Archive Software Upgrade and Downtime on April 19, 2025
Expect site outages on Saturday, April 19, 2025 as we perform a major software update on the archive.
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!
Archive Software Upgrade and Downtime on April 19, 2025
Expect site outages on Saturday, April 19, 2025 as we perform a major software update on the archive.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with cloudyhymns by Shadow
Dragons are one of the most familiar creatures in Tolkien's world and one of the least understood. In this interview, Shadow spoke with cloudyhymns about his Mereth Aderthad presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," the nature of dragons and their connections with Dwarves, and the musicality of Tolkien's works.
Instadrabbling Sessions for April, May, and June
The first Saturday of each month, we will be hosting instadrabbling on our Discord server.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with polutropos by Dawn
"And love grew after between them"—those words have fascinated a fandom intent on revealing the how and why of the "kidnap fam" plot point in "The Silmarillion." In this interview, polutropos discusses her upcoming Mereth Aderthad paper on the topic, “'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium."
[Series] Instadrabbling by SWG Moderators
We get together from time to time on the SWG Discord and produce spontaneous fanworks based on randomly chosen prompts. This collection includes drabbles, ficlets, and other flash fanworks produced as part of our instadrabbling sessions.
[Writing] High in the Clean Blue Air by StarSpray
They passed out of Lhûn and the wider coastline of Middle-earth opened up before his eyes. He had wandered those shores for centuries, and even now he felt the pull of that same wanderlust, and knew he would miss them for the rest of his life. Their wildness, the untamed waves, the rocky…
[Series] I made loving you a blood sport by atlantablack
In which Fëanor & Fingolfin are re-embodied in 4th age Aman, are nowhere near as healed as everyone believes them to be, and decide to pretend that sleeping together will fix their relationship instead of causing more problems.
[Writing] evidence of a love that transcends hunger by atlantablack
Fëanor does not even get a chance to finish being annoying before Fingolfin’s eyes flash with something far too dark to be only fury and his hand snaps out to grab a handful of Fëanor’s hair. He wrenches Fëanor’s head back in a move that is so surprisingly painful it throws him off balance. In…
[Writing] Not Going Without You by StarSpray
Daeron is caught by orcs in the shadow of the Ephel Dúath, but is rescued by someone entirely unexpected.
[Writing] April Fancies by AdmirableMonster
A series of short responses to instadrabbling prompts on Sat, Apr 5, 2025.
[Writing] She Hath My Love (Drabbles about Women) by Elrond's Library
A collection of drabbles about women in Tolkien's Legendarium.
Birthday Bash
Daily word, image, and poetry prompts are loosely structured around events and milestones leading up to our 20th birthday. Read more ...
Dark Matter
Create a fanwork using anti-prompts: prompts that don't appear in your fanwork. Read more ...
Interview with cloudyhymns by Shadow by cloudyhymns, daughterofshadows
Shadow spoke with cloudyhymns about his upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025, "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," where he shares his theory about how Dwarves and dragons are connected in the legendarium, a topic full of implications for fanworks.
Interview with polutropos by Dawn by polutropos, Dawn Felagund
Dawn spoke with polutropos about her upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad, “'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium," including the appeal of kidnap fam, the appeal of Maglor's character, and how The Silmarillion as an incomplete, complex word makes it ripe for both fanworks and scholarship.
Maglor by polutropos
As one of the most beloved Silmarillion characters, Maglor is a bundle of contradictions undergirded by a complex textual history. Warrior, musician, wanderer, and survivor, Maglor brings to the fore key themes in Tolkien's early legendarium, such as the role of music, oaths, and exile.
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.
Alliterative Verse for Arda by Rhunedhel
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features alliterative poems about Middle-earth.
[Writing] Paradox of the Fourth Age by Alassante
One wrong decision can make a world of difference. When one of the Fellowship makes the mistake, the consequences are so severe that only the Valar can repair it. But will they?
Glorfindel daughter's life is in Elrohir's hands and only she remembers th eir love for each other. The fate of…
[Writing] By Mirrormere by bunn
A new Age dawns, and Moria is retaken at last.
[Writing] Beneath the Bitter Rain by bunn
The Gardens of the Entwives are fallen, but two Entwives remain.
Silmarillion Epistolary Week 2025
Silmarillion Epistolary is a challenge dedicated to creating fanworks to tell the story of the Silmarillion in the style of an epistolary novel.
April Challenge at tolkienshortfanworks
The tolkienshortfanworks challenge for April has been posted to the Dreamwidth community. The thematic prompt is: wood. The formal challenge is: linnod (Gilraen's canonical verse form). These can be filled separately and freely combined with other challenges and prompts that allow this.
Celedriel Week 2025
Celedriel Week is a Tumblr events for fanworks about Galadriel and Celeborn.
Tolkien Ekphrasis Week 2025
This is a Tolkien-fandom-wide event dedicated to the art of ekphrasis in Tolkien's worlds. Its goal is to illuminate the artistic surroundings of the places, people, and stories we love, in as many media as possible.
Teitho March/April Challenge: Mothers
The Teitho Contest theme for the months of March and April is mothers.
A collection of Middle-earth cryptids! I love how many "lost" characters you brought into this story, with Dior's twins and the Entwives, Maglor and (perhaps? later?) Daeron - and Nellas and Tom Bombadil and Goldberry! So nice to hear about them alive and happy... at least in the beginning! This started out as such a cheerful adventure, and then took a more unsettling turn - but I have to admit that I really liked Eluréd's encounter with the Nazgûl - specifically, the way in which he first falls under their spell of fear and darkness, and then recalls his great ancestors and shows his power! But the ending makes me worry. Is it a dream? Is it reality? And did Eluréd really nearly die?
This starts with such good humour (Elurin tackled to the ground by children and looking like a hedgehog!) and gets so dark. That scene with the Wraiths is thoroughly scary. And rather than having to be hunted down in some dark hollow, Daeron helps to save the day!
I'd like to see what happens next.
This was very good! It started out so fun, and felt realistic too! All the dialogue, references and the journey seemed to flow so naturally. The scene with the wraiths was done well, with a palpable fear when he first noticed the weaiths in the dark.
It’s a small thing but I like how you referred to the river as being alive ,in a sense. And I loved the idea of the river “getting to know you.“ If I remember correctly, it is never explicitly said in Tolkien’s Legendarium that this is so, but it’s an idea I like and I think it fits really well. After all, for there to be a “river’s daughter” there must be a mother too. And other landscapes(Caradhras) are reffered to in such a way as well.
There aren’t enough stories set in the Second Age, and the way you subtly made it clear that this is the case was really well done, like I said earlier it felt natural in the flow of the text.
The ending does make me wonder though. Was is it all a dream? A precognitive dream perhaps? Or did Daeron really just appear in the night? If so, where he and Elúred really singing?
I’m a sucker for anything to do with dreams, and uncertainty of reality, so I thought that was a great, somewhat surprising way to end it. It left me wanting to see more, to see what they said and did upon finally meeting Daeron.
Well done!
You continued this! Awesome. Really liked your version of Daeron - communicative, competent, not grumpy, and I enjoyed his interactions with the "youngsters". Elurín joining with Daeron's song gave me goosebumps! Great story.
(Now I just hope Daeron won't be cast back into moping and melancholy by the mention of Dor Firn-i-Guinar!)
Site © Dawn Felagund
Logo © Bunn
All copyrights for creative work hosted on this site are retained by their creators.
This site is built using Drupal and the theme W3CSS.
Characters and stories associated with J.R.R. Tolkien's works remain the property of his estate. Creative work using this material has been written solely for the enjoyment and enlightenment of its creator and their associates. No profit is made on the materials shared on this site.
Comments on The Nights Your Heart Shivers
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.