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
Holiday Party
No matter if you're in the Northern or Southern hemisphere, it's a time of year to think about holidays. Whether you're bundling up in blankets or slipping a swimsuit into your suitcase, we invite you to an SWG holiday party! 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.
No one does a slice of life story or vignette better than you. Your love of these characters shines in every line. It's so sweet to see the young Feanor and Nerdanel here just discovering each other and learning their way. Their interactions are charming and the non arrogant Feanor is refreshing. I hope you do decide to continue with this universe, it will be fun to write and a joy to read.
You are too good to me! I appreciate all of work amidst heat-wave and scary storms! I am sorry I have been so hard to keep on track. This no AC while using my computer is NOT working for me! I somehow deleted a "thank you" to you in the summary. Re-writing it! Wonder what other last-minute edits I did not save! (I had added whole sentences--at least an hour of work!)
I really like your description of Mahtan and Istarnie's household and I enjoyed seeing things from their point of view, especially Istarnie's--her expectations and fears and ruminations.
You have some interesting and fresh angles on Feanor and Nerdanel's courtship, like the young smith that might have been his rival but becomes his admirer. It tickled me that genius Feanor starts by getting lost and also his delight over sausages for breakfast.
If you want to write more about those other people in the household that we haven't met yet, I'd definitely be interested.
It's charming :) Through and through. And a joy to read. I second IgB when he says that your love for the characters shines in every line of this story. And if you continue in this universe, I'll be here to read :)
Thanks, Binka! I am so happy that you liked it! I definitely want to continue with further development in this universe! (I wanted to keep writing, but I also wanted to complete as a one-shot for the challenge. So I will consider this a "first-shot.")
I love this so much! Of course, I adore Nerdanel and Feanor, but in fact, that makes me quite picky! However, your depiction here is delightful. I think you've nailed their characters. I also loved Istarnie's and Mahtan's relationship - they are so often reduced to minor characters (I know I am guilty of that too), so it was satisfying to have them spotlighted a bit more. Loved all the details - the worn towel, the Vanyarin aversion to eating "Manwe's feathered friends", the rival who instead becomes an admirer, the idea that more young women may want to learn sculpting once Nerdanel's had her art show... there's so much in here! I certainly hope you'll get around to writing more about these folks. Just wonderful!
Wow! You made my day! What a lovely comment. You're definitely one of the readers I am writing for--the picky ones who love this world! Thank you so much. You mentioned most the small detaails that I hoped people would notice and like. I do want to return to this setting and look at it from the POV of Feanor and introduce those other characters who are already started to stir and walk around and talk in my head.
This is so charming! I really love Istarnie, and the picture you've painted of life at Mahtan's house. And Nerdanel and Feanor's back-and-forth is great fun to read.
There is absolutely NOTHING to criticize about this story! I love this world that you created! Like the golden glow you described when the lights mingle, the whole first descriptive section is infused with the same golden glow. There is exceptional detail of a wonderfully described life that makes me want to read about it forever. (Like in a series of novels about this family and their friends and acquaintances.
Your characterization of Feanaro has made him as swoon-worthy as one could get. I love Nerdanel's gushiness when introducing him to her parents.
And the OC Valdanese fits so smoothly into the story that I wouldn't be surprised if you told me he wasn't an OC but actually in the Silmarillion and I must have overlooked him.
I love Mahtan's sense of social justice and Feanaro's cheekiness in describing Indis. I almost snorted tea out my nose when I read it.
I enjoyed immensely the coppery-bright thread of feminism running through the story too, thanks to Nerdanel, her mother, Miriel and Feanaro's belief that women should be considered equal to men at least as artists. It just adds to the story's immense richness.
The developing relationship between Feanaro and Nerdanel is delightful reading, and what a lovely surprise to discover that Valanese is also an admirer of Feanaro and not necessarily Nerdanel (which is where I thought that particular thread was going).
You've written such an amazingly attractive beginning to a story that I dearly hope you will be able to continue. I am a huge fan already and will be eating it up as soon as you post more! Loved it! Absolutely LOVED it.
What a super review! I was feeling grumpy and absolutely wilted (hot here today!) when I got a notification of your comment. I read it and it turned me completely around. I am so happy that you liked it so much. I definitely want to revisit this world and flesh it out more and continue with their stories.
You're welcome! I could have written a better review! I forgot to quote some lines that I particularly enjoyed:
“What did you tell him?” It was not a request but a demand. That’s my girl, Mahtan thought.
Fëanáro relaxed and laughed. “I told him that I was occupied at the moment. I didn’t tell him—didn’t think that he needed to know—that it has taken me the better part of week to convince you to find a small amount of time to spend with me, Lady Nerdanel.”
“Don't use that smarmy tone with me. I am no lady of your courtly circles of Tirion!”
“Not my circles! And you certainly are not one of those ladies. You are more like a queen!” Mahtan could easily imagine the boy’s color rising, as it often did when his voice took on that tone. Spirit of fire indeed. “You’re stubborn as a mule.” He wasn’t wrong about that. “If I have done something that has upset you, your gracious highness, I would appreciate it if you would tell me what it is.”
These lines in particular tell us a lot about the characters of these three people. Mahtan's pride in his daughter as well as his protectiveness, Feanaro's admiration and appreciation of Nerdanel despite her stubborn nature and Nerdanel's forthright bluster shows us how strong she is.
It's just so good! I'm happy that I could help make you feel a little less wilted, etc.
I also admire your ability to write something as wonderful as this despite the heat and other stressors that you have had to deal with, because I just can't concentrate when things like that are happening in my life.
Thanks, again, Jenni! I love the comments. I had so much fun to trying to imagine what it might have been like early on for all of them. Those were the good days (in my imagination at least).
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.