Founded in 2005, the Silmarillion Writers' Guild exists for discussions of and creative fanworks based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion and related texts. We are a positive-focused and open-minded space that welcomes fans from all over the world and with all levels of experience with Tolkien's works. Whether you are picking up Tolkien's books for the first time or have been a fan for decades, we welcome you to join us!
New Challenge: Potluck Bingo Sit down to a delicious selection of prompts served on bingo boards, created by the SWG community.
Bingo Cards Wanted for Potluck Bingo Our November-December challenge will be Potluck Bingo, featuring cards created by you! If you'd like to create cards or prompts for cards, we are taking submissions.
Tolkien Meta Week, December 8-14 We will be hosting a Tolkien Meta Week in December, here on the archive and on our Tumblr, for nonfiction fanworks about Tolkien.
New Challenge: Orctober Orcs on a quest for freedom seek a place sheltered and safe from the Dark Lord. Fulfill prompts to gather the clues needed to bring them to freedom.
The majority of the Silmarillion was penned by a single Elf--an Elf who was so thoroughly written out as to appear only through the ways in which their perspective shaped the stories we see. This is their story, the historian's history, the Pennas Pengolodh.
The Exiles of Gondolin come to Sirion. The residents of Sirion welcome them, and friendship blossoms between the last remaining loremaster of Gondolin and a young poet of Sirion.
Fingon returns to Barad Eithel after a late-autumn hunt, finding someone unexpected with his wife. The night takes an even more unexpected turn for all three of them.
Current Challenge
Potluck Bingo
Help yourself to a collection of prompts on bingo boards designed by members and friends of the SWG. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Great Journeys
Join a character on the road to explore the actual and symbolic importance of journeys. Read more ...
A series of articles featuring fan-made maps of all the lands of Arda. Part III explores the island of Númenor and mainland Middle-earth during the Second Age.
A reworking of the 2018 article for Long Live Feedback that includes data from the 2020 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey, pointing to a lack of comments as related to skill, confidence, and community connection.
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features fiction, artwork, and essays that transcend the idea of Orcs as the enemy, instead considering their humanity.
Lord of the Rings Secret Santa 2024
LotR SESA has been ongoing for twenty-one years and is running again this year as a prompt meme hosted on AO3 for all genres of Tolkien-based fanfiction.
Kiliel Week 2024
Kiliel Week is a Tumblr event for fanworks about the Kili/Tauriel pairing.
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Comments
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.
Oh this is an unique form that I also never encountered before. What I like so much about this poem is that it conveys the chain of actions and reactions so well, but also her emotions in a way! The metre is immensely well done, every sentence is connected and yet the next line read as a stand alone. :) Does this make any sense? What a wonderful piece!
Thank you so much, Rhapsody! Yes, it makes perfect sense. :) I wanted each of her actions to also represent something larger; for the poem to work on two levels. And this is one of those forms, I think, where the form should fit the subject, and this seemed the perfect subject to try my hand at \"dribbling\": the escalation of her panic as she tries to reach the Meneltarma fit the shorter and shorter word-count constraints as the poem progressed.
I think I\'m haunted, too. Now she\'s whispering to me to write another poem about her, considering what would have happened if she\'d reached the summit ... ;)
So immensely powerful in just a few words. I absolutely love it, Dawn! The imagery is amazing. The idea with Miriel having blood on her hands is both interestin and very powerful and deep. I would not mind reading more of these dribbles in the future. :-)
Thank you, Roisin! Well, as I told Rhapsody, it seems Miriel is here to haunt me for the moment; I have another idea for a poem from her PoV pondering what would have happened if she had made it to the Meneltarma. She\'s tugging on my sleeve right now ... ;)
I wanted each line in the poem to have two meanings, and the blood on the hands is one of them. Literally, of course, she is in haste and has literally cut her hands; figuratively, the blood her people has spilled have cost her the divine favor that might otherwise save her. I\'m so pleased that you noticed this and liked it. :)
And, you know, you are partly to blame for this. ;) All this talk of Akallabeth in August, and I have the Second Age on the brain!
Thank you, Naltariel, for reading my poem and for such a kind review. :) I must confess relief that the poem has been liked so far. I don\'t think of myself as a poet; I usually end up writing them because they won\'t let me do otherwise! ;)
Thank you, Moreth! I felt that the form fit the subject as well (these sorts of \"novelty\" forms irk me unless they serve the poem and aren\'t just used so that the author can show off her counting skills!). I\'m glad the poem worked for you. :)
I love this because it looks like a rock, albeit one which is pointing downwards. It feels like... slipping down the poem. I also like the lack of complete sentences, the abruptness (slicker wetter sharper). It fits the subject matter, which is why it works so well.
Thank you again for the comment! :) When my friend Dreamflower introduced me to this particular form, it seemed a given that it should be used to write about Miriel. I was definitely going for the effect you mentioned in keeping the lines abrupt and avoiding complete sentences at the end of the poem, so I'm happy that it worked! Thank you again. :D
Comments
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.