Parallels exist, too, between Tolkien and Niggle, the main character in his short story “Leaf by Niggle.” Tolkien explains that this story arose from his preoccupation with The Lord of the Rings, and his fear that the long epic would never be finished. Tolkien was struggling and anxious about his book, and one day he “woke up with a short story in his head.” He wrote it down quickly, with unusual ease. Describing Niggle’s work as a painter, and his own writing process as well, Tolkien
