silwritersguild | Jun. 27th, 2005

Jun. 27th, 2005

FAQs
SWG Mission
Frequently Assumed Questions
Tips on Using the LiveJournal Community
Formatting a Piece for the Community

Challenges

Writers' Workshops

dawn_felagund

The mission of the Silmarillion Writers' Guild is multi-faceted but can be summarized with two key points: better understanding The Silmarillion and related works and improving writing pertaining to these works.

Of course, the execution of such a broad goal could take off in many directions. Therefore, the mission/vision of the Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more specifically:

1) To offer a forum for writers' workshops pertaining to fan fiction and critical essays pertaining to The Silmarillion and related works. (Not sure what a writers' workshop is or why you'd want to be part of one? See the FAQ in the next entry.) This is the primary goal of the group, and most group activities will center on workshopping members' stories and essays.

2) To inspire thoughtful discussion of the themes, characters, and mythology of The Silmarillion. This sounds highbrow, but I assure you that it is not. You do not have to be versed in ancient mythology or Freudian psychoanalytic theory to have an opinion on whether Fëanor is a hero or a villian in the Quenta or to wonder if maybe the Valar weren't a little over-the-top in their treatment of the Noldor in Valinor. One of the marvelous things about The Silmarillion --I think--compared to other books (including LotR) is that the story is left open in many places, allowing many views and opinions on the same events and characters to be possible. For example, in LotR, Tolkien pretty much decided for us that Sauron was an evil character. But how about Fëanor? Eol? Maedhros? Thingol? All of these guys at times made mistakes and succumbed to lesser motives, but are they actually villians? Are they heroes? How might the historical bias of the author play into their portrayals in the book? If you have ever gotten spitting-mad over someone's portrayal of a character in a fan fiction, then you will know what I mean by this.

3) A resource for information for writers. Have you ever had a story you wanted to publish but weren't sure where would be the best place for it? Have you ever gotten stuck while editing, wondering about whether to use a semi-colon or a comma? Are you nervous about plagarism but not entirely sure how to document your sources? As a former editor, I know that learning and keeping up with the technical aspects of writing can be a full-time job and one that many of us can't afford to hold. That's okay. Writing should never be abandoned out of fear of never being published or having too many mechanical errors. I hope to amass the knowledge of group members to create databases and other information sources that will help writers find the information they need quickly and easily, as well as collect articles offering advice and inspiration for writers.

4) A resource for information regarding Tolkien's works and canon. Have you ever remembered a detail about a character but could not remember where you saw it? The Silmarillion alone is bad enough to search in its entirety, but then you add the History of Middle-earth series (12 volumes), Tolkien's letters, and his other novels (LotR and The Hobbit) and you have quite a wealth of information to wade through. Many of us have a particular aspect of canon with which we are very familiar. By pooling our knowledge, a writer on the Fëanorians can go to Gondolin or Doriath with relatively little pain and reading. (Please be advised that I am not advocating the replacement of Tolkien's works with anything you, I, or anyone else can devise. Nonetheless, there are times when a writer might want information on a particular aspect of Elvish customs without the time to reread the whole essay. In my case, a lot of my writing is done at work, and the primary sources are often not available.) Again, this will likely include, in part, a list of recommended links compiled by members that link to excellent sites providing information on an aspect of Tolkien's world.

5) Fellowship. Having been a part of writers' workshops before, I know that you develop a rapport with others in the group that you can't get from the review button on fanfiction.net. You learn that one writer is seeking to improve her dialogue or that another is particularly interested in the Moriquendi perspective on the events of the First Age. You find that your group members inspire you to try new things in your writing or to explore subjects in which you may not have previously had much interest. You make friends from very different backgrounds, and their varied experiences help color your writing with diversity.

dawn_felagund

Posting to LiveJournal communities can be a little tricky for the uninitiated, so in this tutorial, I hope to explain it as simply as possible so that no one feels unable to post his or her writing simply for not knowing how.

If you have any questions, please post them to a comment on this entry. I will receive all questions in my email and will reply to you as quickly as possible. This way, too, others can benefit from the answers.

Anyone with a LiveJournal account can post his or her stories to the

silwritersguild community. You do not need to be a member of the community; you do not need to have the community "friended."

( Posting Instructions )

( Using the lj-cut )

( Editing Entries )

( Additional References )

dawn_felagund

Experienced LiveJournal users will likely find this section unhelpful and should feel free to skip ahead. But for those new to LiveJournal, these tips can make your use of the community much smoother and enjoyable.

LiveJournal has excellent, extensive FAQs available on every subject imaginable. This is not intended to replace them but to cover some of the common problems that new LiveJournal users experience. (I should know--until recently, I was one myself!)

How do I join the silwritersguild community?
You will need to have a personal account with LiveJournal before you can join and use the community. (The exception to this is comments: Persons without LiveJournal accounts may post commments in the community, but may not make new entries. Also, anyone may read entries that are marked as "Public.")

Joining LiveJournal is free for a basic account, which includes all of the features you will need to use the community and your own personal journal. Furthermore, LiveJournal does not harass its members. The only emails I have ever received from the service have pertained to changes to my account that I have initiated and that required email confirmation. They do not spam you or send you silly information about services that you do not want. This is a major reason why I chose LiveJournal as the host for our writers' workshop.

To join LiveJournal, click on the "Sign Up!" link in the upper-right-hand corner of your screen. You will be prompted to choose a username and a password. You will need to provide a valid email address and answer the verification email that they will send you. After that, very little personal information is collected or required.

Once you have your account, visit the information page for the

silwritersguild community. (You can click on the link I just left you! This will take you to the community's journal; click on the name "silwritersguild" to access the information page.) At the top of the information page is a link reading "Join This Community." Click on it, and you are a member. It's that simple!

How do I post to the community?
At the top, blue toolbar is a link marked "Journal." Put your cursor over that and select the option marked "Update."

This will open a blank journal page. It is important to note that any entries you now type will post by default to your personal journal. You will need to specify that you are posting to the community. To do so, scroll to the bottom of the screen. At the lower left corner is a drop-down box marked "Post to." If you click on this, your personal account and any communities in which you are a member will appear. Select

silwritersguild and you are ready to post to the community!

How do I comment on other people's posts?
At the bottom of each entry is a bright blue link marked "Leave Comment." If you wish to comment on an entry you just read, click on this link. Please note that there is a character limit for comments, so longer comments (such as might be entered when reviewing a story during workshop) should be made their own entries. Part of my job as moderator will be the daily maintenance of the Postings Index for the community. I will also email authors if they choose to have me do so to let them know that there is a new entry pertaining to their writing.

You may also comment on comments. This is a great way to start a conversation. Each comment has a "Reply" link at the bottom. If you click on it, then you will be permitted to leave a comment.

It is important to leave comments in the right places. If someone posts a story and a reviewer leaves a comment and you have an opinion on what the reviewer said, be sure to reply to the reviewer's comment and not the entry. Most people have their accounts enabled so that comments are sent to their email, expediting replies.

How do I use an LJ cut?
A LiveJournal cut places a link in your entry that will take readers to the comments page to read the entry in its entirety. This is how stories will be posted in the community, both to minimize the length of entries in the journal and to keep unwitting readers from encountering material that they find offensive. Please see the LiveJournal FAQs for information on how to create an LJ cut.

How do I change fonts, create italics, use links, etc?
LiveJournal uses html. You will need to use the html codes to change the way your entry looks. Again, the LiveJournal FAQs are helpful in this matter.

Please contact me if you have any questions about or problems using the community. I want all people to be able to enjoy this community and benefit from it, and it is hard to have fun when you are more worried about using the service than participating in a good discussion.

I may be reached at dawnfelagund@comcast.net. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any sorts of questions. There is no such thing as a dumb question! We all started at the same place--at the beginning--and even the most savvy community member was uncertain once.

dawn_felagund

This community is primarily a place for sharing writing: for hosting workshops, for posting and writing responses to challenges, and for sharing your work with community members. Silmarillion writing encompasses a broad range of genres and topics, and so to make it easier for community participants to find and enjoy writing in the community, I am going to ask that writers use a specific format when posting their writing to the community.

Title: The title of your work.

Chapter: Where in the tale are we at this point? If you are posting a later chapter, it is advisable to post previous chapters in the "Related Links" section. If the piece has a single chapter (and it is all here), simply do not include this.

Author: That's you! Include your penname how you would like to be addressed by reviewers or workshop participants. If you would like to remain anonymous (and there are legitimate, non-nefarious reasons why a writer might choose to do so), simply state "Anonymous" or leave it blank.

Rating: This is important! Postings that do not include a rating will be removed! I do not care if it is the fluffiest, most innocuous G-rated tale you've ever seen. Some readers are sensitive to certain material, and we owe them the courtesy of letting them know what they are reading. The rating system for the community is simple:

General--The material is appropriate for younger or sensitive readers. There is no gratuitous violence, strong language, or graphic sexual situations. If your story contains material that may be offensive or bothersome to some readers (like moderate violence or non-graphic slash) but does not meet the qualification for an "Adult" rating, please qualify your rating in the "Warnings" section.

Adult--The material contains graphic violence or strong language. There are graphic sexual situations that are appropriate only for an adult audience. This includes especially situations that involve violent or non-consensual sexual situations.

Ratings, of course, are largely a judgement call. Use your intuitions and err on the side of caution when you're unsure.

Warnings: This is the place where you qualify your rating. Some people may not mind an Adult-rated story with consensual sex between married folks but may not want to read a piece full of angst and violence. If your posting includes any of the following, they must be listed in this section, or I will remove your story: rape, torture, non-consensual sex, graphic violence, graphic sexual situations, and strong language. It is also highly advisable that slash (the homosexual pairing of characters) and tales that are AU (alternate universe) be marked as such.

Genre: If the story fits a particular genre (e.g.- romance, action, adventure), indicate it here.

Summary: In as few words as possible, what can readers expect to encounter in your story? It is a good idea to include a listing of the main canon characters here as well as any pairings (slash or het) in the story.

Author's Introduction (optional): What do you want to say to your audience before they read your work? Maybe you would like them to pay attention to a specific problem you are having with the piece. Perhaps you want them to understand your inspiration or rationale for writing it. This is your section to sell your story to your audience as well as ask for help and advice: use it and use it wisely!

Related Links: If the story is archived elsewhere, you may include a link to it here. (Some people would rather read stories on some archives than others.) If there are chapters preceding the one posted here, please link them here with brief summaries.

Posting: Using an LJ cut, post your writing here. Even short writing (such as drabbles and poetry) must be posted in this manner so that readers can avoid writing that might offend them. Workshop pieces must meet the following requirements, some of which are highly recommended for general postings as well:

Workshop pieces may not exceed five typed pages (single-spaced, normal font size and margins).

Please run a spell check before posting. All modern word-processing programs, many email programs, and LiveJournal all have spell checks. Workshop pieces that haven't been spell-checked will not be accepted. Most readers quickly lose patience in reading a piece that is riddled with easily caught errors.

Do you best to observe proper use of grammar, structure, and punctuation. At the bare minimum, writing must be divided into coherent paragraphs and sentences, unless there is a stylistic reason for doing otherwise. While not everyone is a grammar expert, at the minimum, read your piece before you post it. (Even better--read it aloud. You'll be surprised at the silly errors you'll catch.) Workshop pieces will be copy-edited if the author requests it.

Author's Epilogue (optional): What do you wish to express to your audience after they read your piece? You may want to pose a question to them after they have had a single, unbiased read-through. Now is a good time to do that (and, again, LJ cuts can be very helpful in assuring that readers won't accidentally see what you wish to know before they have read the story).

Resources and Acknowledgments: If another person's work was essential to the piece you have written, you must list it here. To do otherwise is plagiarism. (It is safe to assume that you have used Tolkien's work in your writing. Unless you are directly quoting, then you do not have to list The Silmarillion or its related works as a source.) This is also an excellent place to give credit to anyone who provided help with your story and whom you wish to acknowledge.

Please see the Sample Posting for an example of how your posting will look.