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.
Create a fanwork that explores fear. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork that celebrates new beginnings. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork in which a Silmarillion character ends up in the modern world. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork that features a character learning something new. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a "hot" fanwork--taking that word as you wish! Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Set a fanwork in a place that you would like to visit on Arda, whether a city, region, island, or body of water. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork concerning one of the three selected quotes about Fëanor (although your fanwork can be about any character). Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create an AU fanwork where an original character--you!--tries to influence his or her canon sibling in some way or in which you choose a sibling to influence you. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Step inside of one of the families of "The Silmarillion" and tell their tale with a fanwork that illustrates the conflicts and relationships that occur within a family. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Choose a single moment in Tolkien's canon, have a character make a different choice, and create a fanwork about how the history changes. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork that considers conflicts with nature--both overt and symbolic--and characters' relationships with that which is natural in their world. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Join a character on the road to explore the actual and symbolic importance of journeys. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork about your favorite OTP. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Show how one character helps another to overcome a difficulty in his or her life through love. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork centered on a nonviolent conflict. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork about an object that is magical or otherwise valuable in some way, either canonical or of your own invention. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Create a fanwork about the first meeting between a character from Valinor and someone just arriving from Middle-earth. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Remix another author's fanwork (with their permission!) by rewriting it from another character's perspective. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Your character arrives for the first time in a new place. Maybe he journeyed there with a purpose, or maybe she ended up there by accident. What does she perceive? What new experiences and conflicts will he have? This month's challenge asks you to bring a character to a new, strange place for the first time and to develop a story around his or her experiences there. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Choose a female character from The Silmarillion or related texts who contributes something of value and create a fanwork about her. Challenge opened in . Read more ...