Tuesday, April 27, 2010

HASA news - Challenges

Current and prospective Challenges, and the Nuzgûl of the Month: because sleep is for those without inspiration...

Birthday Challenges

Is your birthday in May and would you like a drabble about your favourite character or topic? You can request it here.

The April Challenge is still going on, so why not take a few minutes to write someone a birthday drabble?

Not sure what the birthday cards are about? Have a look at stories written for previous requests.

Current and closing Challenges

April 2010 Birthday Cards - closes April 30

Prospective Challenges

Challenges are born from Prospective Challenges, and the Prospective Challenges Forum is where you’ll find out what other people would like to spring on unsuspecting authors...
Some recent suggestions in the Forum:
- What triggered the attack in Moria?
- Why didn’t the barrow-wight take the Ring?

Dive in and pick something you’d like to write, or drop a suggestion that you’d like others to write.

Nuzgûl of the Month

Just as Challenges come from Prospective Challenges, Prospective Challenges come from Nuzgûl, and Nuzgûl need attention to grow from tiny ideas into all-dominating obsessive thoughts that keep you from your sleep and monopolise every waking minu^^^... erm... yes, well... Put on your mithril boots and step into the Nuzgûl hutch. Who knows what ideas you may come out with?

And just to make that dive into the hutch that little bit(e) more attractive, have a taster of what is in there:

The Nuzgûl of the Month!
This month’s fanged beauty is A Plague on Both your Houses:

Think you want to write it? Come on over to the forum, see how many others you can inflict this idea on, and perhaps even turn it into a Challenge.

Thank you for reading at HASA. Have fun!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

HASA Reviewed Stories April

HASA Reviewed Stories April 2010


Since the previous Bulletin 6 new stories have been reviewed and there are currently 7 stories in review. Reviews couldn’t exist without authors submitting stories and reviewers reviewing them. So a big Thank You for the work to all of you!

Stories in review
As I type this, there are 7 stories waiting for reviewers (remember to log in before you follow the link).

Of course, member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in reviewing, the more opinions are represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

If you are an active reviewer, why not go and check out a story? Or, if you are a writer, take the plunge and submit a story for review!

Becoming a reviewer
If you're not an active reviewer, but think you can spare a bit of time... – even if you just review one or two stories in a month, every review is welcome. If you are logged in, you can sign up here if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.

Put one in, take one out
By submitting a story for review, you are asking nine other members to read and evaluate it. So why not do for the other authors who have a story in review what you'd like other reviewers to do for you: check out one of the stories already in review and give it a read. Put more simply: put one in, take one out...

Reviewed story spotlight
These stories have passed through review since the previous bulletin. Congratulations to all authors; well done!



The Coimas War by Russandol
Rating: Adult
Genre: Humor
Era: 2nd Age - Pre-Rings
Summary: Several years after the War of Wrath the tension between Noldor and Teleri over the Exiles in Tol Eressëa provoked a most unexpected war in Valinor, of which later chronicles never spoke. Warnings for mild sexuality and blatant provocation!

Pride of Place by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Newly returned from fighting the Easterlings, Denethor is taken abackto find a stranger at his father's table. Co written with Raksha. MEFA 2009- 3rd Place

Contrast by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: The fathers of Meriadoc, Peregrin, and Samwise consider the changes they see in their sons and the companion they'd accompanied out of the Shire, recently returned from distant lands.

A Disgrace to Gondor by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre:  General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Even when the battle is over, there is no respite for old soldiers.

Eomer goes Fishing by Lady Bluejay
Rating: General
Genre:  General
Era: Multi-Age
Summary: A tall tale, aided and abetted by a trio of Dol Amroth princes.  Complete in two chapters.

Touch of a Vanished Hand by elfscribe
Rating: Adult
Genre:  Drama
Era: Akallabêth/Last Alliance
Summary: When Elendil and his group of Númenóreans wash up on Lindon's shores, Elrond's past comes back to haunt him. Adult (PG) due to mild swearing, coping with death, angst.


*~*Nath*~*

Thursday, April 15, 2010

HASA How-tos - April 2010

Do you know about the Copy and Clone chapter commands on HASA? They are two cool tools to help you write your stories!

How do I...

...clone or copy a chapter?

Clone is only available in your Workshops. This allows any workshop member to make a clone of a chapter inside a workshop story and then perform edits or add comments while leaving the original chapter untouched. This is great for jointly written stories or for beta editing.

Copy is available in My Stories and in your Workshops. You can make a copy of your chapter and move it to another story, or just keep a copy of it in your current story. Use it as a fast way to move a work in progress chapter from an Off-List or Workshop story to a published story.

Use these tools to keep original chapters untouched while you do edits and try variations.

Cloning a chapter in a Workshop

  1. Be sure you are logged in.
  2. Go to the Workshop section and to your Workshop.
  3. Go to the story you want to clone chapters in.
  4. In the list of chapters, you see three options EditCloneDelete, and select Clone.
    Alternately, go to the chapter and click Clone Chapter, right next to Copy Chapter.
  5. The cloned chapter is now created, and you are taken to it.
  6. Remember to Return to Story Overview. The chapter number is still set at zero and to place it where you want in the list of chapters you must give it a number.

Now you and the other members of your Workshop can edit it like any other chapter.

Copying a chapter in My Stories or in a Workshop

  1. Again, be sure you are logged in.
  2. Find the story you want to copy from, either in your Workshop or through My Stories.
  3. Go to the chapter you want to copy.
  4. Click on the Copy Chapter button at the top of the chapter.
  5. You are taken to another page to select a story from the drop-down list and click to add this chapter to that story.

Then: once you have copied the chapter to the other story (for instance from a beta or workshop version of a story you are working on), you leave the current story and go to the other story's overview. This lets you put some finishing touches on the chapter, for example to make it ready for publication.

Remember to set a chapter number on your new chapter and set it to "Public" so it can be viewed!

And that's all there is to it!

~*~Nath~*~

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Donations for April and May site hosting needed

Thanks to your generous donations, we're only $8 short on April site hosting. With matching funds, that means we only need one $4 donation. Any further donations will give us a start on May. Our hosting costs are $150 US per month. This pays for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more.

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our Secret Admirer will match every dollar donated, even small donations quickly add up. If you haven't donated yet to help support HASA, please consider doing so; any support will be greatly appreciated. If you're a little short on spare change at the moment, donate some time. There's an archive full of stories just waiting for comments, authors who would dearly love an email complimenting them on their work, challenges that need entries, playlists that need to be created, and forums begging for discussions. If you are a reviewer, check out a story today. If you aren't a reviewr, no better time than now to sign up.

And if you are an author, please consider donating a new story!

Thanks for visiting HASA!

Julie

Sunday, April 4, 2010

HASA news - Birthdays and stories

April birthdays and links to the stories written or updated in March.

April Birthday Challenge

Is your birthday in April, and would you like a drabble about your favourite character or topic? You can request it here.

Not sure what the birthday cards are about? Have a look at stories written for previous requests.

March Stories

All of us writers love feedback. It is the lembas and miruvor that sustains us as we write our story, and leaving a few words about a story you read is always a nice thing to do, whether the story is new or old.

Every fifteen minutes HASA highlights a story chosen at random from the Reviewed and General stories in the archive. Read the currently featured story on our front page.

Many talented writers are publishing every day. In March:

--- 6 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.
--- 54 General Stories were published or updated.
--- 6 Beta Stories were published.
(Please note, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

~Nath ~