How to plan or write an Adventure, Campaign or Story set in Middle-earth

So you plan to write an adventure or story set in Middle-Earth?

First of all:

The setting:

In which time and region do you want to set your story? the first Age, second age , third age or fourth age all have different settings and political situations, and the time about TA 1640, in which the great northern wars were fought is vastly different from the time of TA 3018/19, the setting of the war of the ring or the early fourth age. Take a look at the timelines and the lands and realms of arda and get familiar with their history to find out which kind of background suits you best.

After you have chosen time and region, try to get to know the lands and location of your setting, which places are relevant, which peoples and cultures dwell in the area, and which animals and monsters populate the region. Who are the lands rulers and which powers are influencing them and their peoples? Is the dark lord active in the area? Are agents of the white council active?

Finally if you have chosen possible adventure locations, check out which characters live in the place, maybe you wish to use some of them as possible npcs.

The next steps: