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
Naturalist's Guide to Middle-earth
Sneak a peek into notebooks of the scholars and explorers of Middle-earth, with prompts that are images from historical naturalist publication. 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.
When I saw that the protagonist was called Janet, I thought of Tam Lin immediately... now I'm all proud I guessed right ^__^
A lovely faery tale - I really liked your interpretation of the "everlasting dark", as well as the faery tale/Tolkien hybrid. And dammit, I'm slightly jealous of Janet ;)
I'm glad you enjoyed the story. I had a great time writing it. Janet was an absolute blast to write - and I suspect she and now-mortal Feanor had the traditional fairytale "appily ever after" ending. (I hope she's up for six more kids, though!)
I enjoyed this very much! I admire Janet's guts and pluckiness, she'd need it if she's going to be married to Feanor. And thanks for giving him a happy ending. ;-)
I'm glad yuo enjoyed the story. Janet was a lot of fun to write: plucky, but with absolutely no idea of what she was getting herself into. And I figured that after spending who knows how many Ages with Ungoliant, poor Feanor had atoned enough and deserved a happy ending.
I am remiss in offering my compliments on this fine deep dark faerie tale with its oh-so-satisfying finish. Quite some time ago -- before you re-emerged in fandom :^) -- someone (Rhapsy or Marta, I believe) directed me to "Of Leaves of Red and Petals Gold: A Faerie Tale" on HASA where I devoured it -- like Ungoliant devoured her mates, her young and light itself -- in one sitting.
I'm hard pressed to name any one of your stories as my "favorite" because each one draws me into the Ithilwen!verse and holds me there, but this one really exemplifies your creativity. Not only do I have a soft spot for elves-in-modern-times stories, but I also love to read and write "mixed mythologies" within the Tolkien legendarium. So OLoGaPR really fits the bill here. Add to that two memorable, well-drawn characters, one canon and portrayed perfectly and one of a type I would so like to see more of in Tolkienian fan fic -- a strong and authentic OFC -- and a villainous creature who could have dropped in (on a silk filament) from Lovecraft, and well, I am over the moon with delight over this story.
I'll conclude my effusive (but heartfelt) verbiage with a simple "Brava!"
Thank you for the wonderful review, Pande. I'm so glad you like this story; it's one of my personal favorites.
I can't take too much credit for its creativity; the story's genesis was a discussion on the Henneth Annun mailing list about fanfic stories featureing evil!seductive!movie!Haldir. Dwimmordene mentioned that she saw Feanor as a much more plausible Tam Lin type than Haldir - and that set the plotbunnies a'chewing. Twenty-four hours later, after a frantic all-night writing session, Of Leaves of Gold was born. Now, where OFC Janet came from - I have no idea!
A feisty, sympathetic modern girl, old folktales, everybody's favourite Noldo, action/adventure, romance, and some great bit of humour/references... what's not to love about this story?
I know I've reviewed this a lot over the years, but it's one I often come back to re-read and I always enjoy it everytime I do. As always, thank you for taking on this plot bunny and spinning out such a fun, engaging story from it! Definitely one of my fanfiction classics!
This is an old favorite of mine as well. Hard to believe a throwaway comment from Dwim on the HASA mailing list led to it! And she was right: Feanor DOES make a great Tam Lin.
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.