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.
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: 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.
Cultus Dispatches: "The Rings of Power" Is a Ripple (So Far)
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data for 2025 shows that "The Rings of Power" TV series has not had the same impact on the fandom as the film trilogies did ... so far.
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.
Cultus Dispatches: Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey
Ten years of demographic data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey show consistencies in who reads and writes fanfiction, as well as a few key demographic shifts.
[Writing] From That Rubble by StarSpray
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…
[Writing] Explain This by Elrond's Library
Melkor demands an account of Mairon’s failures.
[Writing] Message in a Bottle by StarSpray
Over the course of his very long life he had found a handful of messages in bottles, but it had been a very long time. So when he found the glass bottle on his little stretch of pebbly beach, he picked it up with the intention of tossing it into his recycling. But it wasn’t, he found, just…
[Writing] Eä's Redemption by AaronAzrael
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…
[Writing] A Thousand Winds that Blow by StarSpray
When uneasy dreams bring him back into Beleriand, Daeron finds a pair of twins who have lost their home, and an enemy who has lost himself. The Shadow's reach is growing ever longer, and if they are to survive, they must do it together.
[Artwork] Nerdanel/Nienna moodboard by Independence1776
A Nerdanel/Nienna moodboard.
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Elrohir has been found after his long abduction by the Black Númenóreans of Umbar. He comes home to Rivendell, but all is not well: the Elf-child that was taken is now a Man grown. War and darkness have left Elrohir deeply scarred, and even at home there is danger...
An alternate universe…
United They Stand
Emancipation and equality can be found in the Professor's words, and we would like to challenge you to create a fanwork about this process. Read more ...
"The Rings of Power" Is a Ripple (So Far) by Dawn Walls-Thumma
The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies mark perhaps the most influential events in the history of the Tolkien fanfiction fandom. As the Rings of Power show approaches its third season, data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey shows that it is not even close to matching the impact of the films ... yet.
Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Data from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey shows demographic changes in participant gender, age, and education and new revelations about neurodiversity.
Communities Do Comment: Expanding the 3C's of Commenting with SWG Data by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Expanding on my 2018 article "Why People Don't Comment," comment data from the SWG underscores community as an essential component to a robust commenting culture.
[Writing] Down the Long Years by Isilme_among_the_stars
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…
[Artwork] The Mirror of Galadriel by skywardstruck
Smoke rises from the Mirror, where the Lady of Lothlórien awaits to share its visions.
Finwean Sibblings Prompt Fest 2026
A prompt-based fandom event aiming to focus on celebrating Finwë's children: Fëanor, Findis, Fingolfin, Lalwen, & Finarfin - ships, gen relationships, or character-centric
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Tolkien Sapphic September is a month long event focusing on Sapphic relationships and characters in Tolkien and adjacent materials.
Gigolas Week 2026
Gigolas Week is a tumblr event focusing on the relationship between Legolas and Gimli
Innumerable Stars 2026
A character-based Tolkien fandom gift exchange is returning for another year of gifting.
This is very entertaining. I can imagine all of these attitudes and it fits within the world very well. Thanks for sharing. Poking to see if there are any further plot bunnies hiding in that bunny hutch. Seems there could be world of stories within this view of the world. I kind of love the idea myself that the Valar are not seen to be as infallible by the Sinar of M-e as they are by the Vanyar of Aman and the better-behaved of the reformed or non-leavers among the Noldor.
Oropher is a special case and I get a kick here out of his reclacitrance even when faced the outcome of his choices!
Nice work!
Thank you! :D
There are definitely more plot bunnies for me about the Sindar and how they (don't) fit in with the prevailing Noldor culture, whether exile or in Valinor. I think I already have a good dozen stories based on that idea, actually...I should probably post them over here at some point. I just always feel awkward shoving the Sindarin politics of not belonging into a list of stories that's primarily based on the Noldor.
The idea of the Valar not being seen as as infallible among the Sindar as the Noldor has always been a put theory of mine - I mean, the Sindar had their king marry a Maia, and I'm assuming she didn't sit in a lofty throne at the top of a tree removed from all the people for that many years. And as far as I can tell, Thingol had the final say, not Melian. So they wouldn't have been used to the final say being with the Valar or Maia, whereas in Valinor, Manwë seems to have had the power to come in and go "Hey, Finwë, we're exiling your son for years, this is out of your hands". My Sindar are very much "Hey, you abandoned us. To Morgoth. My grandfather got turned into a orc by him, while you say here and chatted with Ingwë. **** off, you're not as infalliable as you think you are."
Oropher would tell Elu off if he thought he was being an idiot, he's not going to let any Noldo tell him what to do. :P He's very reclacitrant around anybody who he didn't basically grow up being disciplined by (""**** OFF FINARFIN, you didn't change my diapers and you're not telling me what to do. Only Elu gets to do that, and my parents"). I'm glad you got a kick out of him.
That's very true, Brooke, one can't really see the Sindar being very comfortable with established Amanyarin society--or at least some of them, and Oropher in particular.
Maybe, if those are right who think that Aman is a lot bigger than it looks, they wouldn't actually have to live close to Tirion, though.
Of course, the Valar are another matter--no getting away from them in Aman, obviously!
I think the majority of the Sindar would not be happy with the established society - Oropher is definitely one of the most vocal about it (but he's one of the most vocal about everything :P). I actually think Nimloth might struggle more than him, at least in this universe. She's lost her husband, her sons, and everybody is expecting her to act like her daughter does. And that's not my Nimloth, who will never, ever accept that there is any good that came of her sons' deaths or that it's how things should be.
They don't have to live that close, in my mind, but the Noldor and Vanyar won't leave them alone - constantly wanting to come and convince them of things.
The Valar have exactly zero respect for boundaries. At this rate, Oropher will end up teaming with Fingon to launch a "Free Fëanor to slam a door in Manwë's face like he did Morgoth's" campaign.
As an ardent lover of the Sindar and the Iathrim in particular, I adore this! But it made my heart ache for how true it is. I imagine they really would be pariahs in an Amanyarin world. Perhaps not so much in Alqualonde, but certainly among the Noldor and Vanyar, I can see it.
Sorry for the very late reply! I must have dreamed that I responded to this...anyways, I'm glad that you adored it! I think they'd not be as big of pariahs in Alqualonde, but that for the sake of the Teleri's standing, it'd be an almost underground thing - because both sides would, I think, resent the Noldor and Vanyar to a degree and be willing to sneak things to have something over them, if that makes sense.
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