When we first opened our archive in 2007, we called it our MFAQ—Most Frequently Asked Question: "Does my story count as Silmfic?" It seems like an easy question, but it's not. The Silmarillion—as in the published book—is of course but a part of the more sprawling legendarium. People, cultures, lands, and historical events spill from the pages of The Silmarillion into other works and vice versa. Tolkien himself did this, pulling bits from the "Silmarillion" into The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. So at what point does something become a "Silmwork"?

Of course, we have our MFAQ among our FAQs: How does the SWG define "Silmfic" or "Silmarillion-based fanworks"? We've created a checklist there; all you need to do is check one item and you're good to go. But here's a few insider tips from the mods that may also help creators decide if their work belongs with us.

• Characters and groups that span multiple books are welcome as long as there is a strong connection to The Silmarillion. Same with multi-age works: We love multi-age works, but a significant portion should take place in one of the time periods on the list.
• Speaking of: we accept Third Age fanworks! This often gets overlooked because we tend to hear "Third Age" and think "Hobbit and Lord of the Rings," but in fact, most of the Third Age is eligible for our site. If your fanwork takes place in the vast swath of the legendarium not covered in depth in those two books, it is welcome with us—yes, even if it is about people who feature heavily in these books.
• We are all Tolkien fans here. The SWG started at a time when the Tolkien fandom was coming down from the Lord of the Rings films, and most fanworks were centered on that book and those films. Silmarillion-based fanworks were often quickly overwhelmed on other Tolkien archives (of which there were many at the time), so we carved out the SWG as a space for Silmarillion-based fanworks. However, we are Tolkien fans—works do not need to be scrubbed of all mentions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
• Fanworks that draw on adaptations of Tolkien are welcome as well, as long as there is a significant basis in the The Silmarillion or a related work. (Looking especially at Rings of Power fanworks here!) Choose Crossover as one of your genres if you're creating based on an adaptation as well. (Maybe consider posting it for our Crossroads of the Fallen King crossover challenge!)
• If you think a fanwork is on the line, post it. The mods are rarely as strict as people think we are, and we favor including more Tolkien fanworks.
• And if you've posted five fanworks or 10,000 words with us, you can post anything Tolkien-based you want in the Beyond the Silmarillion section!