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.
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…
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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.
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…
Living Land
Choose a place in Middle-earth that is particularly evocative and create a fanwork where that location itself acts as a character. Read more ...
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Data from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey shows demographic changes in participant gender, age, and education and new revelations about neurodiversity.
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.
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…
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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 original submission actually only took me an afternoon to draw — I had a zot of inspiration at the right moment (yes it was Last Minute Panic — I'm noticing a theme here!), and I mostly just did the doodles my hand likes to do naturally. The pseudo tengwar was fun too.
The illustration inspired by the description in the fic was another matter, however, and took lots of drafts over a few months. (Although it coincided with some pretty stressful months!) The creation myth was very inspiring and also very specific, so a fun challenge. And lots of practice with pencil — although finishing it off digitally felt almost relaxing without the worry of irrevocably messing something up. (I drew the main drawing, the book, and the writing separately and bright them together in Photoshop.)
I often thought of you while I was reading the fic drafts, and was bursting to tell you about it, so here's your personal rec: I think you'll thoroughly enjoy it!
Beautiful art but also fantastic concept!! I love this, pages of a book - very inspirational! Reminds me so much of the Voynich Manuscript - beautiful! The figures in that second uh.. first one (lol), the plants, the moon phases (?) - all so so so beautiful!! <3
I'm so delighted that you like both the art and the concept! (I think someone had mentioned a manuscript on the art suggestions list, and I was fully in manuscript mode after my Bestiary of Arda"research". (wandering through wonderful rabbit warrens.)
(Ha! You must have been looking when I was updating, as I jiggled them around!)
And you're spot on, in the double page spread, the right page was inspired by the Voynich manuscript (what a trip that is!!) and the left is from a Persan manuscript (wow! are those ever so beautiful!).
And the one with the figures was inspired by the description in Chapter One of the fic — the creation myth is just so beautiful, I've wanted one for the early Edain, and what EilinelsGhost had created is just perfect.
After reading your Finrod collection (which I so thoroughly enjoyed, not just your 30 days, but all the ones I found) I'm 100% certain you're going to enjoy Atanátarissë, and I look forward to reading your comments on it. (I always enjoy your comments, btw. And thank you for comment here!)
Oh, thank you! I'm so happy the joy comes through. I really wanted to convey her description from the fic:
Iuthap [the sun/Arien] awakened too at the call of her sister and illuminated the bare world about them. She set her lips to the face of each figure and sight came into their eyes. Then she leapt laughing into the firmament to take up once more the gods’ dance in the sky.
In one of my many concept/pose sketches I just did a quick scribble without thinking too hard on it, and I just loved the whole vibe, so I really hoped I'd be able to recreate that, because sometimes I just can't!
I'm delighted you like these! I remember getting existed when I saw it on your claims list and wishing I could be geedy and have two writers, because I would have loved to read what you might have written about it every bit as much as Frankie!
Comments on Book of Lore
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.