Newsletter--June 2006
Jun. 1st, 2006 01:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dawn_felagund posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
silwritersguildJune's Challenges
Family Matters
The Silmarillion is full of big, complicated families, and even though we don't often hear what happened within the bounds of such families, given the history recounted in the stories, the discussions and dilemmas must have often been profound.
This month, step inside of one of the families of The Silmarillion and tell their tale. The purpose of this challenge is to illustrate conflicts and relationships that occur within a family, from the simple to the profound. Whether it's a dinner gone disastrously wrong or a discussion that influences a family's choice to go to war, your challenge is to make your readers part of your characters' family, to laugh and lament right alongside them and to better understand the choices and history of their family.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Sibling Rivalry
Because the month of June falls partly under the sign of Gemini, this lighter challenge poses an AU question: If you could "fall" into Middle-earth, who would you choose as your sibling? Write an AU story where an original character--you!--tries to influence his or her canon sibling in some way or in which you choose a sibling to influence you. For example:
The Quote of the Month Challenge
The Quote of the Month challenge asks you to write based on the themes and thoughts the quote inspires or about the event in which the quote occurred. You may write in any format--poem, story, essay, or drabble--with any characters, genre, or rating.
Do you have a favorite quote that you think might inspire other authors as well? Let me know! I am seeking quotes for future quote challenges; please email me at DawnFelagund@comcast.net with your ideas.
My sincerest thanks this month to Jennni (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
digdigil) for inspiring this month's challenges, providing me with the idea (and examples) for "Sibling Rivalry," and for choosing this month's quote!
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 or on our website.
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 or would like to suggest a quote for the monthly quote 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, is welcome in our LJ community.
Welcomes and Birthdays
I would like to extend warmest welcome wishes to Angelica, our new member who joined the Yahoo! portion of our group in May! Welcome also to those who have joined or are following our LiveJournal.
Three of our members with June birthdays have signed up for stories!
Unsung Heroine (atanwende) celebrates her birthday on the 11th. She loves stories about Caranthir and Haleth and stories based out of the chapter "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath," with extra points for Caranthir/Haleth stories involving a bearskin rug. She prefers not to receive stories about Dwarves or PWP.
Vana Tuivana (callirhoe) celebrates her birthday on the 13th. Her favorite characters to read about are Caranthir, Maedhros, Fingon, Turgon, Finrod, Eöl, Maeglin, Beleg, Turin, and Morgoth and she enjoys stories about Gondolin, the Fëanorians, the Akallabeth, and Beren and Lúthien. Her absolute favorite stories involve Caranthir, and she doesn't have any restrictions on what she is willing to read!
Alina (ann_arien) celebrates her birthday on the 18th. She loves anything to do with Fëanor and his sons, Fingon, Finwë, and Glorfindel. Her favorite scene is where Fëanor and Fingolfin are reconciled before the Valar and Fingolfin calls his half-brother "full brother in heart." She prefers not to receive any stories involving character death or an Elf/Edain pairing.
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 Continues on Our Website
I continue to work on building our website and will be purchasing webspace and a domain name for us within the next month! Please feel free to visit our beta-site in the meantime!
The SWG Website!
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.
Family Matters
The Silmarillion is full of big, complicated families, and even though we don't often hear what happened within the bounds of such families, given the history recounted in the stories, the discussions and dilemmas must have often been profound.
This month, step inside of one of the families of The Silmarillion and tell their tale. The purpose of this challenge is to illustrate conflicts and relationships that occur within a family, from the simple to the profound. Whether it's a dinner gone disastrously wrong or a discussion that influences a family's choice to go to war, your challenge is to make your readers part of your characters' family, to laugh and lament right alongside them and to better understand the choices and history of their family.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- What arguments might have erupted between Bereg and his family--loyal followers of the House of Finarfin--when he decided that he no longer trusted and wished to follow the Eldar?
- How did the sons of Finarfin react to the birth of their little sister Galadriel?
- Journey across Ered Luin with Haldad's family: What experiences and conflicts did he and his children Haleth and Haldar face that made them so brave and loyal to each other?
- What was said during Elwë's last conversation with his brother Olwë before he disappeared into Nan Elmoth?
Sibling Rivalry
Because the month of June falls partly under the sign of Gemini, this lighter challenge poses an AU question: If you could "fall" into Middle-earth, who would you choose as your sibling? Write an AU story where an original character--you!--tries to influence his or her canon sibling in some way or in which you choose a sibling to influence you. For example:
- You choose to be a younger sister of Celegorm because you want to learn to speak the languages of the beasts.
- You chose Fingon to be your brother because you're always getting into bad situations like being caught in a giant spider's web, and you think he can get you out of them.
- You chose Maeglin as your brother because you think you can save him from his own dark soul.
The Quote of the Month Challenge
The Quote of the Month challenge asks you to write based on the themes and thoughts the quote inspires or about the event in which the quote occurred. You may write in any format--poem, story, essay, or drabble--with any characters, genre, or rating.
"But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar."
-The Silmarillion, “Of Beren and Lúthien”
Do you have a favorite quote that you think might inspire other authors as well? Let me know! I am seeking quotes for future quote challenges; please email me at DawnFelagund@comcast.net with your ideas.
My sincerest thanks this month to Jennni (
digdigil) for inspiring this month's challenges, providing me with the idea (and examples) for "Sibling Rivalry," and for choosing this month's quote!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 or on our website.
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 or would like to suggest a quote for the monthly quote 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, is welcome in our LJ community.
Welcomes and Birthdays
I would like to extend warmest welcome wishes to Angelica, our new member who joined the Yahoo! portion of our group in May! Welcome also to those who have joined or are following our LiveJournal.
Three of our members with June birthdays have signed up for stories!
Unsung Heroine (
atanwende) celebrates her birthday on the 11th. She loves stories about Caranthir and Haleth and stories based out of the chapter "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath," with extra points for Caranthir/Haleth stories involving a bearskin rug. She prefers not to receive stories about Dwarves or PWP.Vana Tuivana (
callirhoe) celebrates her birthday on the 13th. Her favorite characters to read about are Caranthir, Maedhros, Fingon, Turgon, Finrod, Eöl, Maeglin, Beleg, Turin, and Morgoth and she enjoys stories about Gondolin, the Fëanorians, the Akallabeth, and Beren and Lúthien. Her absolute favorite stories involve Caranthir, and she doesn't have any restrictions on what she is willing to read!Alina (
ann_arien) celebrates her birthday on the 18th. She loves anything to do with Fëanor and his sons, Fingon, Finwë, and Glorfindel. Her favorite scene is where Fëanor and Fingolfin are reconciled before the Valar and Fingolfin calls his half-brother "full brother in heart." She prefers not to receive any stories involving character death or an Elf/Edain pairing.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 Continues on Our Website
I continue to work on building our website and will be purchasing webspace and a domain name for us within the next month! Please feel free to visit our beta-site in the meantime!
The SWG Website!
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.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-06-01 06:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-01 06:11 pm (UTC)(And while writing the newsletter, I realized that I can submit AMC for the challenge, hehe!)
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Date: 2006-06-02 05:06 pm (UTC)Caranthir approves. (And I do so, too!) :)
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Date: 2006-06-03 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-01 06:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-01 07:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-01 06:23 pm (UTC)I loved the 'indications' you've given for my birthday fic wishes. Thanks so much! *hugs Dawn really tight* But methinks you've kept one precious Erestor as present from yourself alone... >;) *looks forward with great anticipation*
no subject
Date: 2006-06-01 07:01 pm (UTC)And challenges never die here, so when that pesky uni business is over, the challenges will still be waiting!
no subject
Date: 2006-06-03 01:35 am (UTC)The family dynamics challenge seems to be a hint that I should feed that plotbunny about Arafinwe having to eat red lettuce at some dinner that I acquired last Tuesday when I was, coincidentally (brace yourselves), given a salad with tons of red lettuce at a very nice dinner.no subject
Date: 2006-06-06 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-07 02:54 am (UTC)Couldn't resist! When I quit my job, I should have lots of time, right?
no subject
Date: 2006-06-07 02:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-07 02:56 pm (UTC)*another punto*
(Btw, do you remember when we were collecting pennies every time we said, "GMTA!!!" I found that post the other day while looking for something. I wonder what we're up to by now....)
no subject
Date: 2006-06-08 12:50 am (UTC)And yes! I think we should be pretty rich by now...