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!
Character of the Month: Marach There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.
New Challenge: Allusive Literature and art constantly refer back to each other using allusions, and this month's prompts are inspired by allusions to literature, myth, art, and history.
New Challenge: Building Middle-earth Let global architecture be your inspiration in this challenge, where you will work with a prompts that are architectural styles, locations in Arda, or both.
Rescued from a brutal Angband hunt, an ex-thrall with a strange and powerful artifact embedded in his spine is brought to Himring, for it is one of the only places in Beleriand which welcomes such folk. Though he has no memories of his life before, Anniavas slowly becomes accustomed to his new…
Fëanor shrugged, studying the contents of his wine glass. “Something must be done about that house. It will fall down eventually.” “It does not follow that it must be you that tears it down single-handedly. Are you sure you do not want help?” “It’s not as though I…
Of course, she knew that in the Blessed Land, true harm was unlikely to come to him. The Valar watched over them all, and the lesser spirits were everywhere. It was a great hound of Oromë who had found him happily splashing in the creek, in fact. But anyone could drown in mere…
Across three surveys and ten years, the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey has document when authors began writing. These data reveal trends in how film promotions, the films themselves, the books, and other historical contexts have influenced not only who writes but how long they stay.
Current Challenge
Allusive
Choose from our list of allusions to history, literature, mythology, and art to create a fanwork. Read more ...
Across three surveys and ten years, the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey has document when authors began writing. These data reveal trends in how film promotions, the films themselves, the books, and other historical contexts have influenced not only who writes but how long they stay.
There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.
A dissenting voice in Marach's alliance with the Elves of Beleriand, Amlach experiences a change of mind after a mysterious twist in the story reorients his priorities toward enmity with Morgoth.
Bilbo, the strange old hobbit with the wandering feet, senses something special in young Frodo the first time he sees the lad; as they become close, they find in each other a cameraderie not well understood by other hobbits. Five poignant moments between Bilbo and Frodo Baggins over the course…
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.
And already I'm choking up. I'm loving Maglor's importance as storyteller and, it seems, as someone his people rely on to provide a sense of identity:
"Explain things to us, Makalaure. Tell us what we did. Tell us who we are, now."
That would be heartbreaking in any sort of circumstance, but even more so considering what the Fëanorians just went through, and that Maglor seems (at least temporarily) at a loss to provide for them. Very bleak, but a very promising start.
I was wondering where you were going with the second chapter, but it makes a lot of sense now - what a wonderful (and painful) resolution to the fic, and still probably the closest approach to comfort this could be - and what a gorgeous last paragraph to end on. *slinks off to wipe eyes*
Wow, I really enjoyed this. (I am reading your SoWD stories, trying to choose one to work with for your prize--what a difficult decision it is proving to be, to choose between them! :) I like the idea that Maglor, the bard, is the one who makes sense of the clutter of history to the rest of them, who extracts meaning from otherwise senseless events. I have spent the past few hours working on a paper about the Ainulindale and Tolkien's concept of subcreation, so this is really tickling my muses right now ...
Thank you very much, Dawn! I'm excited to hear that this story of mine is tickling your muses!
We always rely on the stories we construct for ourselves, but the more desperate the situation, the more I think the Feanorians would come to rely on Maglor in this way.
I had been carrying most of this story in my head for quite a while, but as I was finishing it I also had some of your recent comments on the Heretic Loremaster site about characterization in mind.
I hope the paper on the Ainulindale is going well!
I've encountered stories in which Maglor is upset because Daeron is canonically better than he is and others (slash) in which Daeron and Maglor become lovers.
But I prefer to see it this way--simply musicians who have a subject in common they are passionately interested in, but are divided by history and politics.
Comments on Maglor Plays For His People After Doriath
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.