Saturday, October 29, 2011

In this week’s news: birthdays, current and prospective Challenges, and the Nuzgûl of the Month.

Birthday Challenges

Birthday in November? Make your request here.

There is another day and a bit to go in the October Birthday Challenge, so there’s still time to write or request a drabble.

Not sure what the birthday cards are about? Have a look at the stories already written this year.

Current and closing Challenges

There are no closing challenges this month.

Prospective Challenges, Oliphaunts and Nuzgûl

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.

Older ideas can also be found in the Oliphaunt Pen and the Nuzgûl Hutch… Why not take on an Oliphaunt or let a Nuzgûl bite you?

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 big stories. Step into the Nuzgûl hutch. The bunnies don’t bite (much). And who knows what ideas you may come out with?

The Nuzgûl of the Month!

The October Nuzgûl, Namesakes, can be found here, and will run until Monday night, October 31.

The November Nuzgûl, To Rise Again, can be found here, and will run until the end of the month.

Come on over to the Nuzgûl of the Month Workshop and join in the fun. If you’ve written a story for any of the previous months, don’t forget to add it to the Playlist!

Thank you for reading at HASA. Have fun!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

HASA Reviewed Stories October 2011

Since the previous Bulletin, 3 stories have been reviewed and there are currently also 10 stories in review. Make an author's day and review a story!


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

Member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in reviewing, the more different opinions are represented. Having more people involved also 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.

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!

Echoes by Virtuella
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: An acrostic on a well-known name

A Proper Man for Summer by Linda Hoyland
Rating: General
Chapters: 1
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: Ivorwen loved her grandson dearly, but he was little more than a baby when he was taken to the safety of Rivendell. Now the time has come for him to return to his people, she is full of apprehension.

Fever by Adonnen Estenniel
Rating: General
Chapters: 1
Genre: General
Era: 1st Age
Summary: After his rescue from the mountain, Maedhros struggles to regain his footing, and finds himself delirious and uncertain of what is true and what is not. Between his own flashbacks and Fingon's twisted memories of the Grinding Ice, he finds himself treading a thin line between oblivion and redemption ...

Monday, October 17, 2011

HASA How-tos October 2011

How do I...

... review a story?

This month we look at reviews – what are they, and how can you review a story?

Member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in reviewing, the more different 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.

Daunted by the idea of reviewing? Don't worry; at its simplest reviewing 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.

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.

What are reviews?

A story at HASA can be put up for review by its author. This means that the story will then be read by nine anonymous reviewers, who are also HASA members.

Each reviewer individually submit an opinion on whether the story is an outstanding work of Tolkien fanfiction. If the story is approved by five or more reviewers, it is marked "Reviewed" and is flagged with a blue star. It also is featured for a week to two weeks on the home page of HASA.

In previous times, a story was not allowed into the public archive at all unless it passed through review. As time went by the decision was made to open the site for general posting by HASA members (hence the "General" status of most stories), but to keep the reviews as a challenge to excellence.

Why do we have reviews?

To challenge fanfic authors to do their best and reward them when they achieve that goal.

Who can review?

Anyone who has been a member of HASA for 30 days is eligible to be, and strongly encouraged to become, a reviewer. When you have been a member for 30 days, a link will appear on the HASA home page, on your My Profile page, and the main Review page. Simply click the button and your reviewer status is activated.

The waiting period exists to be sure members understand how serious this is. You are being asked to pass judgment on another person's work. Decisions should not be frivolous - either in accepting or declining a story. A waiting period is imposed to prevent someone from joining the list merely to vote a friend or a particular story into the archive, or to decline a particular story.

The system also is complex because it is intended to be double-blind - you do not know the author of the story you are reading, and the author and other reviewers do not know who is reviewing the story. This is to encourage people to submit stories, and to make people comfortable that they are free to vote as they please in the reviews. Only the Review Admin and the Site Manager are ever allowed to see this data put together in one place.

How do I review a story?

Before you can review, you must be an active reviewer. Check your status by going to the main Reviews page. If you are not yet a reviewer, follow the on-line instructions to activate your status. All members are encouraged to be reviewers.

  1. Once you are active, look at the stories under review. (It may happen that there are no stories in review at the moment; then simply try again in a few days.)
  2. Click on a story link to see a story overview. If the summary appeals to you, read at least some of the story to see if you have an opinion on it, or if it is a type of story you like.
  3. When you find a story that interests you, press the 'Checkout story for review' button. You are now a reviewer for the story.
  4. Read the story and come to a decision - Do you think this is an excellent story? Would you recommend this story to a friend?
  5. You cannot review any other stories until you have completed the review for this one.
  6. When you have made your decision, go back to your review page and pick from the drop down list. Pick 'Approve' or 'Decline' to mark your decision.
  7. Pick a capsule reason that best illustrates your decision for approving or rejecting the story. It does not have to be the only reason for your decision. Simply pick the capsule that fits your reasoning best. If your decision was wrong, you can still change it at this point.
  8. You may give additional comments. Please be aware that if you leave a comment, your review is NOT anonymous.
  9. Once you have finished, press the 'Decision' button and you can then review another story.
  10. Authors may contact reviewers and ask for clarifications of the review decisions. However, no reviewer is under any obligation to reply to an author. That is strictly optional.

What are the review criteria?

Every reviewer is encouraged to read the story before checking it out for review. This way you can review stories where your decision is clear, and avoid the types of stories you personally just don't like. Should you check out a story and then discover that you cannot or don't want to complete the review, a reviewer can return a story to the reviewing pool without accepting or declining. When you are in the 'Reviews' section simply click on the title of the story and you will see the "Return Story" button located to the right of the "Select a decision" button. Click it and you will be automatically removed as a reviewer of the story.

After you have read the story, you will have to select a 'capsule comment' that gives a standardized, primary reason to either approve or decline a story. There are no gradations for the decision, only 'approve' or 'decline'. However, a declined story can always be revised and resubmitted. It is even possible to tell an author to "please consider revising the story".

The reviews process is not a beta-reading or an editing process. However, constructive, considered and considerate criticism, and comments that contain explanations and suggestions for improvement are important for the second aim of our reviews process: to inspire the authors to keep writing and to improve their writing skills. Therefore it is not only important what you say in a critique, but also how you say it. Even if you don't think that this particular story belongs in the public archive, it is not the aim of our reviews process to discourage the author.

Remember that it is not a competition. There is no limit on adding new high-quality stories. Try to be consistent in your evaluation, so that you have the same standards in mind for each story you review.

Most of all it is important to accept a story because of what it does right, and not simply because there is nothing wrong or because it doesn't violate criteria.

Mostly, though, exercise your judgment. If the story grabs you and keeps your attention, you've got something good on your hands. If you find yourself skipping lines and paragraphs just to get to the end, it's probably not a keeper.

What happens after I make a decision?

  • Your decision is recorded by the system
  • You can check out another story for review
  • The story waits until it gains 9 decisions and then is processed by the review admins

If there is any topic you'd like to see in the how-to, please let us know!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Donations for site hosting needed

HASA depends on donations to meet hosting costs. While this means that we come 'begging' about once a month, the good news is that a little can make a great difference! At the time this writing, our account is at -$268, which means we have most of August and all of September to fund, and the October bill will come due soon.

We currently have six Monthly subscribers who together donate $40 every month to HASA. We also have two Annual subscribers who together donate $30 per year. Together, these regular cover 28%, just over 1/4, of HASA's annual bill. We've also had donations and member donations this year ranging from $3 to $100. Thank you to everyone who has donated.

HASA is in its tenth year of providing ad-free, fee-free JRRT fanfiction that is owned and operated by the fandom, not corporate interests. There are no tests to take to join, all genres, characters, ratings and story lengths are welcome, and we get hundreds of readers a day. Your contact information is not for sale to marketers.

If you are one of our regular visitors, please consider setting up a subscription. $5 = one day of hosting. Economic times are tough. If you can't spare money, then please give something just as valuable - your time. There are stories that need reviews, a story comment can really make an author's day, we have forums for discussing any topic and, of course, you can post your own works for the enjoyment of everyone.

Thanks for enjoying HASA!

Julie