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.
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.
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.
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.
These were simply flashes, a hint of a wider, greater world. A tantalizing glimpse of more, always at the edge of awareness, never within reach. Míriel would grasp it, if something as intangible as the concept of color could overflow in bounteous wonder over her hands.
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.
Hi! This was a most enjoyable first chapter! I enjoyed the details and how you set the scene from Nerdanel's POV. Their first meeting was deliciously filled with tension--I liked how you fleshed them out--their personalities shine through very well for me. I loved Feanor's expression when she told him that she doesn't know him--how priceless! Her reaction when she finds out his real identity was juicy as well. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Thank you very much! Yes, I suspect those would have been rather funny situations - looking back at them! Experiencing them would probably have been reeeeally embarrassing...
Lyra, this is wonderful! It's hard to know where to begin as far as my liking for it. You know, of course, that I admire your writing to start. Your characters of both Feanor and Nerdanel seem perfectly drawn to me ... but especially Feanor, whose little quips completed his picture and added a nice touch of humor to the chapter.
And, okay--fangirl moment--I must say that I enjoyed right alongside Nerdanel your lingering description of him parading around naked. >:^D
Thank you so much! I'm flattered (and sort of relieved, too) that you like "my" Ner and Fea. Though to be fair half the credit should go to Jane Austen and to Shakespeare who kindly (if unwittingly) provided the inspiration ;)
This is wonderful! This is the kind of story that although we know the ending, makes you want to keep reading. Great characters (of course, this is Feanaro in his teens) and also a marvelous description of the uses and customs of Elvish society in the (aptly named) golden days.
I hope the plotbunnies keep cooperating. Really looking forward to the next chapter
Thank you so much! I'm really glad this story works for others, too. The plotbunnies are fickle and time is rare, but I hope I'll be able to post a third chapter soon!
I'm enjoying this immensely and was so excited when you posted this new chapter. I like how you portray F&N very much--they are such a great match for each other. Looking forward to more.
To be honest, half the inspiration for this story comes from <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> as well as Shakespeare's <i>Much Ado about Nothing</i>... so there is going to be a lot of chaos and confusion until the two of them realise they actually need each other ;)
Well, what can I say? The nomination is definitely deserved! Despite the end that we know this is working toward, I can't help but sit here and wibble a little waiting for the next chapter. More of this, please. I should probably say something about the chapter as well, but then we've talked about that via IM, you know I love it. Keep on writing, dear, and you can count on the continued support (even if I still don't know what I did!).
I'm afraid I should warn you to expect me to keep on telling you how much I am enjoying this. Nerdanel doesn't seem to be aware that she has fallen for him. ;-) Feanor's presence was very strongly felt in this chapter, even if he wasn't physically here. I'm very interested in how things are developing the role that Erenwen will play and when F&N will get together again.
I felt like squeeing when you mentioned that this will be longer than planned--I really enjoy reading this story. This chapter is my favorite so far--I wonder how Feanor would have reacted if/when he finds out that she heard him! And it's like it was Nerdanel's doing that resulted in him having to do humble chores. LOL--so Celegorm was right after all, and maybe that's why she didn't answer her son's question. I'm eager to see what happens next.
Very well written! I enjoyed reading this quite a lot. Your talent of description is astounding, and I find I enjoy your versions of Nerdanel and Fëanáro quite a lot! Thanks for sharing this piece ^^
I've started to read this story now (backwards!--chapter by chapter, that is). I like the way you describe Nerdanel as artist: her attitude to her work and her fellow craftsmen.
Glad you like her! I've neglected this poor thing for far too long. But somehow it wanted to be continued after all... must have been my brain protesting against all the dark and angsty things I meant to be writing.
Oh my goodness, I adore this story, and most of all, your Nerdanel. I love how focused on her work she is, and I can well understand her anxiety about it. The the locking-yourself-in-your-room and worrying about others will think about what you've made for them are all too familiar. And your Fëanáro is also very...Fëanáro! Lol. I really really hope you will once update this story, it is lovely. <3
Great to see you managed to continue the story (under the current circumstances!)--and write a substantial chapter, too! I'll be interested to see what happens when those four siblings have to stay in one room together long enough to be sketched by Nerdanel.
Well, it does make me worry that suddenly I'll be stuck at some point I'd never planned, and then won't find my way back to the plot. I'm so far away from my original outline by now that it's ridiculous... Thank you! (Sometimes, but we don't have a reliable rhythm yet. It's much better than it was in the first months, though - now he often sleeps six to seven hours in one go, which is such a relief!)
Goodness this is so entertaining! It's one of those fics that I'd read over and over and over (and those are not many at all). I absolutely love the way you do take time (whether planned or not) to have a little ado about nothing. And the accuracy to canon is so generously used, and I love the details that are not specified in canon but fit in so perfectly (Feanaro's refusal to eat bread, for one). I really am at the edge of my seat to see how this is going to play out :)
Through your update, this story caught my eye and I had quite some fun reading it.
The image of the great Feanaro trapped in a rabbit hole and dressed in a shift he had outgrown years ago made me laugh. I really like the way you manage to make him seem insufferable superior one minute and downright ordinary with all the flaws of normal people the next. One of the more human interpretations of the character I have read.
Nerdanel, in her own right, has quite some spunk, with a down to earth attitude. I really like her!
I really looking forward to her stature of Finwe's children.
A little side note: I hope I see a little more of Indis in further chapters. The few times she appeared, she showed quite some insight of her own. ;)
Welcome! And thank you for enjoying this. I'm glad you like my "human" interpretations of Fëanor The Great And Terrible, and that you like my Nerdanel, too.
I definitely hope that I'll get a chance to write more Indis, too! Before I wrote her appearances in this story, I really didn't care for her, but she has since grown on me and I think that she has some interesting contributions to make to the story... Thank you for your lovely review!
Nothing that wasn't true in some way, I'm sure, but worded so that it could easily be understood as negative. "Her sketches are really very basic, very rough-and-ready" - "She appears to be flouting all conventional rules" - "She lets the children roam as they wish, it's a miracle if she gets anything done" - things that will feed Alcaráco's prejudice, but when the big reveal comes, Fëanáro can honestly say he didn't lie. ;)
I cannot believe I haven't reviewed this yet! Because it's a wonderful story. I love your characterizations, the details, the doubts and joys of Nerdanel's art process, and I could keep babbling on. An absolutely lovely story!
Thank you so much! I'm very happy you enjoyed it, even though (or especially because) Nerdanel's doubts and joys are (probably unsurprisingly) those of the fanficcer, too ;)
Bless Istarnie! My guess is that she is at least keeping an open mind on the question whether there is a bit of infatuation there or not, but is wise enough not to insist.
And Nerdanel will find eventually that there is "something worthy of song or at least a short poem" there--if she will allow herself to see it.
These are a great latest two chapters! I want to read more of this one also. You had posted a couple of chapters since the last time I had been reading. I really need to bookmark the stories that I am trying to follow. I will remedy that now!
Thank you! I hope I'll be able to post new chapters reasonably soon. Not your fault that you didn't immediately catch up - after three years of silence, it's not like anyone expects new chapters. I really hope the muses won't take such a long break again.
I love this. Your descriptions of Nerdanel's sculptures are incredibly vivid, and I love her relationships with her sister and parents. Nerdanel's insecurities about her talent, and her place in the wider world, are so convincing and sympathetic! I can't wait to read more.
Bunny, with all my might, from fore mother to my mum and me, you should really visit this person again... or else I shoot you dead on my second choice in watching you at pastor' s garden.
Okay, there are two things, that really happened, in my life, and my grandma was absolutely approoved and verified to have the second sight, and she always stated very confident, for me to be her heir in this point.
Sorry, here in Germany it' s really late, and I am tired and ,too, had more wine, than supposed being good for me, really.
But, you just have to go on with that ; no, not only on my behalf...
Oh dear! It's not actually the poor bunny's fault - it's nibbling on my toes continually. It's just real life that's getting in my way. Two kids and I hardly manage to clean the floor, let alone write fanfic. I have no clue how Nerdanel did it!
For what it's worth, I do intend to go on with this (and the other plotbunnies that keep clamouring for attention). I just need to find the time and, whenever I actually have computer time, the energy to embark on another fic-writing adventure. Tut mir wirklich sehr Leid, dass ich dich (und meine anderen Leser) so lange hängen lasse!
Glad you liked her! I'm trying to get her involved a bit more and also to show her intellectual qualities. Yes, from an anthropological perspective, Indis is in the perfect position for a representative field study... ;)
WHAT you call a short chapter, another would have stated a LONG story, but, however, I am so glad you carry on!
In the meantime, I struggled hard to read all the stuff on this site, first only guided by taste, afterwards in somehow alphabetical order ( and the short comments ), and I am halfway done, not to mention all those trips to other linked or mentioned archieves!
But I developed my own special likings, and you know, this was one of my first...
Well, most chapters of this story are over 4000 words long, so one that's only 3000 and some words is relatively short. ;)
Wow, I'm amazed you're making your way through the entire archive (including outside links)! I could never do that, I'm far too erratic in my reading habits!
I'm honoured that you still hold this story dear after having read so many other excellent fanfics! Thank you. I hope you'll be glad to hear that I'm already busy with the next chapters, then! :)
Comments on Golden Days
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.