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…
My newly drawn map of Aman, as complete as I could make it.
Current Challenge
Bollywood
Prompts this month are films, songs, and tropes from India's dazzling film industry, Bollywood. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Turgon's Rock Opera
On the anniversary of the publication of "The Silmarillion," we’re reflecting on the importance of music in Arda with prompts that come from rock songs. 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.
Elrond Week 2024
Elrond Week is a fandom event dedicated to Elrond Peredhel that will run from July 10th to July 16th on Tumblr.
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.
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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.
I really have no idea to start what I liked about this piece. Perhaps with the genuine feeling that it reads as it was written around that time? The timeperiod, worries, law and people he encountered are so well depictured. Then there is also the writers thoughts and worries, how a piece of fiction will reflect on the writer, his family and career. Yet that inkling of doubt, the story he did found and how he ponders to go about it is so immensely well captured. And I very muchly like the idea that the story of the Silmarillion was found in a trunk, a history that did happen is making me squee inwardly a lot! I think if I read this again, many more impressions will come to the surface. What a wonderful piece Marta, I truly enjoyed reading this!
Thank you so much, Rhapsody! I am so glad this resonated, as I am always a bit nervous writing about Silmarillion events; it feels like I know so little of those events and so I am especially glad this tale worked for you.
This caught my attention immediately--very interesting to feature Tolkien in a fic! The hint that his stories could be real just tickles me. Thanks for sharing.
A writer's doubts and insecurity are immensely well conveyed here. The question what is more important: the truth or, let's say, customs, and how said truth will affect the writer's life in all aspects, is very well analyzed. And I'll second Rhapsy: I too would like the Silm to be part of history -- not fiction :)
Excellent piece of writing, and a treat to read, not only for the Silm fans :D Thank you!
Thanks, Robinka. I'm glad you thought I captured Tolkien's conflict well here.
As it happens, I write Third Age stuff more often than Silmarillion-based pieces, and actually checked with Dawn on whether this fit at the archive. I do think it works well for all ages. Glad you enjoyed it.
Oh, this was not an uncomfortable read for me in the least, but that shouldn't surprise you, given my skeptic's nature to question everything. In this story, through a cleverly wrought vehicle -- the Man Himself -- you pose an excellent line of questioning.
Coincidentally, when I was waiting for my daughter at her physician's office recently, I read a fascinating article about the Gospel of Judas in the May 2006 issue of National Geographic. That, and the Gnostic writings in general, take Christianity in quite a different direction than the orthodox beliefs which took hold and shoved aside the Gnostics as "heretics."
Your piece hits on strikingly similar themes: a decision made that changes "canon," which, in turn, causes one to question jsut what is canon and how objective are the decisions applied to declare something as canonical?
The story is atmospheric and the use of historical sleuthing and accompanying jargon is effective. I have to say, I wonder what Ramer and Lowdham would make of JRRT's revisionism. ;^)
Well, I can be heretical when the mood strikes me, but I'm still a bit uncertain without a CYA move in the form of notes. It is one thing to write slash, quite another to insist that was the way it really should have been. :-) But I am perhaps more skittish on that note than I need to be.
In either case, I'm glad for your review. Thanks for reading this piece.
Of course, in my fanciful semi-canonical view of the story of the dragon helm, I have always been fond of imagining it as a lover’s gift to Fingon. Now how Fingon would have been moved to present such a precious-by-association item to Hador was something I had not yet worked out in my head for my personal canon.
Oh, Marta! That was a terrific tale. Love the way it is written. Found myself reading it like a mystery novel (a very well written one at that!). The suspense was killing me all the way through it. I totally accepted JRRT as you portrayed him also.
And what a fabulous fantasy for a taleteller: to find out the stories one believes that one is inventing are actually true. And, in my case, that my own stubbornly "almost canon" concept of Fingon and Maedhros could be included in the reality warp of what is purported to be a true story was almost more than I could bear.
Giant squee for this one! What fun and what an appropriate occasion on which to share it.
Great use of the prompt and the Eliot quotations in general.
Thank you, Oshun. Your review gave *me* a little squee, too. I particularly am pleased that it read like a mystery novel; I will admit to having a noir-ish vibe as I was writing it myself.
On your other review: he would only pass the helm along because the elves had exchanged enough gifts by that point that some achieved "mathom" status. It's the only way - proof that they were close, see? :-)
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.