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.
SWG News
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.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] No Time Have I by Flora-lass
A Silmarillion acrostic.
[Writing] An exercise in music... And patience by Aprilertuile
Makalaurë was sitting at the harp in his music room. He was holding a dark blindfold in his hands and was looking at it with much scepticism.
[Writing] I called it Fate that I should fail by AdmirableMonster
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…
[Writing] All of you by chrissystriped
Elrond and Celebrían celebrate their anniversary with their family.
[Writing] Lament for the Singer by daughterofshadows
A short thing about Maglor, death and grieving.
[Writing] Cosmological Poems of Arda by AaronAzrael
I would like to share my revelations of Tolkien's Universe in the form of narrative and emotional poems.
[Writing] Eä's Redemption by AaronAzrael
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 ...
Random Challenge
Strength and Beauty
Create a fanwork using the Melville quote about the relationship between strength and beauty. Read more ...
New in References
Fandom Chocolate … or Authors Love Comments by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]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.
Passing Ships by Simon J. Cook
[]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.
Fanfiction and the Serious Business of Writer's Craft by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]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.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Staging a Battle by StarSpray
[]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.
[Writing] From whose bourn no traveller returns by losselen
[]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.
[Writing] Sand Sorcery by StarSpray
[]It is well known that Psamathos does not leave his cove. He does not like to get his feet wet, and prefers to spend his days dozing under the sun.
Around the World and Web
Fellowship of the Fics: Summer Stories 2024
Fellowship of the Fics offers four weeks of summer-themed prompts during the month of July.
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.
July 2024 Call for Papers and Proposals
Conferences and publications that have open calls for papers and proposals in July 2024.
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.
Mordor by hennethgalad
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Chapter 1
Mordor
In the fifth year of the siege, Ereinion son of Fingon, High King of the Noldor, who was called Gil-galad, became troubled in mind and weary at heart. Elrond his herald, whose duty it was to be at hand, watched anxiously as Gil-galad's mood darkened until at last Gil-galad stood suddenly and said
'Oh Elrond, I yearn for the sea ! This bleak land, this 'Mordor', there are no trees, no flowers, no life, only bones, only death...' he faltered and put his face in his hands; with averted gaze he said 'I have dreamed my own death, Elrond, and I know not whether this comes from the Valar or from the Shadow' he gestured to the south, where Barad-dûr stood.
Elrond cleared his throat 'It is said that the dreams sent by the Enemy are dark deceptions, it may be that you feel his presence, and it darkens your heart.'
'They also say he cannot create, only distort, therefore what I have seen is true, but oh, I long for the sound of the wave on the shore, and the hiss of the shining foam...' he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, clenching his fists as though he would tear his hair out, then giving a small laugh and turning away to pour the wine.
Elrond was silent, Gil-galad was known for foresight, and even Elrond had been perceiving glimpses of events that had not yet taken place, as minds were troubled here, so close to the Shadow.
Two moons waxed and waned, and Elrond spoke to Elendil 'Lord, in the morning, is it possible that you will advise the king to inspect the troops posted on the southern side of the tower.?'
Elendil looked at him from under lowered brows 'Are you up to mischief young Elrond ? I do not wish to distress my friend when he is already troubled.'
Elrond smiled 'No, my Lord, but I have a surprise that will take a time to prepare, and...'
'And you want me to distract him ? Very well, I trust you mean no harm. It shall be done. But if you prove false you will regret it. '
'Have no fear my Lord, I promise that the king will smile again.'
Elendil raised his eyebrows and nodded.
The next day the carts arrived from Ithilien, a whole grove of sapling fruit trees, with all their roots dug up with their native soil. Elrond organized the enthusiastic elves (and men) who dug holes hard by Gil-galad's headquarters and planted the twenty four trees. These were barely a fathom high, but covered already in bright blossom. A bucket chain was formed to carry water to them, and by the fall of dusk the trees seemed to have always been there. Elrond was bearing wine for his gardeners when Elendil's squire galloped up, and gazed in astonishment at the grove
'Sir, Lord Elendil bade me have you know that they will be here soon whether your surprise is ready or not.' He laughed and looked at the trees then back to Elrond 'Truly the magic of the elves is mighty'
'That may be so, but this was the gardening of men, not the magic of elves. '
The sound of Gil-galad's laughter rang like the silver bells on his steed, he galloped up to the trees and leapt down. With a brief dazzling smile for Elrond he was among the trees, running fingers across the bark of one, touching the petal of another. In the middle of the grove he stopped and looked up, there above the tips of the young trees rose Eärendil and on an instant all fear and grief fell away from him and his heart sang for the love of the beauty of the light of the Trees.
