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'm very glad that you found this story interesting. I thought it would be a nice idea to have those two icons of "The Silmarillion" talk to one another. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment :)
What a tickling alternate history! Placing any of the Fëanorians in Doriath before the Kinslaying is always a treat and I'm sure anyone from the Noldor would be very, very interested to see Doriath and risk a lot to look at it. I loved the scene where Thingol opens the envelope and sees that it is empty, and the debate/discussion between the Prince and the King is delightful read. The ending was heart-breaking and it seemed to me that the main character has radically changed over the years that passed.
I too think that the Noldor would very much like to confront rumors about the Sindar with the actual facts. Besides, I've fallen in love with Thingol :) and would like to defend his standpoint (and also bash him on the head with a baseball bat for that Silmaril mess ;)).
Thanks for reading and commenting. I'm very happy to see that my idea worked.
Oh, I liked this very much - a really interesting 'might have been.' I like Maitimo's combination of boldness in going into Doriath and hesitancy and outright fear to tell Elwe what happened at Alqualonde - and Elwe's stubbornness, too. Really nicely done!
Thank you! I'm very happy that you think this story interesting :) The idea popped up when I was chatting with my friend about Thingol's policy toward the Noldor. So I thought, let's throw a Noldo -- and one of the most significant in the entire Silm -- to Menegroth and see how he deals with it ;)
Thanks again for taking the time to read and comment!
This is a delightful read. A speculative story that I could almost believe had happened. Made me want to believe that it had happened that way. I loved the almost mischievous quality to Maedhros’s plan and its execution, while communicating to the reader the serious intent behind it. It was so entertaining to see these two formidable strong-willed elves sizing one another up. Although neither really budged an inch on their determination and conviction that they each believed that they knew what was the right manner in which to withstand the onslaught of Morgoth. And yet, they nonetheless parted with a certain grudging respect. The insertion of the secret of Alqualondë was also believable and intriguing. Did Melian know? You also gave me one of the better arguments I have seen for Thingol’s strategy (not saying you changed my narrow Noldor-centric mind, but it is an excellently stated argument).
Oops, almost forgot, one tiny typo in the first line: "impress" should be "impressed."
Thank you so much for your review (and for pointing out the typo -- eeeek, in the first line, lol. Fixed it.) I thought it would be a good idea to confront a Noldo -- preferably one of the Feanorian clan) with the king of the Sindar, and I wanted to explain his attitude in the best way I could and understood his reasons. I'm so glad it worked and that the general idea seems believable. I don't think Melian knew everything, but I do believe she sensed a lot more than she admitted to Galadriel for instance.
Thank you again :) It was fun to write, and I'm happy to see that it's also joy to read.
Oh this is such a wonderful one shot Binks. Even though the professor did not write all, I can imagine that this conversation did take place. I love their swordplay with words, the veiled warnings, Melian's demanour and presence. Thingol still feels like the King of Beleriand and none shall tell him what he can and can't do. As I read that, my mind did wander off to the 2nd kinslaying, so those last words gave me the chills. Thingol indeed should have known better, especially in the context of this story. Well done!
That's exactly what I wanted to achieve -- to show that he *was* the High King of the Sindar :) I'm glad that my idea worked. Thank you for your wonderful opinion. It's much appreciated.
A real pleasure to read (again)! The speed with which Thingol correctly assesses Maedhros' position is very well done - he is clearly a very bright cookie!
That last line really packs a punch! An excellent link back to the earlier discussion. A wonderful 'what if'... :D
"The speed with which Thingol correctly assesses Maedhros' position is very well done - he is clearly a very bright cookie!"
Gotta say that the entire research before I wrote this made me a huge admirer of Thingol. I've always been fond of him, despite the obvious, but now I can really say I've got another muse :)
Thanks a lot for the comment and support all the way through. I appreciate that very much.
This is one of those "it didn't happen this way, but it SHOULD have" moments, and those are so rare and precious that I could just hug you.
I agree with Whitewave's comment as well - the contrast between the Maitimo we see through most of the story and the one we see at the end is heartbreaking. Excellent setup!
I couldn't resist the muse who insisted that I write the two icons of "The Silmarillion" talk to each other, even though they'd never met. Or at least, the chronicles said they hadn't. It would be a clash of the titans, if they did, wouldn't it? Thank you for the review. I know how much you love Maitimo and your opinion means a lot to me. And, well, this is a very difficult moment for us here, and I appreciate your review all the more.
What a fantastic read. A great deal of it seems like it was lifted straight out of canon if it had been written out in more detail. I loved Maedhros' ingenious ploy to get into Doriath, thoroughly enjoyed the game of wits and politic posturing between him and Thingol (who is not a character I am entirely fond of, but hearing his reasons from his own mouth here did a lot to make him more sympathetic to me - well done!).
And the final paragraph - what a way to end this story with such a heart-rending bang! I'm very glad I got this challenge to review for the IDF event, because this might not have been a fic I'd have otherwise clicked, and missing it would have been a shame.
Thank you so much for reading and leaving a review :D I'm really delighted to hear that you liked my story. I'm too glad that you found this story via the IDF event :D It's a wonderful surprise. You made my day!
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.