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: 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.
Cultus Dispatches: Fandom Chocolate … or Authors Love Comments Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data provides insight into how comments benefit authors and which authors are most impacted by a lack of comments, with a digression on authors' perspectives one-click feedback like kudos.
A Sense of History: Passing Ships As Tolkien's characters in various texts gaze out to the sea, what do they see? What is brought by the ships coming out of the West?
Beta-Reader List Now Available The beta-reader list and profiles have been moved into our new system and are available again.
Nimruzimir, a natural philosopher recently out of his apprenticeship, hardly considers himself very important to anyone, least of all his colleagues. When his strange, prophetic fits bring him to the attention of the High Priest, however, he may find that his existence is less superfluous than…
This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously…
Current Challenge
Bollywood
Prompts this month are films, songs, and tropes from India's dazzling film industry, Bollywood. Read more ...
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that authors view comments as driving their motivation to create fanfiction. However, perception of comments by authors is part of a larger shift in fandom around how and how often fans interact with each other.
The arrival and departure of ships across the Great Sea carries mythic significance for the peoples of Middle-earth. The image of ships crossing out of and back into a mysterious West appears as well in Beowulf and is alluded to in Tolkien's tower analogy in his lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," where the tower allows those who climb it to observe the passage of the ships.
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that while most authors self-identify as taking their craft seriously, a growing subset of authors may be pushing that norm.
He and Diamond were visiting, though Pippin had been disappearing every afternoon, and taking Frodo and Elanor and most other lads and lasses in the neighborhood with him—though why they couldn’t use Pippin’s own pony, Sam couldn’t imagine.
So gathered they were to Bree, what lieutenants who could be spared, from their scattered watches west and east, for their chieftain had returned from his long sojourn in lands godless and mountains strange.
Aragorn returns from the South to tells his tales. Halbarad listens.
July challenge at tolkienshortfanworks posted
The tolkienshortfanworks challenge for July has been posted to the Dreamwidth community. The thematic challenge is: original character or unnamed canon character; the formal challenge: fixed length of multiple of 50 words. New participants welcome.
Teitho June/July Challenge: Mentor
The June/July prompt for the Teitho challenge is "mentor" and invites fanworks about this relationship in Tolkien's works.
Scribbles & Drabbles 2024
A chill Tolkien event, where artists make art, and authors write little stories in response. Begins in June and ends in November.
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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.
Of course, in this story some of the simplicity has to do with Haldar being so young, although there are more complicated things going on in the background!
I really like the idea of Fëanorian interaction with the Haladin; there must have been meetings like this one to ensure smooth relations between the Eldar and the Humans.
The way Amras appeared to Haldar had something of a fairytale and you captured Haldar's childlike curiosity mixed with some parts trepidation very well.
Thank you very much! Glad you liked Haldar's point of view and his meeting with Amras!
In a way this piece is a rather unsubtle defence of Caranthir. He has drawn some quite strong criticism from some fans, first for ignoring the Haladin so long and then for inviting them to join him.
Although the events played out badly for the Haladin--that terrible attack in which Haldad and Haldar and many others died--I don't think that Caranthir in any way anticipated this. I also suspect, given what we know about their attitudes at other times, that the Haladin may have been quite happy to be ignored, at first.
I think some kind of meeting between a Feanorian elf and the Haladin is suggested by the text, because Caranthir seems to have learned of the Haladin's arrival at some point. I elected Amras to be that Feanorian, partly because he was also in a good position to have learned about the Haladin from the Green Elves and because he could also tell the Haladin about Estolad (which Haleth later seems to know about). Although it doesn't really need to have been a prince! But my Sons of Feanor are pretty hands-on, generally.
"Drughu" is the Druedain's own name for themselves. That is the Druedain that we meet in The Lord of the Rings (they lead the Rohirrim through their forest) or rather their remote ancestors. The Unfinished Tales says that the Haladin had Druedain living among them, in what seems to have been a very harmonious co-existence. This is not mentioned in the published Silmarillion.
"Drughu" is the Druedain's own name for themselves. That is the Druedain that we meet in The Lord of the Rings (they lead the Rohirrim through their forest) or rather their remote ancestors. The Unfinished Tales says that the Haladin had Druedain living among them, in what seems to have been a very harmonious co-existence. This is not mentioned in the published Silmarillion.
Thank you for the explanation; now I do indeed remember the Druedain! It has been way too long since I last read either The Silmarillion or TheLord of the Rings, and though I have Unfinished Tales in my bookcase, I unfortunately haven't had the time to read it yet :(
This is lovely! The title is very fairy tale-esque, and I love the image of Amras appearing and disappearing into the bushes at the beginning and the end, and Haldar's sense of wonder about the whole experience.
It was also fun to see Haleth and Haldar as children, and their dynamic. I can definitely see this Haleth growing up into the fearless leader of the Haladin she is in canon.
I can't remember now whether I've commented on this in one of the other places it was posted. I like this a lot. It's an unexpected combination of characters, but you've made it work! Amras's motivations for seeking out the Haladin here make sense to me, and I like the idea that the Haladin and the Elves had some contact alread before Haleth met Caranthir. I like Haleth's no-nonsense attitude and the way Haldar is charmed by meeting Amras. I'm also happy that one of the Druedain made an appearance.
I'm glad Amras's motivations make sense. I think canon at least leaves room for such contact between the Elves and the Haladin.
Good to hear that Haleth's characterization works for you.
(And I'm always here for more Druedain! Except I don't like the idea of making Sador one of them, as Tolkien considered at one point. That's because I like the bits about him being a failed soldier of Fingolfin's and so on, that would have to go, because they are probably not compatible.)
Aw, how sweet to see Haldar and Haleth getting to know an elf when they were young! (And might go some way toward explaining why Haleth had no fear of Caranthir later on...)
I think Haleth would probably not be afraid of Himring 'verse Caranthir anyway (or not for long), because she just is like that, but I'm sure the fact that his brother has talked to her about him helps!
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.