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.
Oh, I absolutely love that you made Elrond the short-tempered and moody one! So often I see Elros depicted as the hothead of the two (as a foreshadowing of his mortal leanings), and considering that various Elves of their ancestry are not exactly famous for keeping their cool, that has never made sense to me. So it was great to read a more spirited version of Elrond, and a more equitable Elros. I'm also glad you allowed them to reconcile. Can't be easy to loose, essentially, your second self - whether through your own choice or not. Good thing they could fix on Eönwë as a scapegoat! The way you described him gave me such a kick. It's not that I dislike Eönwë generally, but it was such a refreshing departure from what I commonly see. In contrast, your Ereinion sounds absolutely delightful, and I can well imagine that the twins are going to have the enjoyable farewell feast they deserve with him. Once again, you made these characters feel so alive and real, with spot-on observations and great natural dialogue.
Oh, thank you! I appreciate this more than you can know. This was a last-minute addition, not one of my original choices, so I did not have my usual thinking and stewing period that I think I need. I am so happy that it worked for you.
I always have fun with Elrond and Elros and I like Gil-galad also. I don't dislike Cirdan--he's terrific in canon. Always doing the right thing, but I can imagine how young people might react to his competence. My problem with Valar/Maiar is a large number of them are short on human emotion. (They aren't really human! Although I have my favorites. Usually those who have the most contact with Elves and Men in canon.)
A beautiful piece! I just loved the tone and mood of this.
I think these two lines might have been my favorites:
“No doubt,” Elros said. He could easily imagine that. Anyway, Eönwë was a perfect scapegoat. Why not shoot the messenger?
“Why did you agree to choose?” Elrond was determined to wind himself up. “How could you?”"
The first, about Eonwe being the perfect scapegoat and because it puts him in his place - a messenger - albeti an arrogant one. You did a lovely job of showing the Valar to be remote, sitting in their ivory tower unconcerned with the plights or ordinary day-to-day problems of the people of Arda. Perfect timing re: the state of the world today! Be caring of only yourself and let the rest of the world be hanged!
Eonwe could care less about the feelings and worries of such great heroes as Elrond and Elros.
The interactions and dialogue between Elrond and Elros is wonderful in this story. Their plight and imminent separation comes across beautifully.
Thanks you so much for the comment! I am happy that you liked it. I am still wrestling with how I feel about it. It felt to me most of the time I was working on it that the length was too short for the theme, but then I tend to like longer stories. Wow! "magnificient" is such a big word! If it is half as good as you say it was here, then I should be very happy with your assessment!
I really did have a lot of empathy for the subject and emotional involvement with the characters, so I am hoping some of that made it into the story and captured your imagination.
Thanks again!! I feel a lot better reading this comment.
Oh my goodness, did I really not comment on this one? I thought I had. (Did I say I was going to do a proper review later and then not? I feel like I did. You should feel free to scold me if that's the case.) I loved this - I'm such a sucker for Elros & Elrond stories, and this one in which they're getting ready to go their separate ways really tickled me. I particularly liked Elrond's snark at Eonwë ("If you say so, it must be true") and the twins mutual love for each other shining through.
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.