New Challenge: Crossroads of the Fallen King
Cross "The Silmarillion" with a second text or fandom in this month's crossover challenge.
SWG News
A Sense of History: Thálatta! Thálatta!
While he never climbs the stairs of this Elf-tower, in Lothlórien Frodo Baggins descends a flight of steps to look into Galadriel’s Mirror, wherein he first sees the sea. This post examines the view.
Choose a Name for Our New Column!
Our temporarily titled "location bio" will focus on the landscapes and locations of Middle-earth. We need your help naming it!
New Challenge: Tengwar
Each day for thirty-six days, we feature a randomly chosen letter from the Tengwar as a prompt.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] Tengwar: To The Letter by cuarthol
For the Tengwar prompt challenge. To be updated as new prompts are completed.
Current up through '…
[Writing] A blip on the radar by daughterofshadows
Humanity took to the skies. Eärendil and Ilmarë adjust.
[Writing] History abandons us by AdmirableMonster
During his incarceration in Roderick Burgess' basement, Dream receives a strange, ancient visitor.
[Writing] Tengwar Acrostics by Himring
Responses to the Tengwar Challenge in which first letters spell out the name of a tengwa.
1) Early Encounter (Nerdanel, Indis)
2) Numenorean Lullaby (Almarian, Aldarion)
[Writing] Tengwar Drabbles by cílil
A collection of Silmarillion-centric drabbles written for the Tengwar Challenge. Short and sweet!
[Writing] If i get home before daylight by BloodwingBlackbird
a traveler meets a stranger at a crossroads.
Current Challenge
Crossroads of the Fallen King
Create a fanwork that crosses with a second text or fandom. Read more ...
Tengwar
A daily prompt of a Tengwar letter per day. Read more ...
Random Challenge
10th Birthday Celebration
In honor of our 10th birthday, we introduced our Silmfic prompt generator and solicited fanworks made using it. Read more ...
New in References
Thálatta! Thálatta! by Simon J. Cook
[]While he never climbs the stairs of this Elf-tower, in Lothlórien Frodo Baggins descends a flight of steps to look into Galadriel’s Mirror, wherein he first sees the sea. This post examines the view.
[]
With Gildor Inglorion we finally climb the stairs of Elostirion and look on the view, and what we see appears to reveal a hidden thread in the story of Frodo Baggins. This post reads two annotated translations of two Elvish songs to step through a crossroads in the narrative to arrive at the tower on the margin of the story, wherein is a stone that is a window onto Valinor.
Grief, Grieving, and Permission to Mourn in the "Quenta Silmarillion" by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]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.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Waybread (The Waybredlik) by Himring
[]Lembas speaks out.
[Series] Apr 1st Stories by Uvatha the Horseman
[]Once a year on April 1st, a canon character from LOTR or the Silmarillion gets pranked.
[Writing] Crossing Forest River by Dawn Felagund
[]Bilbo recounts, in verse, the attempt of Gandalf, Beorn, and him to cross the Forest River after the Battle of Five Armies. Written for the Hungarian Tolkien Society's 2024 Mailing Competition.
Around the World and Web
Mythcon 53: Fantasies of the Middle Lands
Mythcon 53 will be held 2-5 August 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the theme "Fantasies of the Middle Lands."
Teitho May/June Challenge: Joker
For the May/June Teitho challenge, you can pick ANY of our past challenges that stir your imagination and write a story or create art for it.
Monstrous May 2024
Monstrous May is a Tumblr event where, for each day of the month of May, there is a prompt involving and invoking the monstrous.
Fellowship of the Fics: Modern AU May
During May, Fellowship of the Fics offers modern AU prompt lists for setting, character occupation, and dialogue on Tumblr.
May challenge at tolkienshortfanworks
The May challenge has been posted to the tolkienshortfanworks community on Dreamwidth. Thematic challenge: name; formal challenge: acrostic. As usual, these can be filled independently and freely combined with other prompts such as the SWG challenges. New participants welcome!
Restoration and Rebuilding
The Silmarillion can feel like an unrelentingly tragic work. Yet at the end of every downfall comes a time of restoration that drives not just the storyline but our beloved characters of Middle-earth forward into the next chapter of their history.
In honor of Akallabêth in August, our annual celebration of fanworks set in the Second Age, this month's challenge will center on the themes of rebuilding and restoration.
You may select the prompt or prompts that speak to you from the list below.
This challenge opened in .
Prompts
Choose your prompt from the collection below.
- View Prompts
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Quotes
"When we rebuild a house, we are rebuilding a home. When we recover from disaster, we are rebuilding lives and livelihoods."
- Sri Mulyani Indrawati"For me, Art is the restoration of order. It may discuss all sort of terrible things, but there must be satisfaction at the end. A little bit of hunger, but also satisfaction."
- Toni Morrison“When the storm has passed, put your energy into rebuilding your life. Don’t waste time looking back.” - Leon Brown
“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise, we harden.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(Or if you prefer the original: "Man muß immerfort verändern, erneuern, verjüngern, um nicht zu verstocken.")“I can see in the acorn the oak tree. I see the growth, the rebuilding, the restoring.” - Maya Angelou
“Designing a dream city is easy; rebuilding a living one takes imagination.” - Jane Jacobs
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
J.R.R. Tolkien“I have to be alone very often. I'd be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That's how I refuel." -Audrey Hepburn
“Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.” -Robin Wall Kimmerer
“You will be one of the menders of this world; not the makers, nor yet the breakers, just one of the menders.” -Rosemary Sutcliff
Audio
James Newton Howard - Soundtrack for Restoration (1995)
Thomas Newman - "Come Back to Us" (from 1917)
Nat King Cole - "Pick Yourself Up"
Meat Loaf, feat. Marion Raven - "It's All Coming Back To Me Now"
Peter Gabriel - "Here Comes The Flood"
Dragonforce - "Dawn Over A New World"
John Farnham - "Have A Little Faith (In Us)"
Starship - "We Built This City"
Bob Dylan - "The Times They Are a Changin'"
Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come"
Mediæval Bæbes - "Return of the Birds"
Video
Restoration of Stained Glass Windows
River restoration & natural flood management
Restoration of Antique Pocket Watch
Images
Fanworks Tagged with Restoration and Rebuilding
Morning Mist and Silver Sun by StarSpray
A place to store drabbles and ficlets, mostly written for various prompts.
