New Challenge: Bollywood
This month's challenge offers songs, films, and tropes from Bollywood, the world's largest film industry based out of India, as prompts for fanworks.
Challenges have been a part of the SWG since our group was formed in 2005. Before the archive, there were challenges. Before References or any special projects or B2MeM or any of the myriad things we've done over the last decade-plus, there were challenges. Challenges end and a new challenges is posted on the 15th of the month. (Yes, that means there is one thrilling day each month when there are two active challenges!) Participants—both authors and reviewers—will receive a stamp in their challenge stamp collection for their participation. Deadlines apply only if you want your fanwork to receive a stamp.
Every challenge that has ever been offered by the SWG is available for use by creators of fanworks who are looking for inspiration. Even if the deadline for stamps is passed, you are welcome to use the challenges listed on our site. And comments on past challenge fanworks are always welcome and always receive a reward for that month. Want to join us? Click to read the guidelines below!
The world's largest film industry isn't Hollywood, with its stars and scandals and endless sequels but Bollywood, the film industry that originated in Bombay in the late 19th century, more than a decade before Hollywood got its start. This month's challenge celebrates the lively dances, glittering costumes, towering emotions, and music you can't get out of your head of Bollywood.
Prompts this month come from Bollywood films and will be assigned by a moderator. You can request your prompt on Dreamwidth, Tumblr, the #monthly-challenges channel on our Discord, or by emailing the mods. You can specify whether you'd like a song, film title, trope, or color palette—or you can let us surprise you! (If you choose a song, let us know if you'd like a song with an English translation available.) As always, you can use any aspect of your prompt to inspire your fanwork.
In some cases, we provide an intentionally brief and vague synopsis of a film or definition of a concept so that creators can get started with a prompt without having to do additional research. However, creators are welcome to dig deeper into a prompt if they want to and use what they learn to inspire a fanwork. For example, you might find that the film in your prompt has a clever subplot you will write a story around, the music video for a song has costumes you will include in a drawing, or a concept has aspects not included in our definition that you wish to use to make a playlist. While this is not required, you should feel free to dig as deeply into the prompts if you want and use anything you find!
To reflect both the idealistic beginnings and the dark endings that are so frequent in the Legendarium, we invite you to create a fanwork inspired by utopian or dystopian prompts from novels, songs, artworks, or films. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork using one of our quotes from a woman in leadership. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Place the a law, custom, or tradition of Middle-earth as the focus of a fanwork. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Prompts for this Matryoshka challenge are based on the archetypes that pepper myths, legends, and literature found around the world. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, we offered a menu of daily prompts designed to help people connect, show kindness to others, and refocus on their own creativity during this uncertain moment in history. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
While usually the scenes are filmed first and the soundtrack is composed later, this month we want to challenge you to create (or continue) a story after listening to one of our musical prompts. The prompts will be pieces of classical and instrumental music. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
"This idea is completely unworkable, but I bet I can make it work." With that philosophy in mind (if so dignified a word can be used here), create a fanwork using a bingo card with the most bizarre, silly, and crackiest prompts we could conjure. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork in which one (or several) of the holidays of Middle-earth plays a role. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Choose one of the famous first lines from the list below and use it to start your story. If you are creating a fanwork other than writing, you may use one of the first lines to inspire your fanwork. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Try something "in rare form," using a format or genre that is rarely utilized in Tolkien fanfiction. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Select any (or several) of the "mysterious documents" from our prompt set and let them feature in your fanwork. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork that solves a canon problem using your own favorite (or most frustrating!) canon problem to solve or by choosing one of the member-submitted canon problems. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork using a prompt from an LGBTQIA+ person, choosing from music, art, poetry, and quotations. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Prompts for this Matryoshka challenge are loosely based on the plot arcs and tropes of romance novels. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Use a prompt by a female musical artist or a band with a female lead to create your fanwork. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork featuring a rare character or textual ghost in a leading role. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Choose a quote from the canon about love and create a fanwork that responds to the quote. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
A multi-course "feast" of prompts for writing, artwork, reading, commenting, and meta. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Prompts for this Matryoshka challenge are loosely inspired by the predictable plot arcs of hilariously abominable, eye-rollingly corny, so-bad-they're-actually-kinda-good horror films. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork using prompts from a bingo card of sitcom tropes. Challenge opened in . Read more ...