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.
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.
Created for the 'Geography/Maps/Places' prompt on the "Tolkien meta" bingo board, this is a collection of maps marked with the various people groups showing how they arrived and moved about Beleriand. This collection focuses specifically on the time from the arrival of the Teleri, Vanyar, and…
This is an analysis on whether the Sindar ate the Petty-dwarves during the years they hunted them, completed for the 'Literary Analysis' prompt on the "Tolkien Meta" bingo card.
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
Start to Finish
Choose one of the famous first lines from the list below and use it to start your story. If you are creating a fanwork other than writing, you may use one of the first lines to inspire your fanwork. 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.
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.
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.
November challenge at tolkienshortfanworks
The challenge for November has been posted to the tolkienshortfanworks community on Dreamwidth. Thematic prompt: refuge. Formal challenge: include imitation of a sound. As always, these can be filled independently and also freely combined with SWG and other challenges. New participants welcome!
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 we die, all we have is our works to live after us. We can remember the person who originally made this scene. We can honor those who came before. There are those who speak of Hope in these troubled times.”
Thank you so much for reading and commenting! I agree, that passage was the heart of what I was trying to get at: what is the purpose to fight entropy and save old things and memories? I think it has great value.
Thank you very much for your comment and for reading! I am glad you liked the alpaca. The scene is directly taken from when I was very small- my grandfather (a magician) made the cuckoos hop up a ladder into the cuckoo clock.
Oh. Wow. This is truly a little piece of magic. I really enjoyed the elements of magic incorporated as natural everyday stuff. The setting and Andreth's occupation is so apt. I really love the way the tapestry tells the Tale of Adanel, with the frayed missing edge.
This is so beautifully written, I was immediately there with the scent of dust and old things, and the light, the slight clutter of her workroom, the texture of Finrod's suit, and the pair of them so easy in each other’s company.
I'm really partial to Andreth and particularly the Tale of Adanel, and this is such an original little gem. Thank you!
I am so glad that the mood and details came through. I was trying to conjure the feelings of all the grand old museums I've been to in my life. Andreth is one of my favorite characters as well. There is so much going on there to unpack.
Ah, I am so happy that you feel I captured the spirit of it. I love the story, but wanted to make it slightly less of just a long conversation about Tolkien's philosophy and more of a story. I love Latin American magical realism, and wanted to come up with something like a cross between House of the Spirits and Encanto with a little bit of Sesame Street: Don't Eat the Pictures or Moon Knight (without the deities trashing the place)
Thank you for reading and commenting! It makes me very happy that you feel the AU setting is a good fit. I thought of "what sort of lore could she know that was specialized and someone from another culture might be curious about?" And then I remembered a formative experience when I was very very small and my grandfather (a magician) made the cuckoos hop up a ladder into the cuckoo clock.
Aaaaaah this was magical, I love it so much. Your descriptions are beautiful, I could picture everything so well in my mind. And Andreth as a museum curator is so perfect!
Augh, that goodbye though T-T Heartwrenching in the best way.
I love writing descriptions more than anything, so I am glad they worked for you! The end of the Athrabeth does seem so final, although it says in the footnotes that they all lived for at least 50 more years, etc. I guess everything does work on a longer scale, just as Finrod and Andreth talk about! I just knew that her magic/secret knowledge was going to be about bringing exhibits to life when I randomly drew Museum and Magical Realism from the list. I mean, who wouldn't want to pet a real live mastodon? (Well, there might be some people who would wisely run, but I would stay)
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.