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 ...
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.
This was a very moving story from the poem in the beginning to the fate of the last Fëanorian in the end. I usually prefer stories with a happier ending, but this is just beautiful. And you manage to instill a sense of every character, their feelings, wishes and regrets in such a short space. Thank you for sharing these.
Oh, this chapter is chilling. I love the formatting of it: the jewels are always there no matter what, their voices triggering Feanor to commit terrible crimes.
The way this is laid out raises the interesting question of responsibility, and of how the light of Varda is such a corrupting force. Is the light of the Trees too strong a thing for an elf to handle? That's a question that could spark plotbunnies for *me*! :D
Through each piece I can see that madness and obsession inspired the the jewels, leading to the House of Feanor's downfall.
Some of the sons of Feanor were tricked by the seductive voices of the Silmarils, which play right into their pride and belief that they can restore the House's glory if only they strike the right blow... How far from humanity they have fallen, to believe that the Silmarils are worth more than the lives of their kin and the people who were loyal to them.
And then there were the sons who realized their mistakes, and (at the same time, horribly) realize that they cannot atone for them. I can't figure out which mindset is more tragic.
Nerdanel's piece was a lovely inclusion. She has always been one of my favorites, and this captures her tragedy and helplessness very well.
Thanks so much for your review. This was my chance to show the Feanorians as not evil but completely misguided and lost themselves. In my mind, the Silmarils were like cocaine and they were addicts. And like drug addicts, they don't care about what damage they do to themselves or others, they just want to get their next fix or the ultimate high. It doesn't really make them evil - it makes them flawed which despite some people's opinions, Elves are flawed.
This was a very moving story from the poem in the beginning to the fate of the last Fëanorian in the end. I usually prefer stories with a happier ending, but this is just beautiful. And you manage to instill a sense of every character, their feelings, wishes and regrets in such a short space. Thank you for sharing these.
Thanks so much for your comments. This story was so special to me because I wanted to show the Feanorians as something more than 'monsters' and kinslayers.
Oh, this chapter is chilling. I love the formatting of it: the jewels are always there no matter what, their voices triggering Feanor to commit terrible crimes.
The way this is laid out raises the interesting question of responsibility, and of how the light of Varda is such a corrupting force. Is the light of the Trees too strong a thing for an elf to handle? That's a question that could spark plotbunnies for *me*! :D
Through each piece I can see that madness and obsession inspired the the jewels, leading to the House of Feanor's downfall.
Some of the sons of Feanor were tricked by the seductive voices of the Silmarils, which play right into their pride and belief that they can restore the House's glory if only they strike the right blow... How far from humanity they have fallen, to believe that the Silmarils are worth more than the lives of their kin and the people who were loyal to them.
And then there were the sons who realized their mistakes, and (at the same time, horribly) realize that they cannot atone for them. I can't figure out which mindset is more tragic.
Nerdanel's piece was a lovely inclusion. She has always been one of my favorites, and this captures her tragedy and helplessness very well.
Thanks so much for your review. This was my chance to show the Feanorians as not evil but completely misguided and lost themselves. In my mind, the Silmarils were like cocaine and they were addicts. And like drug addicts, they don't care about what damage they do to themselves or others, they just want to get their next fix or the ultimate high. It doesn't really make them evil - it makes them flawed which despite some people's opinions, Elves are flawed.
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.