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!
Sign-Up to Hand Out Scavenger Hunt Prompts Our May challenge will be a Matryoshka built around a scavenger hunt. If you'd like to hand out prompts (and receive comments on your work for doing so!), you can sign up to do so.
New Challenge: Everyman Create a fanwork about an ordinary character in the legendarium using a quote about an unnamed character as inspiration.
Cultus Dispatches: Fanworks, AI, and Resistance by Dawn and Grundy The fan studies column Cultus Dispatches returns with a history of how Tolkien fanworks fandom has reacted and resisted generative AI by drawing strong boundaries in a way that is not typical for the fandom.
Feanor and Fingolfin, from their youth to their fall.
"I will do this gladly," Fingolfin said, whispering into Feanor's mouth, grasping for reasons and sense. "Gladly, if it will bring peace between us. If it will end the madness."
A Teleri fishing boat captain turns to farming on abandoned Noldor lands after her ship is stolen. A Noldor farmer returns with Finarfin to find that his land belongs to the Teleri now.
The thing about forgiveness, he thought, was that it was so much easier when the object of it was far away—or dead. It was so much easier to let it all go when those responsible were far away and unable to do any more harm.
Inspired by collecting the prompts for the Everyman challenge, this essay considers how ordinary people are subsumed and silenced in The Silmarillion, which begins a three-book arc that ends with the rise of the humble and ordinary.
In his old age, Isildur's former esquire Ruinamacil, known to later histories only as Ohtar, writes his own account of his escape from the ambush at Gladden Fields and journey to Imladris, and the history of his friend whom Isildur ordered to flee with him.
By definition, fanworks fandom does not draw a lot of boundaries, but community archives and events have taken a strong stance against AI-generated fanworks due to ethical considerations and member input.
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.
This presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025 discusses the parallels between the concept of abnegation in the scientific work surrounding the atomic bomb and in The Silmarillion. The relinquishment of self-interest in favor of the interests of others, abnegation was identified by Tolkien as a powerful act of spirit and reason. The legendarium has many examples of the complexities of abnegation, which parallel similar discussions held by physicists during and after World War II.
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.
The tone and language and atomsphere of this are perfect. And I always say I don't like horror fics in general. Utterly and perfectly creepy and I love the style in which it's written. I like the use of the singing and how he appreciates their malice, the way they attack the orcs, but "fawned like cubs" over him. Eww nasty. And their development for the taste of elves and men--chilling. Great job. No more complaining about reading werewolf fics from me.
Thanks, Oshun! I had this scene so clearly in my head, and I wanted that atmopshere to be just right. I'm glad that came through for you. You know where my thoughts turn this time of year, to werewolves other fell beasts. ;-)
Bard, I think you have outdone yourself with this one. You have the style and tone down, but more than that, the heart of it all. The mingling of 'self' that binds and strengthens at the same time is a lot of the heart of the story of the Silmarillion and all the Histories and you have captured the essence of that with this short story amazingly well.
Thanks, Sulriel! I greatly appreciate your comments. When I read that there were werewolves and vampires in Tolkien's stories I wanted to more about them. He certainly has a different "take" on what we think of as traditional for these creatures. It's certainly an interesting area to explore.
You had me at "selenium and tin." Nice touch there and especially appealing to someone as nerdsome as myself.
Your vision of werewolves' genesis fits well with my take of Middle-earth's species of werewolves. They did not engage in lycanthropic transformation but instead had heightened humanoid sentience through grafting of corrupt spirits/souls/fëar or some other manipulation.
And that penultimate paragraph? Ooooooh, yeah! The whole of the story reads as a stygian "just-so" fable. Thanks for the delectably dark confection!
Pandemonium, you honor me. I wish I could write my stories as well as you write your reviews. "stygian just-so fable" I love that. :-)There are few things as fightening as evil combined with intelligence, which is what makes Tolkien's epic villians so disturbing and fascinating.
Ah werewolves! To bring in the music as a mechanism to create is put to good practice with the useage of elements. Not every sentence runs as smoothly to me when I read it, as if there is too much information crammed in there using and as a conjuction. Then it picks up again and it runs smoothly, it might be me. It's a small thing because Sauron in all its evil and cunning planning stand out, leaving me wonder if he has a small feud or dislike of Nessa. I love the different faces of Sauron's wolves: cubs vs dangerous beings ready to kill and conquer at the snap of Sauron's fingers. I can so imagine that later in his life, Sauron as the one eye wishes to be returned to those good ol' times.
Thanks so much for your comments! I think the difference you note comes from the fact that the first paragraph I wrote like me and then I kind of switched to the Tolkien style. :-) I'll see if I can fix that in future posts. Hmm, the idea of Sauron feuding with Nessa gives me another plot idea... I love your comment about Sauorn getting all nostalgic for the good old days, when he had a body, and even another eye. lol
Comments on The Making of the Werewolves
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.