Originally, he planned to write a story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another adventure to gain more; however, he remembered the Ring and its powers and thought that would be a better focus for the new work.
Isprva je želio napisati priču u kojoj je Bilbo potrošio svo svoje bogatstvo te je bio u potrazi za novom pustolovinom u kojoj bi ponovno stekao blago; međutim, sjetio se prstena i njegovih moći pa je odlučio radije pisati o tome.