Silmarillion Writers' Guild

Tolkien described his creative approach as progressing from language to story rather than the other way around, which he assumed to be the normal or usual way an author crafts a novel. Indeed, Tolkien's work teems with experimental approaches: frame stories, pseudohistorical texts (in a multitude of drafts), and repeat violations of the "rules" fiction writers generally learn about plot, character, setting, and description.

Tolkien was, in other words, an experimental writer, pushing the boundaries of literary and artistic convention. This month, we invite you to experiment with a new technique or approach to your fanworks. We’ve listed some prompts you can select from, but you’re also free to develop your own. (If you go your own way, please clearly state what your self-created prompt is in your fanwork notes!)

Note that some experimental approaches may use structures, layouts, and markup that are difficult to render using the existing fanworks submission forms. If you are taking such an approach, contact the mods if you need help getting your work onto the site as you want it.

Thank you to independence1776 for this month's stamps and banner!

In order to receive a stamp for your fanwork, your response must be posted to the archive on or before 15 November 2023. For complete challenge guidelines, see the Challenges page on our website.