Challenges by Date

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!

Challenge Guidelines
  1. New challenges will be released monthly on the 15th. You can find the current challenge in the Challenge section of our website or listed in the sidebar under Current Challenges. The current challenge can also be found on our satellite groups on Dreamwidth, Tumblr (using the #swg challenges tag), and Discord.
  2. Challenge entries must be created for the challenge. In other words, a previous fanwork cannot be "retrofitted" into a challenge even if it fits. However, you are welcome to add to an existing fanwork with new content that fits a challenge.
  3. Challenges will need to be posted to the SWG archive no later than the 15th of the month in order to receive a stamp for that month's challenge, unless otherwise specified. If you are using the challenge prompt as part of another fandom event where the event rules do not allow you to post the fanwork on our archive before the challenge deadline or if you have serious extenuating circumstances that cause you to miss a deadline, you can contact the mods to arrange a deadline extension. Make sure that you add your story to the challenge using the Challenges field on the fanwork submission form. The SWG accepts all types of fanworks (art, audio, link collections, playlists, series, videos, writing, and multimedia fanworks), all types of fanwork are suitable as responses to challenges, and all must be posted to the archive.
  4. You are welcome to cross-post your work wherever you want, but at a minimum, it must be archived on our website.
  5. Works must be Silmfic, but any genre, rating, pairing, characters, or format are allowed. Works-in-progress are welcome.
  6. Challenge participants will receive a stamp for each challenge that they complete. In addition, if you comment on a challenge fanwork, you will receive a stamp for participating as a commenter. Unleash your inner philatelist because we will start a stamp collection for all participants that will be updated from month to month! Some months have special stamps (or even secret stamps ...).
  7. Comment challenges have no due date. However, if you are commenting on a story posted more than two months ago, we appreciate if you contact us and let us know that you need a stamp. Please note that comment stamps are not available for specific challenges before January 2017.

Caprice and Chance

Prompts for this Matryoshka challenge are loosely based on the plot arcs and tropes of romance novels. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Cheesy Corn Chips

Celebrate the corny and the cheesy, the sappy and sweet and schmaltzy and saccharine in popular culture by choosing from our collection of corny, sentimental, and heartstring-rending prompts. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Circle of Life

Create a fanwork that addresses the question of life, (im)mortality and reincarnation, or re-embodiment. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Color of ...

Create a fanwork that is built around a color or colors. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Companies, Clubs, and Cliques

Create a fanwork that explores a group of characters--formal or informal--that Tolkien didn't identify or describe in his own writings. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Competition

Create a fanwork about competitions using a song from the Eurovision Song Contest as a prompt. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Crackuary

"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 ...

Crime and Punishment

Create a fanwork that involves worldbuilding or themes related to crime and punishment. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Crossroads of the Fallen King

Create a fanwork that crosses with a second text or fandom. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Dear Irmo

Historians trace the first advice column to 1690, and in the three centuries hence, the heartsore, woebegone, and perpetually puzzled have turned to these "agony aunts" (and uncles) to solve their most debilitating dilemmas about family, work, and of course, love. Choose one of our real advice columns, tweaked just slightly, for your prompt. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Differing Perspectives

Remix another author's fanwork (with their permission!) by rewriting it from another character's perspective. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Dip the Ladle

Tolkien had many tales, places, and artists who inspired his work. For this challenge, prompts invite creating a fanwork using one of Tolkien's influences. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Discovery

In this challenge inspired by the Polynesian wayfinders, choose a video, song, or historical fact as inspiration to create a fanwork. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Duel of Songs

Try your hand at poetry for National Poetry Month. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Elf Falls into Modern-earth

Create a fanwork in which a Silmarillion character ends up in the modern world. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

End Is the Beginning

Take the ending of a story from "The Silmarillion" and use it as the beginning of a fanwork. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Exchange Student

Send a character as a student to an unfamiliar culture and create a fanwork about his, her, or their experience. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Experimental

Tolkien was an experimental writer, pushing the boundaries of literary and artistic convention. This month, we invite you to experiment with a new technique or approach to your fanworks. We’ve listed some prompts you can select from, but you’re also free to develop your own. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Family Matters

Step inside of one of the families of "The Silmarillion" and tell their tale with a fanwork that illustrates the conflicts and relationships that occur within a family. Challenge opened in . Read more ...

Fanon Inverted

Take a fanon you feel passionately about and turn it on its head, creating a fanwork that goes against the fanon norm. Challenge opened in . Read more ...