Welcome to Dreamwidth. It's good to see you here.

>> -writing and reading mainly <<

There are many communities on these topics, so here's a sample:

drabble_zone -- The Weekly Drabble Zone
A community for people who enjoy writing 100 word drabbles.

ficlet_zone -- Fic writing.

writethisfanfic -- We help the helpless (fanfic writer)
Helping fanfic writer hopefuls.


book_love -- Let's chat books!

books -- Books are uniquely portable magic.


>> -Mainly into the Silmarillion fandom right now! <<

silwritersguild -- Silmarillion Writers' Guild
Fan writing and art focused on J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion.

tolkienshortfanworks -- A community for short fanworks from Tolkien fandom.

>> non-fandom I like reading a variety of different poetry <<

I host a Poetry Fishbowl in blog on the first Tuesday of each month. I set a theme, folks give me prompts for it, and I write things based on that inspiration. Next up will be Ethical Supervillains on May 6. Come check it out and watch the fun.

Also a ton of my poetry is posted online in the Poem tag on DW, or use the Serial Poetry page to follow related sets. But make sure you've got time for reading, because people have lost whole weekends down that rabbit hole.

>> Do you have a transformative works statement / blanket statement?
-uh no I should probably make one at some point though <<

It would be very helpful to have that before you start joining communities where it's relevant, and especially before Three Weeks for Dreamwidth (April 25-May 15).

Mine is here:
https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/11265651.html

Some references:
https://fanlore.org/wiki/Blanket_Statement

https://thefourthvine.livejournal.com/173875.html

https://www.inklewriter.com/stories/115743


>> How active is it?
-Ideally I'll be posting a few times a week (right now I'm posting a lot because I'm archiving tumblr stuff) <<

Yay! Watch for people who say that they're having a hard time finding active blogs. You're right in the sweet spot for many of them, not too slow or too fast.

>> -at the moment everything is public and I don't really see myself ever changing that honestly - if I really want something to be private I will simply not be posting it on the internet haha <<

Yeah, that tends to be my approach too.


>>Do you participate in creative bingo, fests, challenges, memes, holiday festivities, or other blogging events? If so, what are some of your favorite ones?
-I do sometimes! I don't participate in a lot but I'm going to do the tolkien reverse big bang this summer which will be fun!<<

fandomcalendar and fandom_on_dw are the leading places for news about events.

allbingo hosts a new fest each month. You just missed the Tolkien fest in March, but you can play any card at any time, so feel free to make one now.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth (April 25-May 15) is the next big event, when folks celebrate the platform's birthday by posting things only on DW. It's a great time to make new friends while activity is high.


>>as far as friending I suppose we will...have to become friends? And then we can friend each other? I'm only half-sure I understand how this part works honestly.<<

Friending is about following each other's blogs. Some platforms automate it more than others. DW is more versatile, less automatic. If you hover over the userhead it will give you a menu that includes "Subscribe."


>>Planning for:
-how to use dreamwidth & how to finish the next chapter of the fic I'm writing<<

There are lots of resources here on how DW works, particularly in How To and Cohost Is Closing.