Friday, July 30, 2010

HASA news - Challenges

Current and prospective Challenges, and the Nuzgûl of the Month: come and pet the plot bunnies...


Birthday Challenges

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

The July Challenge is still going on, so why not take a few minutes to write a birthday drabble for one of the birthday people?

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


Current and closing Challenges

July 2010 Birthday Cards - closes July 31

August 2010 Birthday Cards - closes August 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... If you have any ideas you want to share, head over to the Challenges Forum or be inspired by what is already there and pick up an older idea instead?


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 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 bunny is Royally Screwed.

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

There are still a few days left on July’s bunny To Be a Ringwraith, so come to the Nuzgûl of the Month Workshop, and join in the fun...


Thank you for reading at HASA. Have fun!

*~*~*

Nath

Monday, July 19, 2010

Donations for August site hosting needed

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Currently, our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. For August we will need $148 more, that's about $5 each if 30 of our members & visitors can donate. The hosting fee pays for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more. I didn't need to make an appeal last month because donations for May and June were enough for the whole quarter, thanks!

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 enjoying HASA!

Julie

Sunday, July 18, 2010

HASA Reviewed Stories July 2010

Since the previous Bulletin 12 stories have been reviewed and there are currently 10 stories in review. Reviews couldn’t exist without authors and reviewers. So Thank You all for your work. BUT... more reviewers are needed!

First, a technical note: HASA has been unstable the last few days. Tech support has been unable to identify the root cause so far, but is continuing to investigate. Until the cause can be uncovered and corrected, the site will need manual restarts after it hangs. We apologize for the inconvenience.

On to reviews:

As I type this, there are 10 stories waiting for reviewers (remember to log in before you follow the link).

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 (and when you do, remember: 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.

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.

Daunted by the idea of reviewing? Don’t worry, reviewing at its simplest comes down to asking yourself: “Would I recommend this story to someone?” Then, whether the answer is 'yes' or 'no', you can make a choice from the capsule reasons to clarify your decision. If you want to, you can add a few more words to convey what you (dis)liked about the story, but just the capsule reason is perfectly fine as well.

Forum discussion
And for all (potential) reviewers, there is currently a forum thread about reviewing. Feel free to drop in and have your say if there’s anything you want to say or ask about being a reviewer.

And remember: even if you think you're too critical or not critical enough: your review is only one of nine, and all points of view are welcome. Not every reviewer has to review every story and in the end it does all level out to a balanced judgement.

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


Portrait of a Queen by Aruthir
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 2nd Age - Pre-Rings
Summary: Tar-Telperien was the second Ruling Queen of Númenor, and never met her great-grandmother Tar-Ancalimë, the first such Queen... ...In life, at least.

A Trickle of Green Ribbon by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 4th Age
Summary: When Sam and Rosie visit Minas Tirith they also bring four-year-old Ruby. But Ruby disappears and it's up to a certain elf to find the child who has longed to meet him. Slightly AU.

When Boromir Met Théodred by oshun
Rating: General
Genre: Romance
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Lord of the Rings slash (Boromir/Théodred). Two double drabbles. Young Boromer and Théodred experience one another's cities.

The Wizard and the Ranger by Gandalfs apprentice
Rating: General
Genre: Humor
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Tolkien tells us in the Tale of Years that Aragorn and Gandalf met in 2956, when Aragorn was 25 years old, but he does not tell us how it happened. Maybe the real story was not solemn enough for the official annals of the history of Middle-earth.

Mrs Maggot Gives Directions by Virtuella
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: Frodo's flight to Crickhollow might have turned out differently, had it not been for the quick thinking of a farmer's wife.

A Gift for Faramir by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Faramir receives an unexpected gift. With grateful thanks to Raksha. Written on the occasion of her birthday.

Remember Me by Adonnen Estenniel
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Throughout the course of his long life, Aragorn had the comfort of another to help him through the many trials and difficulties that arose. But in the end her memory fades, for Men are not mortal and their hearts are easily altered. An AU interpretation on what might have happened if Arwen had been at Imladris instead of Lothlórien when Gilraen brought Aragorn to Rivendell.

The Sins of the Fathers by Mirefinwe
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: Time of the Trees
Summary: My take on the Fall of the Noldor as family saga, focussing on Indis and her daughters.

Blue Book of Melleth: The Sky Wept Diamonds by Elen Kortirion
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: The birth of Boromir, as witnessed and reported by a bonds-woman of Lady Finduilas. Birth involves many customs and superstitions; a vernacular report of the events and omens that surrounded Boromir's birth. Inspired by Tay's suggestion that Boromir 'is the poster-boy for Leo' and by the song 'When I Go' by the late Dave Carter, whose birthday also coincided with the Persied meteor shower, around the 12th and 13th August.

Orcs in Hobbiton by The Lauderdale
Rating: Adult
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: AU. Two years after Sauron won the war, his Orcs have come to a Shire under Saruman's dominion. The hobbits that are its proper inhabitants are caught in the middle. Told in drabbles and drabble-increments (200, 300, etc.) Warning: Deals with post-war occupation and the kind of subject matter that often entails. Coarse language, references to rape and other violence, but non-graphic.

Ten Thousand Years Will Not Suffice by Agape4Gondor
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Denethor - from birth onward... How he became the Twenty-sixth Ruling Steward of Gondor and through to his untimely death (NOT movie based). DEEPEST THANKS TO LINAEWEN - who stuck by me the whole seven years that this took to write.... and to Russandol, my intrepid beta... Aeneid helped me when first I came to this website. Thank you.

Never Again by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Undying Friendship Series. Post RotK. Legolas is struggling with sea longing and isolation. A trip to see Aragorn and Gimli is just what he needs. Will the reunited friends have a pleasant visit, or will disaster tear them apart?

Sunday, July 11, 2010

The quickest way to get started with the Research Cabinet is to add a few items to it. It's as easy as finding an item to add and clicking a button!

How do I...

...add an item to the Research Cabinet?
  1. Log in to HASA.

  2. Go to the Resources section of the site.

  3. Browse for a Research Library item you would like to add to your cabinet. The items you can add are:
    a.    Timeline Events
    b.    Character Bios
    c.    Places
    d.    Things
    e.    Full Text Searches (Note - you have to save a search before you can add it to your Cabinet)

  4. Once you have found the Library item you want to add to you Research Cabinet, look for the right-hand menu box labeled "Research Cabinet".

  5. In the Research Cabinet box, click the "Add this [item] to research cabinet".

  6. The page refreshes and the item is added to your cabinet.

At this point, you can leave the item loose in the Cabinet, add it to a Notebook, and/or create a Research Note to go with it.

How to add a Notebook to the Cabinet
Notebooks are like folders inside your Cabinet where you can put items to keep them organized. Unlike real life folders and notebooks, HASA Notebooks let you add your cabinet items to multiple notebooks. For example, you might be writing a story with Elladan as a main character and Aragorn as a minor character, and another story with Aragorn as the major character, but no Elladan. You can create a Notebook for your Elladan story and another for your Aragorn story, and put the Aragorn research items in both notebooks, including Research Notes!

You can add a new notebook from any Research Library item, from the main Research Cabinet page, from an existing Notebook and from any Research Note page.
  1. Log in to HASA.

  2. Go to the Resources section of the site.

  3. Be on any of the pages listed above.

  4. On that page, look for an "Add Notebook" button.
    a.    On a Research Library item, it will be in the Research Cabinet box at the end of the Notebooks list.
    b.    In the Research Cabinet, it will be in the dark green header of your "My Notebooks" list on the cabinet main page, on a Notebook page and on a Research Note page.

  5. Click the button.

  6. You will see an Add Notebook form.

  7. Provide a name and a brief description for your notebook. Short names display better on screen.

  8. Click "Add Notebook".

  9. The page will refresh and you will see your new notebook, ready for items to be added to it.

  10. To return to where you started, locate the information box about this notebook in the right hand menu, located immediately under the folded up main menu.

  11. Click the "Return to Browsing" button.

How to Add a Research Note to the Cabinet
Research notes are your comments, ideas, thoughts, and notes that you want to have accessible to you no matter where you are. Anywhere you have internet access, you have your story notes, organized how you need them. You can link them to any or all of your Notebooks, toss them "loose" into the Cabinet, and link any Cabinet item to them. You can have notes on characters, on plot ideas, on timelines, you name it, as many as you need holding whatever makes sense to you.
You can add a new Research Note from any Research Library item, from the main Research Cabinet page, from an existing Notebook and from any Research Note page.

  1. Log in to HASA.

  2. Go to the Resources section of the site.

  3. Be on any of the pages listed above.

  4. On that page, look for an "Add Note" button.
    a.    On a Research Library item, it will be in the Research Cabinet box at the end of the Research Notes list.
    b.    In the Research Cabinet, it will be in the dark green header of your "Research Notes" list on the cabinet main page and on a Notebook page.
    c.    On a Research Note page, it will be a button at the top of the displayed note, plus the button is repeated in the right-hand "Research Notes" box header.

  5. Click the button.

  6. You will see an Add Research Note form.

  7. Provide a name for your research note. Short names display better on screen.

  8. The text field is exactly like the one for story chapters. You can copy/paste text in, type new material, add hyperlinks, and so forth.

  9. When you are done entering information, click 

  10. The page will refresh:
    a.    If you added a new page from a Research Note page, you will immediately view your new note.
    b.    If you added the note from any other page, you will return to wherever you were when you clicked "Add Note". Your new note will be linked in the Research Notes list on that page.


You now can link any Cabinet item to the note or add the note to one or more Notebooks. Add more information to your Research Note as you do your research.



~*~
Nath

Sunday, July 4, 2010

HASA news - Birthdays and stories

July birthdays and links to the stories written or updated in June. And... what are birthdays without presents?

July Birthdays

Is your birthday in July, 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.

One birthday in July is HASA’s own birthday on July 4th! Because a birthday wouldn’t be a birthday without a story request, we're asking authors to write a birthday story to entertain our readers. The theme is "giving" because that is what makes HASA run. People giving time, donations, ideas, stories, feedback - giving themselves.

Write about any aspect of giving that appeals to you, in any era of Middle-earth, with any characters. (Extra applause if you can work in the number 8.)

And of course a birthday wouldn’t be a birthday either without a present! So in proper Shire style, HASA has prepared a present for its members: head over to the Resources section and have a peek inside the shiny new cabinet (no, it does not lead to Narnia - at least, not unless you want it to...).

June 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 June:

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

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

~Nath ~