silwritersguild | November 2005 Newsletter (Reply)

November's Challenges

First Meetings

Thanks to Marta for suggesting this challenge idea!

How might a character originating from and living in Valinor react to his or her first meeting with a character just arriving from Middle-earth?

The possibilities for this challenge are vast and encompass all of the ages and Tolkien's works. Perhaps the first to come to mind are those characters from the Third Age who travelled to Tol Eressëa at the end of The Lord of the Rings. However, this challenge also contains the possibility of working with characters well beyond these obvious examples. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Describe the first confrontation between a son of Fëanor and Gimli, knowing that Galadriel gave Gimli the gift of her hair that she'd denied Fëanor.

Write how Aulë might react to this same situation, to meet one of the most influential of his Dwarves.

Describe the thoughts of a Valinorean horsemaster upon his first acquaintance with Shadowfax.

Develop a scene where Eärendil meets his grandsons Elladan and Elrohir for the first time.

Describe the first conversation between Finarfin--who has never met a mortal man before--and Tuor. Or write about his first encounter with a hobbit.

fanged_geranium has a current work-in-progress that takes a humorous look at certain Elves' arrival in Valinor and the government's response to it. Check out "Welcome to Valinor" here.

If you have ideas for compelling story hooks for this challenge or know of any good examples of stories that satisfy this challenge (either your own or someone else's), please feel free to share them in a comment or in a post to the group.

Differing Perspectives

Thank you to

tarion_anarore for helping me to develop this challenge idea and for lending her talents to illustrate it.

Choose a drabble or another work by an author that illustrates a single character's perspective. After seeking the original author's permission, write the same event--using all of the author's original conventions--from a different character's perspective.

Tarion's and my drabbles that inspired this challenge may be found here. Please be forewarned that these drabbles include violence.

Other Ongoing Challenges
At SWG, challenges never die. You are welcome to write for a challenge at any time. All of our past challenges have been tagged and may be found here.

A Call for New Challenges!
The SWG does not have a committee or person devoted to challenges: The challenges are for members to create! If you have an idea for a challenge, please do not hesitate to suggest it on-list or email me privately at DawnFelagund@comcast.net.

As always, all Silmarillion writing, including challenge responses, are welcome in our LJ community.

Featured Essay for the Month

Last month, to accompany the Strangers in Strange Lands challenge, I offered to the group an essay about using setting in fiction. This month, I am posting the second half of "Long Ago and Far Away," which deals with narrative time.

Because this is a published work, I must--for reasons of copyright--restrict its use to SWG members only. "Long Ago and Far Away: Fictional Place and Time" is available in our LJ community to members who have joined the

silwritersguild community; it is also available via PDF download on our Yahoo! Groups homepage. If you are not an SWG member but wish to read this essay--and the others that I will offer in the future--please join one or both of these groups. You are under no obligation to participate or receive group emails.

Read "Long Ago and Far Away: Fictional Place and Time" in our LiveJournal Community

Welcomes and Birthdays

I would like to extend warmest welcome wishes to Rhapsody, Laurinquar, GhettoElleth, and Alassante, our four new members who joined the Yahoo! portion of our group in October! Welcome also to the many who have joined or are following our LiveJournal.

No members with November birthdays have signed up to receive stories for their birthdays.

Do you want to get stories for your birthday and other special occasions? Sign up on our "Give Someone a Silmaril" database, located on our Yahoo! Groups homepage or post your request to the list or the LiveJournal.

News and Announcements

Progress on Our Archive Site
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, our archive site has experienced a bit of a setback. I am hoping to resume work on our site soon so that we have a home for our Silmarillion stories and resources in the New Year. I owe great gratitude to Maedhros (

nelyo), who has given me great help on this project, and to the other members who have offered their expertise and assistance.

Reminder: Posting Format for LiveJournal Community
Just a gentle reminder to all members of the

silwritersguild community that our posting format must be used when sharing stories. Please find details on our posting format here.

I am less concerned that writers follow this format to the letter than I am that ratings and warnings be clearly displayed. Please be aware that stories posted in the

silwritersguild community must include the following:

Author Name

Story Title

Rating (either General or Adult)

Warnings (to clarify the rating)

These items are covered in greater detail in our posting guidelines, available through the community.

Not a member? Do you want to be?
The SWG consists of two components: a Yahoo! email group, for discussions, story promotions, and planning, and a LiveJournal community for sharing our Silmarillion writing. Members are welcome to belong to both or just one, depending on what best suits their needs.

Read more about the Silmarillion Writers' Guild at our LiveJournal Community Information page.

To join our Yahoo! group:

At any time, I encourage people--both members and non-members--to contact me with inquiries. I may be reached at DawnFelagund@comcast.net or through either the Yahoo! or LiveJournal groups.