Silmarillion Writers' Guild

1. Your story should be between 1k - 6k.


2. It should involve some element(s) of an alternate universe.


3. It should be a completed story rather than a work-in-progress (excepts from longer works or collections may be elements of a work-in-progress but the section posted should be finished).


4. If you choose to use a chapter of a longer work, please be certain that the chapter functions as a stand-alone piece.

Other Upcoming Events

• What is instadrabbling? Instadrabbling is a long-standing collaborative creative activity in the Tolkien fic fandom. A group gets together on a chat, someone throws out a prompt, and everyone creates a fanwork using that prompt.


• Traditionally, the fanwork created is a perfect drabble (100 words). However, we are more interested in having fun than being traditional. All fanworks of all types (not just fic and certainly not just drabbles!) are welcomed and encouraged. (Note also that all Tolkien-based fanworks are welcome, not just Silmarillion-based.)


• Prompts are traditionally four words chosen randomly from the nearest book on hand. This weekend's prompts will have a Middle-earth Olympics twist.


• Then everyone posts their fanwork in the chat and much oohing and aahing occur!

We are thrilled to announce the completion of our new website--the first step forward in building a more vibrant and inclusive community for Tolkien fans to enjoy. In celebration of this watershed moment for our group, we will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 24 and 25, featuring a live reading and instadrabbling session! There will be two sessions, timed to welcome as many of our members from around the world as we can.

Saturday, April 24, 23:00/11PM UTC (find this in my timezone)
Sunday, April 25, 15:00/3PM UTC (find this in my timezone)

The celebration will be held on the SWG's Discord server. (Not a member of our Discord server but want to join? See below!)

Live Reading

We'll kick off the event with a tribute and toast to the new site, then hand the mic to our members to share readings of ficlets, poems, and excerpts from Tolkien to mark the occasion.

• If you're reading a poem or ficlet, please read only a work you have authored.

• Selections should focus on the broad themes of renewal and looking toward the future.

• Please choose a selection that can be read in five minutes or less.

If you want to read, complete this form. You can read at one or both sessions. At this time, we're asking for one selection per reader, but if you'd be interested in reading more, let us know in the Notes field on the form. If we have room, we will add you in! Once you've signed up, you'll hear from a moderator within the next week to confirm your reading time.

Just want to listen in? Listeners are more than welcome! Join our Discord server or look for a link on the date of the event to join in. We will also record the reading* so that those unable to attend can listen later.

* Participants can opt out of the recording; just check the appropriate box on the form above.

Instadrabbling

Instadrabbling is a long-running Tolkien fanfiction tradition carried on for at least the better part of two decades. Traditionally, a group gathers on a chat server, one participant offers four words chosen at random from the closest book at hand, and all participants create a perfect drabble using those four words, post their work, and squee and celebrate!

For this event, in an effort to welcome as many participants as we can, our expectations are considerably looser. Prompts will focus on the theme of renewal. Prompts can be anything at all: a quote, an image, a video clip, a song, a passage from Tolkien ... even the traditional four-word prompt! Participants are welcome to bring a prompt or simply create using the prompts offered by others.

All fanworks are welcome. While the tradition is a perfect 100-word drabble, if that's too short? (Too long??) Write something else! Write a poem or a short story. Don't write? Do a sketch using the prompts, work on a cosplay project, make a playlist--any and all creativity is welcome!

Participants are also welcome who don't want to create fanworks of their own but want to enjoy those made by others and join in the conversation. Join our Discord server or look for a link on the date of the event to join in.

How to Join Our Discord Server

If you're an SWG member, log in to the site and scroll to the bottom, where you'll find a link to our Discord server. If you're not a member of our site yet (do you want to be??), contact our mod team or leave a comment here, and we'll send you an invite.

We'll also post invite links on our site and social media that can be used at the time of the events to join in.

Ribbon image credit: Brett Croft (modified by Dawn Felagund under license terms)

This weekend, we will discuss Silmarillion fic stories in the horror genre on our Discord server. Click below the jump for a schedule!

What is a fanfiction book club? Fanfiction book clubs are a chance to treat our fics like serious literature by discussing them like serious literature. What makes a story tick? How does the author craft a story that imaginatively compels and sometimes challenges their readers? In what ways does the author use the canon to build on, expand, and sometimes subvert Tolkien’s ideas?

A friendly reminder that our book clubs are positive-focused, so unless an author asks for concrit, we keep the discussion on what works.

To join the discussion, join our Discord here and scroll down to the #fanfiction-book-club. (New members are welcome regardless of whether you plan to participate in the book club!)( Schedule )

A little over a month ago, the SWG challenge mods were discussing our upcoming challenge and decided, with a little over a week to go before it started, to completely switch gears. We were supposed to run a challenge about women in leadership (don’t worry, it is coming in a few months, replacing the Olympics-themed challenge that has now been postponed to next year), but as we were listening to the discussions around our Discord server, we worried that we were missing the mark. Not surprisingly, the stress of the current situation meant that many people were short on energy or inspiration, and we didn’t think that piling on one more big challenge for people to want to do and feel guilty for missing was the answer. So we designed our Block Party, hoping to offer multiple points of entry for people who engage with Tolkien fanworks in various ways: readers, commenters, artists, and writers. Recognizing how many of us feel lonely right now, we also wanted to offer chances to socialize with each other.

Today marks the closing event for Block Party: Image Instadrabbling! Instadrabbling has a long history in online Tolkien fanfiction and is a favorite activity on our server. Traditionally, the prompts are four words chosen at random from the closest book at hand and the traditional response is a perfect 100-word drabble. Today, we add a twist: instead of four random words, we’re asking participants to bring an image as a prompt* (though you’re welcome to join us even if you don’t bring/offer a prompt!). And as always, we value creativity over conformity and welcome all Tolkien-based fanworks, not just writing and certainly not just drabbling!

*While images don’t have to be created for this event and don’t even have to be yours, please respect fan artists by not offering others’ artwork unless you have their permission or such use falls within the artists’ clearly stated usage guidelines. 

If you’d like to join us, join our Discord server here and scroll down to #image-instadrabbling in the SWG Events section. Again, we welcome all Tolkien fanworks creators and readers, including those who just want to join us to read and socialize! Rules and prompts will be pinned in the channel.

Usually, our challenge deadline for stamps is the 10th, the day the challenge ends, but given the rather unique nature of Block Party, I’m extending the deadline until May 15th. If you created a fanwork for Block Party, please make sure it is posted in the correct place on or before the 15th. (Here are the SWG challenge guidelines.) Likewise, if you completed a challenge that didn’t result in something you can post (such as a wishlist fill), please contact the mods to let us know on or before the 15th by emailing us at moderator@silmarillionwritersguild.org.

Block Party might be over after today, but we will continue to offer chances on our server to get together, tell stories and make art, and celebrate our love of Tolkien and each other. Watch this space for more!

Today’s prompt reminder post is chock full o’ reminders of upcoming things for the Block Party:

• First, the prompt reminder: Today is Wishlist Wednesday: “Work on a project for someone’s wishlist.” However, it is not too late to request your own wishes! Our wishlist page has more information and the link.
• Tomorrow, we will meet on our Discord to read our favorite scenes from Tolkien together, in honor of the UN’s World Book Day. All are welcome to read or just listen in! I will post an invite to the server here tomorrow shortly before the first reading begins; if you’d like to join us early, PM me (or email the mod team at moderator@silmarillionwritersguild.org) and I’ll send you an invite. We will meet twice: at 17:00 (5PM) GMT, and again at 7 PM (19:00) EST. (Here is a timezone converter.) All of Tolkien’s books are eligible, not just The Silmarillion, so LotR and Hobbit fans, come join us!
• Our first ever Fanfiction Book Club will meet on Sunday, April 26. While sign-ups for stories are closed, if you would like to participate in the discussion, we appreciate an RSVP so we can make sure each story will have a group to discuss it. The discussion schedule is here, along with a link to the form to RSVP. If you’re not certain you can make it, please don’t RSVP--just show up! Again, this is a Discord event, so I will post an invite shortly before the event begins, but please PM or email me​ if you’d like to join us early.