Monday, April 30, 2012

Are you enjoying HASA?

Please join the May Challenge. See the links below and at the top of the Home page. How it works: for each story that is written for this challenge, readers can pledge to donate a small amount of money (which our Secret Admirer will match up to $250, for a total of $500). If we can gather stories and pledges to use all the possible matching funds, HASA hosting will be taken care of through midsummer, with the help of the existing subscriptions. HASA homepage: http://www.henneth-annun.net/index.cfm or go directly to the Challenge: http://www.henneth-annun.net/challenge/challenge.cfm?ngid=579 or join the discussion here http://www.henneth-annun.net/forums/messages.cfm?confID=0&forumID=934&messageID=54594 Thanks, Julie

Sunday, April 15, 2012

HASA How-tos - April 2012

How do I...

...add an item to the Research Cabinet?

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!

  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; and we will look at how to do that in the next few months. The great thing about the research cabinet is that you can organise your information so that it makes sense to you.

The May Story Pledge Challenge

A HASA member recently sent in a proposal for a site fundraiser, and it is great! In short:


  1. We use a Nuzgûl or Oliphaunt challenge, or perhaps come up with a new one.
  2. The challenge starts May 1 and runs until June 1.
  3. Authors write a story to meet the challenge prompt.
  4. These challenge entries will be featured on HASA's home page in place of the usual reviewed stories as soon as there are three entries and will remain on the home page all during the challenge.
  5. Readers will offer pledges for each story that is posted to the Challenge - they have to be a full story, not just a story placeholder.
  6. For each dollar raised in story pledges, HASA's Secret Admirer will put up a matching dollar, up to $500.

Want to know more? Then come to the Story Pledge Challenge Forum. We look forwards to your ideas and thoughts! Or perhaps you already know you want to pledge an amount or have an idea you want to write for one of the prompts that have been posted…

Sunday, April 8, 2012

HASA news - reviews (and more)

A HASA member recently sent in a proposal for a site fundraiser, and it is great! In short:

  1. We use a Nuzgûl or Oliphaunt challenge, or perhaps come up with a new one.
  2. The challenge starts May 1 and runs until June 1.
  3. Authors write a story to meet the challenge prompt.
  4. These challenge entries will be featured on HASA's home page in place of the usual reviewed stories as soon as there are three entries and will remain on the home page all during the challenge.
  5. Readers will offer pledges for each story that is posted to the Challenge - they have to be a full story, not just a story placeholder.
  6. For each dollar raised in story pledges, HASA's Secret Admirer will put up a matching dollar, up to $500.

Want to know more? Then come to the Story Pledge Challenge Forum. We look forwards to your ideas and thoughts!

Reviews

Since the previous Bulletin, three stories passed through review while there are currently 12 stories waiting for reviewers. Make an author's day and review a story!

As I type this, there are 12 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, please 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 be, 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!

Love is a dance by Lady Demiya
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: One-shot. A scene in which Eomer begins to notice Lothiriel. Set in Eomer's perspective; his wants and desires. Book-verse. POST-WOTR.

The Flower King by WindSurfBabe
Rating: General
Genre: Romance
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Years after King Elessar's passing, the laughter and music of the elves do not grace mortal ears anymore. The woods stand silent ; the time of Men has come. But an elf lingers in his father's realm. His choice is finally made.

Breath of an Elf by Tanis
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: Third Age - a tag, with permission from Neoinean, to her 1st Place Teitho challenge story, ...and it was done. A little comfort after all the exquisite hurt in Neoinean's fabulous story. Revelations of a personal nature, though revealed by coercion, will change the course of one's ...

Make an author’s day, review a story or post a comment.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

HASA news - Birthdays, Challenges, Stories

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.

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 April Nuzgûl, Follow My Leader, 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!

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:

--- 4 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.

--- 20 General Stories were published or updated.

--- 1 Beta Story was updated.

(Please note, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!