I just don't think there is a better model for giving your work emotional depth and weight than LOTR. using Tolkien's work as my guide has absolutely made me a better writer, and the story I'm working on far more worth reading

there's more gravity to my own work now that I've wrapped my brain around LOTR properly. the sacrificial lamb isn't guaranteed a happy ending. some characters are going to die. the world isn't saved by one person alone, and none of them escape unchanged.