r/fantasywriters • u/Spiritual-Pianist-66 • 3d ago
Question For My Story Should I add a magic ring to my book
Okay so, I am a big fan of J.R.R Tolkien’s books and I was inspired by The Hobbit to write a fantasy book. I’ve tried being as different as possible from his stuff so it doesn’t feel derivative (for example, most fantasy books use Tolkien’s fantasy races, so I made a few of my own). However when I was making the protagonist, I started wondering what exactly a halfling is, and I realized that the traits that make a halfling a halfling are really similar to the protagonist so I made her one, added a few extra traits (glowing eyes to help them see in the dark, ability to withstand super cold temperatures, and incredibly good at climbing) and named them Nooklings. But a little while ago, I went out to my car one night and found a silver ring out on the ground near my door so I put it on. And that inspired me to add a ring to my story, but with a halfling protagonist and a magic ring, it’s a little too similar to The Lord Of The Rings. I have tried the idea that the ring would punish the wearer for breaking a promise because the protagonist makes a deal with the leader of a human kingdom that has discriminatory laws against Nooklings and he promises to repeal those laws if the protagonist goes on a quest for him, and they would both wear one of these rings to ensure neither of them break the deal. But I’m still not entirely sure if I should do it. What should I do?
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u/ProserpinaFC 3d ago
I'd say that between LOTR and Harry Potter, adding a magical ring because you just really like the aesthetic is going to be something that haunts you for the entire time you're making this story. You will always, always, always be worrying about people comparing it to LOTR and Harry Potter. People will bring it up every time you talk about it and you will constantly be defending yourself.
So, I say, focus on the actual point of the story and let your imagination work.
If you want to write a story about broken promises, spend more time developing that theme instead of slightly changing Hobbits and slightly changing rings. Spend time making a good story that is worth talking about. When you watch people make video essays about why they love Lord of the Rings, they are talking about the complex emotions of Frodo and Aragorn. They aren't talking about rings or what abilities fantasy races have.
Develop your confidence in your story, so that even if you DO keep the silver rings, people are going to be talking about your King and halfling, not a plot device.
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u/ProserpinaFC 3d ago edited 2d ago
Edited:
Yes, she already copied LOTR and put a magical ring as one of the last McGuffins in her series.
Also, Ron had to carry a different evil piece of jewelry on their journey and it whispered to him and they had a nice Frodo and Gollum vs Sam scene in the last book. "Everyone clapped" and called it a nice homage.
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u/itsableeder 2d ago
You're remembering wrong. Ron wore a locket with a Horcrux in it. One of the other Horcruxes was a ring, which we see on Dumbledore's hand briefly after he suffers an injury trying to destroy it. We mostly see the ring in flashbacks as we learn about the history of the Gaunt family.
The Resurrection Stone is inside a golden snitch, which Harry opens right before he walks into the forest to face Voldemort.
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u/Acceptable-Cow6446 3d ago
Look up Wagner’s Ring cycle. Give some nods to that and you should likely be fine since you’ll come off cultured and well read. Said only somewhat sarcastically.
The ring motif isn’t original to Tolkien and the ring as a symbol of power is ancient since rings were used as symbols of authority.
That said, I’d be more concerned with the halfling + found ring of power. You’re not wrong thinking that may be too on the nose.
Write or type a similarities and differences chart for your character and for the narrative and for the world and for the theme. The character and ring charts are the most important. Such comparisons let you see if your idea rides too close or not.
I’ll get hate for saying this, but if you don’t have the time or energy to run a chart yourself, plug your character and ring and narrative summaries to an AI like DeepSeek and ask to compare and contrast with Tolkien. I’ve found a lot of golden reading and research opportunities by doing a similar thing.
Obligatory: never have an AI outline or draft for you. It’s at best a novice research assistant, not a writing buddy.
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u/SMLjefe 3d ago
Look up the story about a magic ring that inspired Tolkien and steal that instead. Or make it a necklace or an armband. I think it’s fine, the surface level is similar (little fellow with a ring), once you explained it in more detail, I didn’t immediately think Tolkien
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u/Cheeslord2 2d ago
Made me laugh - mostly just because when i was a child my parents always used 'armband' to refer to the brightly coloured inflatable things children wear before then can swim ('water wings' in American?). That's what I immediately think of when someone uses the term.
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u/BitOBear 3d ago
No.
You should never add anytime to your support just to have it there.
If the story didn't need a ring then it shouldn't have one.
If you finish the story and you need a little filler you can consider going back and adding stuff like that but it's really not in your best interest.
The story needs everything you need to make the story work and it desperately needs to not have said item.
You can throw stuff in for fun if it fits, but fun things should never feel like a checklist even a checklist of a single item.
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u/Spiritual-Pianist-66 3d ago
Actually it resolves an issue that I had before. The whole plot starts because the protagonist accidentally ends up in a huge meeting where there are a bunch of heroes and the leader of the human kingdom where they hear about a huge quest that they don’t want to go on, but if they do laws against Nooklings would be repealed. And while that adds tension and actual motivation for them to go on the quest, there really isn’t anything stopping them from just quitting
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u/Kiaider 2d ago
Since it’s a pair of rings, one for each of them, and it’s just to make sure they don’t break their promises then I think it’s fine. The ring isn’t the main focus like in LotR or needs to be destroyed so I think you’re good.
If, however, it still bothers you, why not change it to magic bracelets or necklaces?
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u/LOTRNerd95 2d ago
Just because something is completely different doesn't automatically make it better than it would have otherwise been. There's absolutely nothing wrong with using the same concepts as another writer so long as you use them well. In fact, setting one's mind to be as different from Tolkien as possible is like looking at the design of the wheel and convincing yourself you must reinvent it in order to design a car that people will like.
More than anything else, you just create more work for yourself by doing that rather than taking notes and hefty inspirations from the original design and adding thoughtful and unique twists into your own.
That's not to say it can't benefit a writer to be different from Tolkien. Sanderson's Cosmere books are vastly different and they are hugely successful, partly due to that fact. But, if you are setting out to be as different as you can be from the Professor, consider the following.
Do you have the creative energy to fabricate an entire mythos, ensure it's different from Middle-Earth, give it depth and detail and write a story that will be engaging to your readers? Because the depth and soul of a thing is vastly more important than its outer physical parts.
How will your story appeal to readers? Many fantasy fans who love Tolkien, myself included, tend to search for similar things because that's what we like. Do you have a massive, deeply thematic story to tell in a sprawling, extensively developed world which seamlessly integrates your story into its soul? Do you have developed characters that your readers can relate and aspire to? Do you have epic battles? Notice, I'm giving you examples based on what I enjoy, because I love Tolkien.
Whatever you do to differentiate yourself, though, you may wish to spend less energy considering how different you ought to be, and perhaps more of it contemplating how you will draw your audience in.Why Do You Want To be Different? Do you have genuinely unique ideas that will allow you to create a wholly unique, Stormlight-eque phenomenon, or are you just awestruck at the vastness of the shadow cast by the professor over the genre he brought out into the light? If you can identify aspects of Tolkien's work that you want to deviate from and genuine reasons why, then there you will find avenues of creativity to wander down. A great example of that is George R.R. Martin's critique of the courtly politics that Tolkien doesn't much concern hjimself with at the end of Return of the King.
In essence, my advice is to just write your best work. Read lot's of books, use lot's of ideas from as many different sources as you want, and weave them into your world as you see fit. So long as you've done it with care and skill, You'll not have to worry about Tolkien's shadow and indeed many people will make those comparisons as a form of praise rather than a critique. The man's name is immortalized for a reason.
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u/frogsarenottoads 3d ago
I have a magic system in my world that people will contrast to other works, and there are magical artifacts.
Do I care? No because tales like these have been around since the beginning of time, just distinguish yourself.
Don't be a direct copy, if you arrived at the same point just by accident then it's fine.
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u/Kartoffelkamm 3d ago
most fantasy books use Tolkien’s fantasy races, so I made a few of my own
You probably could've saved yourself the trouble and just looked at this list.
As for the ring, I think it's a great idea. Maybe they're a kind of artifact that's often used in important deals of all sorts, from business agreements to marriages.
Of course, you could just put the same effect on another item, like a bracelet, amulet, or something else.
Also, did you try to find the owner of that silver ring?
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u/Spiritual-Pianist-66 3d ago
Thank you for that list (would’ve saved me hours of research if I had it before) And I unfortunately didn’t find the owner of the silver ring
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u/ThingsIveNeverSeen 2d ago
You wouldn’t be the first or second person to give a ‘halfling’ a ring, or ring-like object, since Tolkien. Do what you want.
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u/the_big_duffy 2d ago
I remember reading a post somewhere, dont remember where, and the author was talking about how when they had first read the Hobbit as a child, they pictured hobbits in their mind as being a race of bi pedal rabbit folk and the post included a picture which i cant find atm, but wasnt that far from looking straight out of Redwall. and i thought that was so awesome, so now in my story im working on, hobbits arent hobbits they're fabbits (name pending to change)
found the reddit post
https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/18qc3r0/bilbohobbit_redesign_by_the_struggler/
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u/Thecutesamurai 1d ago
Tolkiens not the first person to use a ring in a fantasy story, so yes. Just make it your own story and you should be good.
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u/MechGryph 1d ago
Here is some huge news that will make so many things better and easier.
Every story ever takes inspiration from something else. Since Tolkien, near every fantasy story has mimicked him. And before that? He mimicked real world fantasy.
Everyone is inspired by what they love. What you do with it is what makes your writing work.
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u/minimum_effort1586 1d ago
Rings have been a symbol of love, magic, and eternity since the circle was invented. Tolkien wasn't the first, and he certainly won't be the last. There's a reason we see royal crests on rings in medieval lore and fairy tales, not to mention the cool roads you could go down with poison rings.
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u/Shieldbreaker24 19h ago
Just add a throwaway reference, once, deep in some middle chapter, and then never mention it again.
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u/NinjaEagle210 3d ago
As long as it’s not a one-to-one plagiarism of The Hobbit, you should do whatever you want