Just about twenty-one years ago, the SWG posted its first challenge, Strong Women. Back in 2005, we were just bumbling through the first months of starting a new Tolkien fanfiction group—one among many—and certainly didn't intend our first challenge to be A Statement, although it certainly did reflect the leanings of the SWG's small membership at the time toward a more inclusive reading of the texts. More than two decades later, the Strong Women challenge has been held up as the first example of many where the SWG used challenges, events, and our platform as a whole to broaden who was included in Middle-earth.

Recently, I found a proto-challenge that existed before Strong Women. Enthusiastically titled The "Ask A Character" Challenge!, it is a proto-challenge because it was in fact a reposting a LiveJournal meme and not an original challenge created for the group:

Chose one question you want to ask a character from The Silmarillion.

Post the name of the character in the subject line and the question as the content of the email and submit it to the group.

All writers are challenged to write a response, taking on the character in question and answering it from their point-of-view.

The challenge is to write a character that you may not always chose by your own accord and to bring them to life through the answer they are giving.

What I found interesting is that almost the exact same meme/challenge/exercise still circulates, now on platforms like Tumblr. Finarfin Appreciation Month similarly anticipates the appreciation weeks/months that fill the fandom calendar today. It leads one to wonder if, somewhere in a trove of fanzines collecting dust on a shelf somewhere, similar activities brought fan communities together in the fandom eras before the internet. There is nothing new under the Lamps.

What also comes forth in the proto-challenge was the intention that challenges be member-created. Ford_of_bruinen recommended this one, and digdigil would create the Strong Women challenge a month later. Believe it or not, we are quickly approaching the point where the challenge moderators will begin drafting the 2027 challenge schedule, so if you have an idea for one of our monthly challenges, hit REPLY and let us know!

Finally, a week from today, Anna (IdleLeaves) will host the next instadrabbling session on our Discord server on September 5, 2026 at 6PM/18:00 UTC (find this in my timezone). Instadrabbling is a long-standing community activity in the Tolkien fanfiction fandom where a group gets together on chat, someone throws out a prompt or four, and everyone writes a drabble (or whatever comes to mind) then shares their creations in the chat. It is a low-pressure, casual activity, and all Tolkien-based fanworks are welcome. If you're not a member of our Discord server, you can join here. We hope you can come make fanworks with us!

P.S.—Instadrabbling has also existed since at least the time of the Lamps.