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"Still round the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate;

And though I oft have passed them by,

A day will come at last when I

Shall take the hidden paths that run

West of the Moon, East of the Sun..."

- J. R. R. Tolkien

~~*~~

Hello, and welcome to Hidden Paths, a fortnight-long event dedicated to the celebration of smaller Tolkien canons!

We all know and love the tales of Tolkien's Middle-earth, but the Professor's creative and academic endeavours didn't stop there. However, fanworks for smaller Tolkien canons (such as Farmer Giles of Ham, Mr. Bliss, Leaf by Niggle and more) are much rarer than works inspired by their Middle-earth counterparts. This event was created to be a low-pressure, low-commitment opportunity to explore those lesser known works, and create and share fanworks based on them.

( Rules and FAQs )

narya_flame

Where Else To Find Us:

AO3 Collection

Tumblr Blog

Previous Prompts:

2023 Week 1

2023 Week 2

Small Canon Promo Posts (work in progress!):

Roverandom (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)

The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)

Sellic Spell (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)

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With apologies for the wait...I have spent a good chunk of the last fortnight feeling like someone was trying to stick a knitting needle in my ear. I hope these are inspiring - remember, there is no deadline, so use them however you wish, including in combination with prompts for other events!

( Read more... )

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Hidden Paths 2025 - Prompts (Set 1)

Thematic Prompt: Journeys

Character Based Prompt: Guides

Setting Based Prompt: The Borders of the Numinous

Text Prompt: “If I give you a hint and tell you it's a hint, it will be information.”― Diana Wynne Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle

Visual Prompt:

[Image ID: Oil painting of bare trees and broken tree stumps, covered with snow, under a dark night sky. /.End ID]

Audio Prompt: ‘39, by Queen

Wildcard Prompt: I suppose this is arguably kind of an audio prompt, but there is a visual component too, so…here it is, as a wildcard. Tolkien interviewed by the BBC in 1962.

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Hello, small canon fans!

Your mod apparently has a memory like a sieve...however, with apologies for the lateness, I am delighted to share our set of advance prompts for the 2025 event (below the cut). Use these in any way that strikes your fancy!

( Read more... )

narya_flame

Many thanks to everyone who responded to my last post, either here or on Tumblr, and apologies for the delay in updating you all.

I will release a set of prompts on 14th November 2024. If anyone would like extra time to "brew" their creations and/or work on something longer, that gives you 12 weeks before the official event start date.

It's a time of year when lots of us have time off from studying/work, so hopefully that will help too.

narya_flame

Hello, Tolkien fans!

The next round of Hidden Paths is still a few months away, but I'm already starting to think about prompts and logistics, and I have a question for you all: would you prefer a round of prompts to be released in advance this time? Let me know in the comments!

(There will still be two rounds of prompts during the event itself.)

narya_flame

One week in already! Here is the second set of prompts to tempt your muses...

( Read more... )

narya_flame

Hello Tolkien fans!

It's the 14th somewhere and I have a very busy schedule tomorrow, so here, have your first set of prompts a little bit early...

( Read more... )

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The first set of prompts will be posted on 14th February – although you don't have to wait until then to get creating. The prompts are optional, so if you want to work on something ahead of time, please feel free!

Last year's prompts are also still up and available for use, here and here.

Hope to see you on the 14th!

narya_flame

We are looking for folks willing to write a short promo post for their favourite small canon(s), to encourage others to read them and hopefully create for them. Here are the examples we have so far:

(Borrowed from Innumerable Stars, with kind permission from the mods!)

Roverandom (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)
Sellic Spell (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)

If you would like to write a promo post (or several!!), please message via the Hidden Paths page Dreamwidth or Tumblr and we can co-ordinate from there.

NB – accounts on a particular platform are not a prerequisite! I can repost/reblog on your behalf, with appropriate credit of course. I just need help creating the text <3

Mod Narya

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Happy New Year, small canon fans!

Just a quick post to confirm that Hidden Paths will be running again in 2024.

Hidden Paths was created as a low-pressure, low-commitment opportunity to explore the lesser known Tolkien canons (e.g. Sellic Spell, Mr. Bliss, The Notion Club Papers), and create and share fanworks based on them.

The dates will be the same as last year, 14^th- 28^th Feb, with optional prompts at the start of each week of the event.

For more info on the event and how it works, check out our AO3 collection or our Dreamwidth sticky post.

Looking forward to seeing your creations!

Mod Narya

Current Mood: excited

narya_flame

I had intended to post this on the 28th, at the “official” end of the event, but life happened, as it sometimes does.

Anyway! Thank you very much to everyone who encouraged me to set this event up, and to all who participated, signal boosted, posted fanworks old and new to the AO3 collection, read, commented, reblogged, and provided moral support.

The collection will stay open, and you are welcome to keep using the prompts to inspire your fanworks in any way you like. The event was designed to be low pressure, so there is no deadline for sharing your creations - they will arrive precisely when they mean to ;)

Hidden Paths will be back in February 2024 with a brand new set of prompts. Until then, farewell!

narya_flame

Here is the second set of prompts for Hidden Paths! Hopefully some of them speak to you, but if not, you are welcome to use our AO3 collection or tag the event for any fanworks based on a smaller Tolkien canon.

( Read more... )

For FAQs, rules, and an overview of the event, click here.

narya_flame

Hello Tolkien fans!

It's the 14th somewhere, so here you are - the first set of Hidden Paths prompts for your inspiration and enjoyment. Have fun.

( Read more... )

For FAQs, rules, and an overview of the event, click here.

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Hidden Paths 2025 - Prompts (Set 2)