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.
Subscribe to the SWG Newsletter
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.
Hi Indy! I confess, I couldn't wait, so I read it myself. :-) I absolutely love this perspective you have taken with this. I wasn't sure how you would go about it, but I really like that you took the perspective of a member of the Faithful right before her wedding day. I loved the conversation bewteen Mestie and her mother. I imagine it must have been very difficult for the Faithful during the rule of Ar-Gimilzor, and I love how you illustrated that struggle throuh Mestie as she prepared for her big day. I do hope she and her husband will exchange the Sindarin vows in private. :-)
I really like Mestie, and I hope you will write her more. I also loved that you picked the family business being a fabric store. I was grinning over that. Yes, I would love to see more of Mestie.
This was wonderful, short, but very potent and raises lots of questions about how fr is too far for a leader to go.
I\'m really glad you like the perspective. It\'s always a risk writing a fic consisting solely of OCs, and even more risky when the point-of-view character is a woman.
I think the only time it was worse was during Pharazôn\'s reign, and that\'s because they had to worry about being sacrificed.
They did. :)
This is the first of a duology, and the second one should be posted tomorrow. *laughs* I picked something that could be easily have been in the family for generations and could be for generations more. Since people will always need fabric, it seemed logical.
Yes, it does indeed raise uncomfortable questions.
This is short, but you've crammed quite a lot into a short piece. You've got the Faithful trying to adjust to the new laws and trying to sort out what's allowed and what's forbidden (is it okay for an elf to be at the wedding or not?), some of them leaving Numenor to seek safer/friendlier homes (Lond Daer), and finally a bride-to-be feeling as if her wedding somehow isn't quite right if the vows aren't spoken in the correct language.
That last point almost calls to mind some of the feelings of long time Catholics after Vatican II, when the altar was suddenly turned around and the Latin Mass went away.
I\'m glad you caught the significance of all the little details. When I saw it posted last night, I nearly panicked, because I\'d forgotten how much I\'d actually put in.
I hadn\'t even thought of the Vatican II parallel! But it fits.
That was a lovely--and fun-- piece. Rebellious young people are awesome! ;-) It must have been so frustratring for the Faithful to see their way of life so altered, and I really eenjoyed this glimpse into how they went about it. Great job!
I\'m glad you enjoyed it! I wrote it focusing on OCs instead of the court because we know why Ar-Gimilzôr did it, and I found it more interesting to see how people reacted to it. Thank you!
That was a lovely--and fun-- piece. Rebellious young people are awesome! ;-) It must have been so frustratring for the Faithful to see their way of life so altered, and I really eenjoyed this glimpse into how they went about it. Great job!
What a wonderful brief glimpse in the life of a 'normal' Numenorean with her hopes, dreams and worries. A new law is in place and yet she tries to see if there is a way around it, it feels as if we'd also do if we can.
This bit:
“With the king acting as he is, I cannot help but fear.” She stood up and kissed my forehead. “If necessary, leave Númenor and move near us. It’s safer there.”
It leaves me wishing for more! Very concisely written with an impact!
The normality of her life is what really makes this story: too many Númenorean fics focus on the court and/or the nobility, and I wanted to do something different. I\'m glad you think it had an impact, because I was worried about that with such a short piece.\r\n\r\nAs for wishing for more, this is the first in a duology. :)
An excellent tidbit, Indy. I love fics with OCs of any sort really and those that take a look at the 'common folk' of Middle-earth cultures are particularly appealing. This certainly fits the bill. I also like the implication that Númenóreans are leaving their homeland and fleeing persecution and an increasingly tumultuous society.
I'm hoping that this little gem might just be the seed crystal for a larger work. :^)
Thank you! I\'m glad you like the \"common folk\" OCs, because I haven\'t seen too many of them, which is a shame. I can\'t imagine that Númenóreans wouldn\'t flee, Faithful and not. Civil unrest has always caused it, for those who can afford to leave.
Not unless you count \"Falling Stars.\" I have no desire to further work with these characters-- I\'ve told their story. :)
Indeed, a very thought-provoking and well written glimpse at the everyday life of young people that were carefree and sometimes rebellious, but most of all they wanted to be happy and live their lives as they wished. Thank you for sharing :)
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.