter than you have seen them, and she could sing – and dance. But the story has gone crooked, & I am left, and I cannot plead before the inexorable Mandos."
>>46483240
what about all the people you killed or helped others to kill :^)
>>46493931
On a FOB the food is good. On an outpost where light and airborne units often get assigned, its really bad. Prepackaged boil in bag 'eggs', gelatinous 'meatloaf', etc. You lose a lot of weight.
No trenches. Only diseases that ever hit us were epidemics of debilitating diarrhea, I managed to steer clear of it every time. As for PTSD from shelling - I couldnt tell you how many mortars and rpg's have impacted near me. The real threat that got in your head though, IED's. Watch the humvee in front of you get disintigrated a few times, then try driving down that same road 5x a week for the next 10 months. Theres def an element of stress.
Calls home and music varies depending on a few things. My company had 1 satellite phone on the outpost, we each got a call once a month. If you're a pog on a FOB, you're calling home or listening to music probably whenever you want.
No lice. Never saw any rats, but Iraq has a shit ton of feral dogs that prowl around in packs. They gave our position away more than once.
Rotation to front lines. I deployed with the 82nd and the 25th. Both times my unit spent the majority/all in outposts, which is living with the enemy, behind the lines. With the 25th we ran missions and patrols out of FOB Kalsu for a few months. Which meant we got running water showers and a 'bed' 3-4 times a week.
Its not WW 1, but its no fucking picnic I can assure you of that.
>>46494472
>>46494556
Nah we arent meatshields. We're the only ones out there, who would we be shielding. Everyone else is 5+ cliks away on a base.
Why did I do it to myself? I have three brothers, my youngest was joining up. It was 2003, my mom was a wreck thinking about her baby. Im the oldest, I felt obligated to go, even though there was nothing I could really do to protect him. It was mostly for my mom, irrational as it may sound.
>>46500485
I don't think anyone was calling it a picnic, but the West is definitely "virtually peaceful" compared to the early 20th century.
You happen to be one of the few people who volunteered for it to be a nerve-wracking, dangerous warzone instead. I can't criticise you for that because I'd be far too chickenshit to sign up with even a chance of deployment (and probably too chickenshit to sign up without it if I'm being honest) but the wars in the Middle East and even the terrorist attacks are all far safer and less resource-intensive than WW1 ever was.
>>46493931
Watch 'Restrepo' in Youtube or where ever else you can find it. It's 100% real, shot entirely on an outpost, and gives you a thorough glimpse into the life of a modern infantryman in the combat zone.
>>46500485
Pretty much sounds like every war after world war 2 for the U.S, a shit ton of police work with military weapons in a country thousands of miles away. Not as bad as the other wars but still worse than anyone at home will probably have to deal with.
>>46494181
>Especially those with strong focus on their single field of expertise.
But he was an English professor with strong backgrounds in moral philosophy, theology, and history
>>46498074
Sometimes I dabble in writing mediocre lewd on 4chan.
What site is it? Are they hiring?
>>46478840
Of all the possible terms for the /tg/ population, "manchild" is the one that least applies to him.
>All these awesome old people are dead or dying.
Man does our generation have fucking anything going for it? I mean, Rowling is kinda alright but she's no Tolkien.
>>46499956
die in my sleep plz
>>46478840
yes.
Not because of anything he did. But because everyone is basically larger, slightly smarter, children.
>>46489486
t. Schlomo shekelstein
Purity of the weapon right Ari?
>>46501692
It's not all bad. We've got Stephenie Meyer
>>46501692
Michael Moorcock is a bit of a whiner, but a decent author. Old, though so...yeah.
>>46486501
And yet here we are having this thread.
>>46493379
what do you smoke?
l like the bland dryness of buttered rum mixes
>>46478840
>Was Tolkien a manchild?
>manchild
>>46501692
No genius is appreciated in their own generation. The next generation are going to pine for people we don't know too much about.
>>46501215
Yeah vietnam, korea and iraq sure buddy
>>46503636
>korea
yeah I forgot about Korea since no one talks about it.
Vietnam and Iraq were pretty much police since vietnam wasn't invaded in the north except through bombings and Iraq was blitzkrieged and went through huge policing after the initial war *unless you're talking about desert storm which was beating the fuck out of saddam*
>>46503807
37k Americans died in Korea, 58k in Vietnam
>>46504258
Vietnam was going on for a much longer period almost a decade while korea was a much shorter period.
>>46503807
Anon, its a far cry from police work. I know that from where you sit, it's easy to demean what those guys went through. But if you are running missions and patrols on a daily basis, sleeping 4-6 hours a day, staying awake days at a time, getting 3-4 water bottles a week to bathe with, living on the nastiest shit youve ever eaten, and getting ambushed, or having your op attacked on a weekly basis - that is not police work.
I get that you only have what you've read and seen to go off of. But a combat mos in a hostile AO is nothing at all like police work.
>>46504258
He didnt say we where good at police work
>>46504497
Is this what your life has come to anon? Baiting veterans on an anonymous anime imageboard?
>>46504258
Korea was a fucking shit show. My old battalion has a burning of the colors ceremony every year because they were overrun and nearly wiped out during a surprise attack. Some of the survivors would come to the ceremony and we got to eat with them. There was only one guy who lived and didn't get captured.
>Combat Engineer battalion providing security for 3 other Engineer bat. who were building a road
>suddenly Chinese
>overwhelming numbers
>three non combat battalions pull back, Combat battalion stays to give them time to fully retreat
>guy says they held them off for most of the day, but knew they were going to get overrun come nightfall
>CO orders colors burned so enemy doesn't capture them
>major assault, guy says he's killing zips left and right but they keep coming
>one jumps in his hole so he bayonets him
>another jumps in after, bayonets him too
>gets shot by a third, bayonets him as well
>fourth dives in, shoots him again
>bayonet stuck in dead chink, strangles newcomer
>gets bayonetted thru his back, blacks out for a bit
>wakes up, recovers rifle, reloads it
>gets back to work, shoots some more from his hole
>gets charged by two more, uses rifle as a spear and a club and beats them to death too
>finally they get the hint and chunk a grenade in his hole
>isurelythoughtiwasdead.jpg
>wakes up next morning, field is deserted, barely able to move
>says fuck it, ain't dying here and starts walking
>runs into reinforcement force 2 days later completely delirious, asking if his dog back home is okay
>"That's how I got this silver star Sgt. Anon"
>stunned silence
And then he just asked me to pass the salt. Even his wife was shocked, apparently he'd never told the story to anyone and only came because it was the 50th anniversary of the battle. All the other guys were POWs, their stories are fucking horrible too.
>>46482113
Fighting to take oil from shitskins for corporate overlords =/= glorious and honorable combat
>>46504833
>>46504788
>police work
>>46486597
I'm not sure what the problem here is.
>>46504863
Well, it doesn't.
>>46504864
I'm not sure what you're referring to or implying
>>46504985
>WWI
>glorious and honorable combat
>>46504993
Sarcasm doesnt really work on the internet, sorry bro.
It was referring to the earlier posts labeling any war after ww2 as 'police work'.
The Korea vets story is clearly not police work.
>>46504985
You dont get it anon. Politics and bullshit doesnt even enter the equation when you're out in the AO. It's about survival, and doing the right thing for your buddy, yourself, and often for innocent haji's that were unlucky enough to be born into that world. So all your insults, shitty opinions, and high-horsing is just wasted words from some anon that has no idea what he's even talking about.
It's ok though man, I still dont hold it against you. Hopefully you one day learn the value of empathy, and putting yourself in the shoes of others.
>>46505195
>>46505077
It's all good man, I was legitimately confused as to your meaning. "Police action" was just basically made to convince the American people that we weren't actually going to war. Like "advisors" and "boots on the ground", it's just bullshit that's been feed to the media and regurgitated so many times its entered the social conciousness.
>>46486597
>"civilians"
>trying to drag wounded enemies to safety in the middle of a firefight
>or pick up weapons
>in the middle of a firefight
Kek
>>46504349
God damn I hate discussion boards sometimes It makes it easier to mess up what im trying to say. All im saying is that although every war sucked the ones currently with third world countries are different in the fact that they have to find the enemy among civilians and keep public order. I'm not trying to demean any one who fought in any of these wars.although it was easier to die in World War One and Two due to the huge numbers mobilised
>>46482180
Well, religion qualifies for manchild, just not the fedora-type of manchild.
>>46507524
>religion qualifies for manchild
>just not the fedora-type of manchildbut Anon, you ARE the fedora-type
>>46500394
Shut it Achmed you camel fucking sand nigger.
>>46493379
>Having shitty friends
Sounds like your fault.
Puff puff pass isn't a right, it's a privilege.
>>46492246
>1) How hard is it to become a decent writer who can live off his writing, if you put in a respectable amount of time each day?
Start writing copy or become a technical writer. That's what I do.
Accept that you will never ever in your life make a decent living writing literary fiction.
>2) Is good writing an acquired skill or is it an unreachable goal for most people despite hard work?
No good writer considers their writing good. They are in a constant battle with themselves, pushing the envelope and refining their prose to make it conform to ludicrously high standards.
>3.) I'm 25 and working construction. I really want this monotony to end. Where would I start?
I'm teaching now, but I worked construction as well for about five years. The monotony never ends, it just takes on different forms. Writing is monotonous. Teaching is monotonous.
So, to review:
You will never be a good writer if you want to be a good writer.
You must accept that monotony and discomfort are inescapable parts of life.
You must accept that you will never make a decent living off of your craft. You will have to supplement your income with other projects, like teaching or writing on spec.
The only way to become a millionaire writer is to write terrible fiction for the lowest common denominator. The bitch who wrote Divergent was literally in a college composition class when she first published, and it fucking shows.
Choose integrity or choose genre fiction.
>>46510385
>You will never be a good writer if you want to be a good writer.
Why would you apply harder standards to your writing if you didn't want to be a good writer? That don't make sense.
>genre fiction
/lit/ please, this is a Tolkien thread for heaven's sakes
>>46510495
I meant you will never feel like a good writer if you want to be a good writer. The only consistent element of any writer you'd consider "good" are extremely high standards and the ability to effectively self-edit. They'll go through draft after draft after draft before they even think of submitting it to an editor who will tell them to write a couple more drafts.
>Tolkien
>genre fiction
It doesn't count as genre fiction if you're the guy who fucking invented the genre.
>>46491911
You'd be amazed at what hobbies military dudes would be into. Or how many weebs are also gun nuts. Don't assume that masculinity and liking weebshit are mutually exclusive.
>>46510557
Fantasy was certainly a genre when Tolkien was writing. Though it was certainly different before his impact. The 18th Lord Dunsany comes to mind for pre-Tolkien fantasy, and he wasn't even writing pulp.
>>46501692
We've got GRRM and Rowling, I guess. Miura too if you don't mind manga.
Two of them will almost certainly die before they finish their respective series.
>>46494382
>Guess we don't want Michael Moorcock or Phillip Pullman do be sad…
They do that all on their own. I have met very few people as openly bitter about life in general as Moorcock. Don't know what happened to the guy, but it can't have been good.
Pullman, now, Pullman is just a hack. He tries SO HARD to fight Lewis on an intellectual level. But the poor fella ends up turning into the caricature of modern atheism that Lewis and Chesterton predicted two generations before.
>>46511719
At least that one scene in The Amber Spyglass was pretty fappable back when I read it back in, like, sixth grade
And Lee Scoresby was cool. But fuck that ending, man, what a bullshit twist.
>>46511554
does rowling come close to jrrt or even gurm?
>>46502980
About anything really. But primarily Lat blends, Virginias and VaPers.
>>46510270
Truth. Those few times I have been nice and was like "yeah whatever", they smoke it as if it's weed. Lighter deep into the bowl deeply inhaling and then handing it back to me saying "eh ive had better". Meanwhile all thats going on in my head is in pic related
>>46499956
>>46512191
In terms of story quality? Honestly no.
In terms of popularity and possibly even legacy? Yes.
>>46512384
The thing about JKR is that she bottled lightning. Legacy, I don't know. The movies became far more popular than the books.
>>46512424
We'll obviously not know about her legacy for a long time, but it's possible. She's already being heralded as one of England's best authors, which, while HP is good, I don't believe.
Also, the movie/show for everything is more popular than the books. It's just the way people are.
>>46512480
>She's already being heralded as one of England's best authors
really?
I mean, fucking really?
I loved reading the books when I was younger but one of england's best? On the same level as dickens and doyle?
>>46511941
>Lee Scoresby was cool
Damn right he was. Only good thing about the series.
> But fuck that ending, man, what bullshit
Agreed
>>46512560
I know. One of the best of this era, maybe. MAYBE. But one of the best period? absolutely not.
>>46512480
>One of England's best authors
Of course everyone forgets about Susan Cooper. Who came up with half of Rowlings basic ideas. The other half being LeGuin.
>>46512656
not familiar with them familia.
>>46512627
Man, what happened to the world?
>>46512714
Susan Cooper, author of The Dark Is Rising sequence. English schoolboy gains his inheritance on his eleventh birthday, fights a Dark Lord with magical tools gained through a quest. Very Celtic. Written in the early eighties IIRC
Ursula K. LeGuin, wrote the Wizards of Earthsea series.
>>46512958
so JKR might have copied themes
>>46513013
As someone who read Cooper before reading Harry Potter, it didn't feel copied, it felt outright stolen.
>>46513089
So is cooper better than jkr in worldbuilding?
>>46492246
Writing that pays the bills is shit work like text broker and peddling self published smut on amazon. It's just a different kind of drudgery.
Making a living writing /tg/ shit is pretty much a dead end. You're probably better off applying that time and effort into getting an accounting degree so at least you won't have to do physical labor till your body gives out.
That said, write 500 words a day, every day. There are plenty of forums around looking for free lancers, but the pay is shit. Just like any other job you have to start at the bottom.
Make sure you're stuff is ready to see an editor when it hits their inbox. If your stuff is full of grammatical errors and such they won't even bother.
>2) Is good writing an acquired skill or is it an unreachable goal for most people despite hard work?
It's skill that can be improved upon like many others, but really you need the connections and ability to market yourself to make it a career ya know?
>>46513137
Hmm.
That's a good question. As far as that, she didn't really create a world outside the actual. It was early urban fantasy that way. The mystic elements just…happened.
>>46501366It's not really a website.
>>46513326
so much like JKR then.
>>46504670
>>46504349
>>46500485
>>46486320
So what's war like for officers?
I'm a cadet at a senior military college and most of my buddies want to be either infantry or armor officers.
Our seniors already got their branches and I believe about half got infantry slots.
I'm trying to get MP because my GPA and PT aren't so great but I don't know if you would've had too many experiences with Military Police outside the wire.
>>46512958
>>46513089
Don't forget Books of Magic.
Rowling claimed that she'd never heard of it, but the parallels between the protagonists are pretty blatant.
>>46479625
40K and 1st Ed AD&D during alert lockdowns in Korea.
>>46513359
What do you mean?
>>46482061
Or if they can stay quiet for two days of laying in their own filth, and do mil dot math easily, they go to Snipers. Lol.
>>46482113
We were there the same time in 2005-6, I was 2nd Brigade, 101st.
>>46514284Visual novels.
what would tolkien think of anime?
>>46479365
goddamn
I always loved Tolkien, even when I was a kid, but the more I learn the more I realize how much of another level he was on. I'm sure there's still shit in his works we haven't been able to pick up on.
also feels
>>46514370
You're a shit writer and a hack, then. Also the people you work for are the laziest VN creators in the industry.
>>46482146
There was also the issue of Atheism vs. Catholicism, but they were such bros it was resolved.
>>46515193
see, people like tolkien are proof that people are sometimes more than the sum of their parts.
>>46515227
>You're a shit writer and a hack, then.
I write exactly what my audience wants, which is generic animu harem plots where not a lot happens. There isn't a market for story driven visual novels right now, and there probably won't be for quite some time.
>Also the people you work for are the laziest VN creators in the industry.
Hardly, actually. The artists do fantastic and fast work, not to mention that the coder I'm currently working with has been working nonstop for the last seven months on our latest project.
>>46482036
>it was created as an anime imageboard, therefore it is an anime imageboard now
Nice genetic fallacy. I won't deny that anime has a large influence on the site, but 4chan is no longer specifically an "anime imageboard.
>>46504833
In that case, why does "fighting to see whether the krauts or the srpskis control some worthless piece of trash land" = "glorious combat"?
I don't think that, I think a soldier's deeds in combat are valid regardless of who or what they fought for (but keep in mind the difference between "in combat" and "in war", I don't think Himmler is a badass just because of his 6 gorillion confirmed kills). But why is WWI "glorious" when it was just a bunch of Euros having a pissing contest?
>>46479200
>tfw still in A-School
>base teaches exclusively IT and CT rates
>massive amounts of fa/tg/uys mixed in with CODfags and people with useless tech degrees
>all you have to do is make a YikYak post and you can set up a 2-8 man game of MTG or Munchkins within an hour
>most students and some instructors are exactly how you describe
>>46485424
This.
Even Teddy Roosevelt had an immature view of war and aggression that was only tempered by the death of his son in WWI.
>>46504788
did he get to meet alan alda
>>46514370
>>46515387
I'll be honest, that sounds like barrels of fun.
How did you get involved in something like that?
>>46515256
Well, not really. Lewis was an Atheist until Tolkien persuaded him to convert, which he did... to Anglicism, not Catholocism.
>>46499956
Protip: If you ever find true love just kill yourself immediately so there's no chance of her dying first.
>>46478840
Yes, like all catholics, he was a manchild.
>>46519173
Exactly. They were such bros he converted. Catholicism and Anglicanism certainly have key distinctions, but they certainly agree more than either do with atheists. And from my understanding, Lewis wasn't just an atheist but the era equivalent of a fedora.
>>46486331
Yeah, the battle which was fought by 100 divisions and "only" cost 1,4 million lives. That makes him so fucking special for participating in a battle that was fought by 1/10 of all soldiers ever put to fight in that fucking war.
Seriously, get over the fact his war experience was desk jockey sitting in the hospital, the cosiest of them all. And taking part in something that most of fucking adult men of that time took part in means jack shit, because it's no distinction at all.
>>46487743
>>46486630
>>46479080
Thank God he helped England to... er... um...
Face it, WWI was a spectacularly pointless war with no real objectives that nobody won and everybody lost. Serving in a war is only as admirable as the reason why your side was fighting, so Tolkien deserves exactly no credit for being in a war that happened for no good reason.
>>46519173
I'll be honest with you. It was just sheer luck that I ended up at Winged Cloud. I made a post on the Lemmasoft forums and my employer picked me up from there. He explicitly told me my post was shit, but gave me a chance anyway.
People offer writing jobs and recruit for projects at Lemmasoft . You probably won't find decent pay out of it (like I said, I got lucky), but it could be fun for you to do and you could make a little bit of money out of it.
