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!
SWG News
New Challenge: Tengwar
Each day for thirty-six days, we feature a randomly chosen letter from the Tengwar as a prompt.
A Sense of History: Crossroads
In the ongoing series on towers in Tolkien's work, a thread runs through "The Lord of the Rings," revealing the divine assistance of Varda in the travails of the Fellowship.
Cultus Dispatches: Canon Deviations, Multifandoms, and Original Content
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data gives some insight into what connections, if any, exist between fanfiction and original fiction.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] Fire in Four Quarters by sallysavestheday
For the Tengwar challenge, four poems in which Beleriand and Middle-Earth are threatened by flames (once from each cardinal direction).
[Writing] Tengwar (working title) by cuarthol
For the Tengwar prompt challenge. To be updated as new prompts are completed.
Current up through 'Hyarmen'
[Writing] Analysis of "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" by Rocky41_7
Examining the relationship between Andreth and Finrod as shown in the Athrabeth.
[Writing] Perspective by Rocky41_7
Grandfather brings a treat back from Valmar.
Something not seen since the Years of the Trees comes to light. (A sequel of sorts to What A Tangled Web We Weave...)
[Writing] "Tengwar" ficlets by chrissystriped
Fics written for the "Tengwar" challenge.
Current Challenge
Tengwar
A daily prompt of a Tengwar letter per day. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Middle-earth Is Multitudes
Use our daily prompt calendar to populate your fanworks with a more diverse array of characters. Read more ...
New in References
[]
With Gildor Inglorion we finally climb the stairs of Elostirion and look on the view, and what we see appears to reveal a hidden thread in the story of Frodo Baggins. This post reads two annotated translations of two Elvish songs to step through a crossroads in the narrative to arrive at the tower on the margin of the story, wherein is a stone that is a window onto Valinor.
Grief, Grieving, and Permission to Mourn in the "Quenta Silmarillion" by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]In a book as full of death as the Quenta Silmarillion, grief and mourning are surprisingly absent. The characters who receive grief and mourning—and those who don't—appear to do so due to narrative bias. Grief and mourning (or a lack of them) serve to draw attention toward and away from objectionable actions committed by characters.
In the House of the Fairbairns by Simon J. Cook
[]The first of some posts on the Elf-tower on the western margin of The Lord of the Rings attempts to frame the relationship between the narrative and the appendices of The Lord of the Rings and an analysis of Frodo's dream-visions.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Waybread (The Waybredlik) by Himring
[]Lembas speaks out.
[Series] Apr 1st Stories by Uvatha the Horseman
[]Once a year on April 1st, a canon character from LOTR or the Silmarillion gets pranked.
[Writing] Crossing Forest River by Dawn Felagund
[]Bilbo recounts, in verse, the attempt of Gandalf, Beorn, and him to cross the Forest River after the Battle of Five Armies. Written for the Hungarian Tolkien Society's 2024 Mailing Competition.
Around the World and Web
May 2024 Calls for Papers
Conferences and publications that have open calls for papers in May 2024.
Angbang Week 2024
All new, unpublished fanworks about the Angbang (Melron) ship are welcome during this Tumblr event, running 6-12 May 2024.
Tolkien Ekphrasis Week 2024
This is a Tolkien-fandom-wide event dedicated to the art of ekphrasis in Tolkien's worlds, hosted on Tumblr and Dreamwidth.
Tolkien Society Seminar: Tolkien's Romantic Resonances
This free hybrid event explores the influence of Romanticism on Tolkien's works.
Glorfindel Week 2024
Glorfindel Week is a week-long Tumblr event for creating fanworks that celebrate Glorfindel. Glorfindel Week will run April 29-May 5, 2024.
First Lines
The first line of a story can be very important. It usually sets the tone or introduces you into a scene. With this challenge, we have made a list of story openers for you to use and to expand upon. If you take part in this challenge, your story must be written with one of the first lines provided below in the Challenge Prompts section.
This challenge opened in .
Prompts
Choose your prompt from the collection below.
- View Prompts
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- This morning marks the anniversary, the anniversary of two people...
- Even now she could see the scar on her left hand she got on the day she finally escaped.
- After the door shuts and the footsteps die...
- Knowing they would be quick to jump to conclusions, she figured it would be best for him to hide under the bed.
- Tracing the outline of her face (or his) from a photograph...
- Collapsing under a canopy of green...
- Never one to back down from a fight, he smacked the hand away that was extended to him and smirked.
- Underneath the pile of clothes, dirt, and junk, there was a small, golden medallion that seemed to shine in importance.
- The stain will not come out...
- He kept asking me if I had forgiven her but I couldn’t even remember her face, let alone my own name.
- Jewels aren't for giving...
- Taking his shirt off, he looked over all his wounds, wondering if they were worth the price of getting the information.
- Images are blurred...
- Holding her necklace close to her chest, she finally looked up with determination and said, “No.”
- It's not the street I usually go down. But for some reason, that day I...
- Taking a moment to breathe, she turned around, smiled politely, but in her head she was plotting revenge.
- "I’ve got the ingredients," he exclaimed, "now I just need the innocent human to sacrifice and I’m all set!"
- I noticed you...
- Only time would tell, but he was pretty sure that letting go of her was the best possible decision.
Can't find a first line that inspires you? Try these first line generators for some more inspiration: First line Generator at Writingexercises.co.uk or Story Starters at Writingfix.com. If you make use of one of these generators, mention it in the story!
Fanworks Tagged with First Lines
Mountains High Above by Independence1776
Maglor, mountains, and ruling in Valinor during the First Age.
Mythmoot Mathoms by Dawn Felagund
I hid a prize in my Mythmoot III presentation, and these ficlets were written for those who discovered it and sent me their request.
Updated! Answered Swiftly: Fingon's prayer and the rescue of Maedhros, told from Throndor's perspective. Slightly experimental and weirdish.
Older: Love There Too: Olórin comes upon a young Finwë and Míriel at Cuivíenen.
The Mystery of the Missing Medallion: Maglor's begetting day gift for his father has gone missing. A tale involving a mad music master, missing jewelry, and a very odd hostage.
The Sharpest and Sweetest of Recollections by Dawn Felagund
On the night of her betrothal party to Fingolfin, Anairë summons her dearest friend Eärwen to Tirion. Overwhelmed by the sense that she is losing control over her life and her longing for the love she once shared with Eärwen, Anairë wonders if she has made the right choice. A sequel to The Sailing Forth, written for Elleth. Anairë/Eärwen, Anairë/Fingolfin
