Choose a Name for Our New Column!
Our temporarily titled "location bio" will focus on the landscapes and locations of Middle-earth. We need your help naming it!
Challenges have been a part of the SWG since our group was formed in 2005. Before the archive, there were challenges. Before References or any special projects or B2MeM or any of the myriad things we've done over the last decade-plus, there were challenges. Challenges end and a new challenges is posted on the 15th of the month. (Yes, that means there is one thrilling day each month when there are two active challenges!) Participants—both authors and reviewers—will receive a stamp in their challenge stamp collection for their participation. Deadlines apply only if you want your fanwork to receive a stamp.
Every challenge that has ever been offered by the SWG is available for use by creators of fanworks who are looking for inspiration. Even if the deadline for stamps is passed, you are welcome to use the challenges listed on our site. And comments on past challenge fanworks are always welcome and always receive a reward for that month. Want to join us? Click to read the guidelines below!
The Tengwar are one of the delights of visiting Middle-earth as a fan of Tolkien's work. Whether a serious student of the letters; dabbling with them, Appendix open, on a lazy afternoon; or simply admiring the way they flow across a title page (or the One Ring …), most Tolkien fans find them beautiful and packed with meaning beyond what it seems should be contained within a single letter.
This month (and a bit beyond!), we will feature a prompt per day taken from the Tengwar chart. The prompt will include a graphic of the tengwa and its name in Quenya and English. You can use any part of the prompt: the tengwa itself, the name, the English translation, the graphic, or some other creative interpretation we haven't even dreamed up yet! You may do as many or as few of the daily prompts as you would like. One prompt is worth as much as challenging yourself to do them all, so work at the level and pace that is comfortable for you. (However, there may be a special reward for anyone ambitious enough to try them all!)
Prompts will be posted daily at midnight UTC on our website, Tumblr, Dreamwidth, and the #monthly-challenges channel on our Discord. You do not need to do the prompt on the day it was posted; you can go back and do prompts you missed or do them out of order.
Thank you to Cuarthol and Anérea for the gorgeous banners and stamps this month!
View prompts for the Tengwar challenge.
Prompts for this Matryoshka challenge are based on the archetypes that pepper myths, legends, and literature found around the world. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, we offered a menu of daily prompts designed to help people connect, show kindness to others, and refocus on their own creativity during this uncertain moment in history. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
While usually the scenes are filmed first and the soundtrack is composed later, this month we want to challenge you to create (or continue) a story after listening to one of our musical prompts. The prompts will be pieces of classical and instrumental music. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
"This idea is completely unworkable, but I bet I can make it work." With that philosophy in mind (if so dignified a word can be used here), create a fanwork using a bingo card with the most bizarre, silly, and crackiest prompts we could conjure. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork in which one (or several) of the holidays of Middle-earth plays a role. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
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. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Try something "in rare form," using a format or genre that is rarely utilized in Tolkien fanfiction. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Select any (or several) of the "mysterious documents" from our prompt set and let them feature in your fanwork. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork that solves a canon problem using your own favorite (or most frustrating!) canon problem to solve or by choosing one of the member-submitted canon problems. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork using a prompt from an LGBTQIA+ person, choosing from music, art, poetry, and quotations. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Prompts for this Matryoshka challenge are loosely based on the plot arcs and tropes of romance novels. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Use a prompt by a female musical artist or a band with a female lead to create your fanwork. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork featuring a rare character or textual ghost in a leading role. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Choose a quote from the canon about love and create a fanwork that responds to the quote. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
A multi-course "feast" of prompts for writing, artwork, reading, commenting, and meta. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Prompts for this Matryoshka challenge are loosely inspired by the predictable plot arcs of hilariously abominable, eye-rollingly corny, so-bad-they're-actually-kinda-good horror films. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork using prompts from a bingo card of sitcom tropes. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
In this challenge inspired by the Polynesian wayfinders, choose a video, song, or historical fact as inspiration to create a fanwork. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
In honor of the SWG becoming a teenager, create a fanwork about an adolescent character or adolescence using our prompt generator. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a work of nonfiction. All nonfiction is welcome, from headcanons to essays to multimedia responses. Challenge opened in . Read more ...