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 ...
Random Challenge
B2MeM 2010
Back to Middle-earth Month 2010 was a collaborative game-style challenge where participants created fanworks in order to progress in their attempt to win the Last Battle. 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.
Hilarious! I love the spread of fates in this, the various sons all off leading different lives; the rivalry and family tensions carried over into the future; and Feanor a great engineer, always after the Silmaril, but then -- what? Well, he'll do something with it, probably... Thank you!
Thanx for the review, Clodia. I had a lot of fun with this; Feanor's voice sounded very clear to me for once. I do wonder though, if Feanor does eventually seize the Silmaril, will he find that having is as sweet as wanting, particularly after what the Jewel has cost him?
This garnered a major thumb's up from me when I saw it in its earlier draft, and my enjoyment is sustained in this final version. Raksha, I expect you and I are "of an age" and vividly remember the Apollo missions. This captures the excitement of the times and then "Tolkienizes" it. It's a good example of the so-called "alternate universe" genre, which to succeed requires a good knowledge of the texts (The Silmarillion, HoMe, etc.) I'd be inclined to call this an "alternate history" because it surely still has the feel of Tolkien's universe.
Fëanor's character comes through so well here. it's very satisfying to think of his role in the Apollo missions and for the purpose of...retrieving his Silmaril! The nod to careers of Curufin and Maglor are great. The fifth Beatle! Yëah, yëah, yëah!
And driving away in that custon El Dorado? I don't know how much more in character one could get with "Dr. Feurstein." :^D
I can still remember where I was when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon; how exciting it all was. And think how much more exciting it was for someone who actually worked on the space flight...While Feanor did join the space program engineers to further his grand design of getting back the Jewel, I think he would have found the work very satisfying.
I see Curufin as very much a junior Feanor in terms of ability and work ethic, perhaps with less imagination than his father; very much a good son. Maglor's a slave to music; and eventually got tired of lamenting on the seashore; though I expect he still has melancholy spells.
Thanx again for your help with the beta and scientific proofing, Pandemonium; I'm still thrilled that the story passed muster with you, since I definitely do not have a scientific mind.
I love this story, which says something as I don't like Feanor and rarely read Simarillion stories! It just feels so plausible that he would keep on inventing if he lived. I also loved the idea of his son as a Beatle!
Feanor is not one of my favorite elves; but he was certainly a prime mover of events. I didn't really take an interest in him until I saw Maeglin's birthday challenge - Feanor Lives - and had a vision of Feanor with sunglasses and a flashy red car watching the Apollo 11 take-off...I think for Feanor, inventing or perfecting, the craft of making things, was as important to him as breathing; he was a far better artisan than he was a king.
Thanx, Steel; the Spirit of Fire was a lot more fun to write in the 20th century than (for me) in the Age of the Trees; I found him more accessible. Glad you liked the piece.
What a lovely story! Feanor will always be himself, no? his long term agenda has hardly changed over the millenia. The idea of gifting the recovered Silmaril to Yavanna is quite great as his choice of car. You convery very vividly the pleasure of the craftsman at the accomplished task and, of course, he does not need to take the credit for himself. Also very much in character his memories of Nerdanel and having Curufin working with the Russian space project.
Maglor as the fifth Beatle, of course. I always imagined that there had to be something more with the Beatles. Now I realize what it was
Thanks for reading and reviewing, Angelica. I have never written Feanor before; he is certainly a complex character; and the idea of his surviving (AU that it is) and thriving in this very high-tech modern time was appealing. He just might return the Silmaril to Yavanna; a lot would depend on the circumstances of his acquiring it, I suspect.
Maglor just had to be the fifth Beatle; he wanted some fun after all those years of suffering and lamenting.
This is a great story. I never read it before. It must be one of the things I missed during the various periods I was short a functioning computer. I like the concept very much. Feanor fits perfectly.
Thanx for reviewing, Oshun - I'm glad that you enjoyed the story. I had a blast writing the piece. Feanor's quite a piece of work and for once, his state of mind was visible and accessible to me.
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.