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
Tolkien Femslash Week Bingo
A joint event with silmladylove for creating femslash fanworks using bingo cards as prompts. 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!
Inspiration
As a group predominantly peopled by writers and artists, we understand as well as any the power of inspiration. This month's challenge turns to consider inspiration.
Your characters inspire you--but what inspires them? For this month's challenge, we ask our writers to consider what inspires their characters to act and create. The Silmarillion is full of creative geniuses and heroes alike. What drove them to the deeds that shaped the history of the early ages of Arda? Perhaps it was a person: a spouse, a sibling, a teacher. Or maybe it was an event that allowed them to realize their potential to influence the course of history. Or maybe it was something darker: jealousy, lust, or a desire for power.
The story might consider the moment of inspiration, or it might consider the repercussions of the actions or creation inspired. Are you looking for ideas? The Silmarillion is full of artists; what inspired the greatest (or even unknown!) creations of people like Celebrimbor, Daeron, Fëanor, Aulë, Sauron, Varda, and Nerdanel? What inspired characters like Beleg, Morwen, Húrin, and Glorfindel to the heroic actions that they took? What inspired the unique outlooks of characters like Melkor, Thingol, Túrin, and Finarfin to the rather unique outlooks they had when compared to the rest of their people?
The possibilities are boundless so, in the end, what inspires you?
This challenge opened in .
Fanworks Tagged with Inspiration
Retrospective by Los Gloriol
Glorfindel has been released from Mandos. His past is starting to merge with his present. You can assume this is not a sudden realisation, but progressive over a long period of time. He tells of his thoughts concerning the Balrog battle, once it is remembered
Denial by oshun
This is a birthday gift for Kenaz. A ficlet involving Maglor and Maedhros, which is set in the Time of the Trees in Formenos, at the home of Fëanor and his wife and sons. It is set in the same universe as my story Maitimo and Findekáno and occurs a couple of years earlier. I hope it is obvious from the ficlet that Maedhros and Maglor are very young adults and Fingon is the equivalent of a teenager. (There is a reference to slash in this piece but no sexual content.)
MEFA 2008 Second Place: Elves - House of Finwë
Young Fëanáro Makes A Stone by oshun
A Birthday Story for gandalfs_apprentice on the Elessar and is also a bit of take-off on the Sorcerer’s Apprentice in honor of her penname.
