Editing The Belgariad (section)

== Background ==
David Eddings, who had been writing adventure and thriller genres, has said he developed the idea for a fantasy series somewhat "cynically" after noticing how many times J. R. R. Tolkien's ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' series had been reprinted.<ref name="hellerNPR30dec2017" /><ref name="floodGUARD4jun2009">{{Cite web|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=4 June 2009|title=Fantasy master David Eddings dies aged 77|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jun/04/david-eddings-dies|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=25 January 2021|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref> He had an epiphany, realizing the fantasy genre might be very lucrative and was currently "underserved".<ref name="floodGUARD4jun2009" /> He mapped out an imaginary world to use in developing the story for the Belgariad.<ref name="floodGUARD4jun2009" />

He has also said he was influenced by reading medieval epics and by [[Lester del Rey]]'s editorial input.<ref name="PWrivan" /> In later works he acknowledged his wife, [[Leigh Eddings]], as an "unindicted collaborator"; eventually later books credited her as co-author.<ref name="PWrivan" /> She is generally acknowledged as a co-author of the earlier books as well.<ref name="dammassa">{{Cite book|last=D'Ammassa|first=Don|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FdS-zQEACAAJ|title=Masters of Fantasy: Volume II|date=11 August 2020|publisher=Independently Published|isbn=979-8-6730-5251-8|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Palmer-Patel, Charul|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1125007425|title=The Shape of Fantasy : Investigating the Structure of American Heroic Epic Fantasy|publisher=|year=|isbn=978-0-429-19926-4|edition=|location=[New York]|page=171|oclc=1125007425}}</ref>