The Hobbit was started all of a sudden while JRRT was grading an exam paper and found a blank page. In a burst of inspiration, he scribbled the opening sentence, "In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit." He then spent time "discovering" Bilbo and Hobbits in general. He finished it as a child's tale and passed out to friends "for fun." It was only because an editor got wind of it and asked for a copy that the book was ever published.
After the book recieved great praise, the publishers asked for another story. Tolkien submitted his latest draft of the Silmarillion, but they rejected it and asked for a sequel to the Hobbit. Tolkien decided to elaborate on the ring angle, and started writing The Lord of the Rings, a different, and much more chilling tale.
The way the writing styles differ is (in my opinion) prolly because Tolkien was much more serious about LOTR. The Hobbit was more of a hobby, if you will. It was just Tolkien having fun imagining and playing around with his silly little hobbit, Bilbo. LOTR however, was a request from the publisher. He thought more deeply about it, and was therefore much more intense in his writing. It was written to be an actual novel, and not a lighthearted children's book.
For more info, check out Myth Maker: J.R.R. Tolkien by Anne E. Neimark
[ May 12, 2002: Message edited by: Niere-Teleliniel ]
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