Leaf & Lore: A Tolkien Writing Month

Start a story, work on a WIP, finish a fic, dabble in drabbles, pen a poem, type a tale, or otherwise wrestle with words. Set your own goal: Leaf & Lore is all up to you.

[leaf-and-lore]

Start a story, work on a WIP, finish a fic, dabble in drabbles, pen a poem, type a tale, or otherwise wrestle with words. Set your own goal: Leaf & Lore is all up to you. 🌿🌿🌿

Welcome! Brought to you by @idleleaves, Leaf & Lore is a Tolkien-centric writing community with twice-yearly challenge months in April and November.

Any and all parts of the Legendarium are welcome, from The Hobbit, LotR, and The Silmarillion to The History of Middle-earth series to film and TV adaptations of Tolkien’s works - if you love Tolkien fic, you are welcome here, regardless of your level of fannishness or familiarity with the sources.

Leaf & Lore's challenge months are choose-your-own-goal - you can go with a traditional fic word count goal (from the easily achievable to the truly unhinged) or you can participate in another way. Maybe you’d like to set a goal of editing a long fic instead, or complete a set amount of chapters, or even write meta? Goals can be changed or updated at any time, too. And if you’re more of a reader than a writer, come join in as a beta or a cheerleader!

The server is now open year-round! During the months of April & November, there will be scheduled and impromptu write-ins, as well as weekly check-ins. The rest of the year… we vibe.

Invites will open each April and November (challenge months) and stay open for 30 days.

🌿 🌿 🌿 FAQ is right here!

🌿 🌿 🌿

[leaf-and-lore]

It's time! Sign-ups for April 2026 are open!

Once you've signed up, the mods will e-mail you a link to the Discord server. Server opens tomorrow, March 20th!

🌿 🌿 🌿 (What's Leaf & Lore? See our pinned introduction post.)

[leaf-and-lore]

It's officially APRIL. Server is open, people are declaring goals, sprinting, and encouraging one another! Come join us - sign-ups will remain open until April 30th!

[leaf-and-lore]

It's time! Sign-ups for April 2026 are open!

Once you've signed up, the mods will e-mail you a link to the Discord server. Server opens tomorrow, March 20th!

🌿 🌿 🌿 (What's Leaf & Lore? See our pinned introduction post.)

[leaf-and-lore]

April is (somehow) just about a week away! If you want a choose-your-own-adventure challenge, come join us. Leaf & Lore's first run was November 2025 and it went so well we had to come back again!

[leaf-and-lore]

THREE DAYS until April! (How?!) A reminder that sign-ups do not close until the end of April - if you miss the beginning of the month you can absolutely join us later.

[leaf-and-lore]

It's time! Sign-ups for April 2026 are open!

Once you've signed up, the mods will e-mail you a link to the Discord server. Server opens tomorrow, March 20th!

🌿 🌿 🌿 (What's Leaf & Lore? See our pinned introduction post.)

[leaf-and-lore]

April is (somehow) just about a week away! If you want a choose-your-own-adventure challenge, come join us. Leaf & Lore's first run was November 2025 and it went so well we had to come back again!

[leaf-and-lore]

It's time! Sign-ups for April 2026 are open!

Once you've signed up, the mods will e-mail you a link to the Discord server. Server opens tomorrow, March 20th!

🌿 🌿 🌿 (What's Leaf & Lore? See our pinned introduction post.)

[leaf-and-lore]

Almost 40 of you already and the sign-up form's only been open about 48 hours... let's go let's go let's go!

[leaf-and-lore]

It's time! Sign-ups for April 2026 are open!

Once you've signed up, the mods will e-mail you a link to the Discord server. Server opens tomorrow, March 20th!

🌿 🌿 🌿 (What's Leaf & Lore? See our pinned introduction post.)

[leaf-and-lore]

Start a story, work on a WIP, finish a fic, dabble in drabbles, pen a poem, type a tale, or otherwise wrestle with words. Set your own goal: Leaf & Lore is all up to you. 🌿 🌿 🌿

Welcome! Brought to you by @idleleaves, Leaf & Lore: A Tolkien Writing Month is a Tolkien-centric writing challenge that runs from the 1st-30th of April and the 1st-30th of November.

Any and all parts of the Legendarium are welcome, from The Hobbit, LotR, and The Silmarillion to The History of Middle-earth series to film and TV adaptations of Tolkien's works.

Leaf & Lore is choose-your-own-goal - you can go with a traditional fic word count goal (from the easily achievable to the truly challenging) or you can participate in another way. Maybe you'd like to set a goal of editing a long fic instead, or complete a set amount of chapters, or even write meta? Goals can be changed or updated at any time, too. And if you're more of a reader than a writer, come join in as a beta or a cheerleader!

The Discord server will have both scheduled and impromptu write-ins, weekly low-pressure check-ins, plus channels for Tolkien chat, fic chat, snippets and sharing, and of course an off-topic channel as well. You can ask for a beta or a cheerleader at any time, too! 🌿 🌿 🌿 APRIL 2026 SCHEDULE:

March 20 - Discord server opens! Time to sign up and declare your goals! There will be a sign-up form posted here so you can be e-mailed the invite link to the Discord server.

Check-Ins - April 9, 16, 23, and 30.

Official Write-In Sessions - April 11 and 25 at 16:00 UTC and 20:00 UTC each time.

May 10 - Server closes! See you in November!

🌿 🌿 🌿 FAQ is right here!

🌿 🌿 🌿

[leaf-and-lore]

It's that time of year again! FOUR DAYS until the Discord server opens and the sign-up form goes live!

[leaf-and-lore]

It's time! Sign-ups are open!

Once you've signed up, the mods will e-mail you a link to the brand-new Discord server.

🌿 🌿 🌿 (What's Leaf & Lore? See our pinned introduction post.)

[leaf-and-lore]

Sign-ups will be ongoing throughout the month of November! Come join us at any time.

Please note: If you've signed up and did not receive an e-mail with the Discord server invite, send us a message here on Tumblr so we can make sure you get it.

[leaf-and-lore]

One more reblog for the last day of October. If you're wanting to sneak in before November starts, now's the time!

[leaf-and-lore]

It's time! Sign-ups are open!

Once you've signed up, the mods will e-mail you a link to the brand-new Discord server.

🌿 🌿 🌿 (What's Leaf & Lore? See our pinned introduction post.)

[leaf-and-lore]

Sign-ups will be ongoing throughout the month of November! Come join us at any time.

Please note: If you've signed up and did not receive an e-mail with the Discord server invite, send us a message here on Tumblr so we can make sure you get it.

[leaf-and-lore]

It's time! Sign-ups are open!

Once you've signed up, the mods will e-mail you a link to the brand-new Discord server.

🌿 🌿 🌿 (What's Leaf & Lore? See our pinned introduction post.)

[leaf-and-lore]

It's time! Sign-ups are open!

Once you've signed up, the mods will e-mail you a link to the brand-new Discord server.

🌿 🌿 🌿 (What's Leaf & Lore? See our pinned introduction post.)

[leaf-and-lore]

Start a story, work on a WIP, finish a fic, dabble in drabbles, pen a poem, type a tale, or otherwise wrestle with words. Set your own goal: Leaf & Lore is all up to you. 🌿 🌿 🌿

Welcome! Brought to you by @idleleaves and @independence1776, Leaf & Lore: A Tolkien Writing Month is a Tolkien-centric writing challenge that starts on the 1st of November and ends on the 30th.

Any and all parts of the Legendarium are welcome, from The Hobbit, LotR, and The Silmarillion to The History of Middle-earth series to film and TV adaptations of Tolkien's works.

Leaf & Lore is choose-your-own-goal - you can go with a traditional fic word count goal (from the easily achievable to the truly challenging) or you can participate in another way. Maybe you'd like to set a goal of editing a long fic instead, or complete a set amount of chapters, or even write meta? Goals can be changed or updated at any time, too. And if you're more of a reader than a writer, come join in as a beta or a cheerleader!

The Discord server will have both scheduled and impromptu write-ins, weekly low-pressure check-ins, plus channels for Tolkien chat, fic chat, snippets and sharing, and of course an off-topic channel as well. You can ask for a beta or a cheerleader at any time, too! 🌿 🌿 🌿 2025 SCHEDULE:

Oct 17 - Discord server opens! Time to sign up and declare your goals! There will be a sign-up form posted on the 17th so you can be e-mailed the invite link to the Discord server.

Check-Ins - Nov 08, 15, 22, and 29.

Official Write-In Sessions - Nov 02, 16, and 30 at 16:00 UTC and 20:00 UTC each time.

Dec 13 - Server closes! See you next year!

🌿 🌿 🌿 FAQ is right here!

[leaf-and-lore]

Discord server opens in just two days!

[leaf-and-lore]

Hi! Was wondering if I’m still able to join if I don’t have discord?

Absolutely! You may miss out on some of the social aspects like the write-ins and chats, but you can absolutely declare a goal and follow along on Tumblr.

[leaf-and-lore]

FAQ Time!

🌿 🌿 🌿

What can I write?

Whatever you want - fic, poetry, or meta are some of the options! We will not attempt to place restrictions on subject matter within your work and we do not allow policing of content. If you choose to share, on our Discord server, a snippet containing material commonly regarded as being sensitive and/or triggering, please use spoiler bars. What warnings you use (if any) if/when you post on AO3, SWG, Tumblr, etc. are up to you.

Is there a minimum or maximum goal?

Nope! If writing a 100-word drabble is a challenge for you, go with it! If you want to treat this as a full-blown NaNo and aim for 50k, go for it. If you want to edit three chapters or finish a draft of a languishing WIP, then that's your goal. This is a self-challenge, so what that looks like will be different for everyone.

Can I change my project or goal?

Absolutely. We're here to encourage, not to shame. If you want or need to change something at any point during the month, please do.

Can I drop out?

Yes! We all have things happen in the course of our lives that make participating in fandom difficult or impossible. There is not and never will be a penalty for dropping out.

What are the check-ins like?

Very low-pressure - just how are you all doing, anyone struggling, anyone doing well, anyone want to talk about how things are going, anyone need a beta or cheerleader?

🌿 🌿 🌿 Any further questions? Just send us an ask!