Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Play with Playlists!

Playlists have been a part of HASA for a few years, and with the new design are easier to use than ever before.

What is a playlist?

Playlists are lists of HASA stories put together by authors andreaders, just as music lovers put together lists of their favorite songs.

Examples:

  • Stories in a series put in reading order.
  • A collection of similarly themed stories, such as Hobbit romance or critical essays on Men.
  • A reader's "favorites" list, complete with explanations of why the reader likes them so much.
  • A collection of stories by multiple authors.

What is in a Playlist?

There are two parts to a playlist:

  1. The list itself. This is a name and a short description of what the list is presenting.
  2. List items. These are links to stories that have been added to the list, plus a short description of why that story has been added. It can be as long or as short as you want.

Once stories have been added and given a description, you can set an order to them, just like ordering chapters in a story.

Why would I want to create a playlist?

Lots of reasons!

  • You are an author and want to promote your stories. A playlist helps with this:
    • Updated playlists appear on the home page of HASA.
    • Playlists can put your stories in chronological reading order, which makes it easier for readers to follow along.
    • Playlists let you write extra commentary about your stories in the overview and individual story descriptions.
  • You are a reader who follows an author or likes a particular genre of stories.
    • A playlist can put together a set of her works in the order you like reading them.
    • It's an easy URL to send to friends to get them hooked on this author, too.
    • You can collect a set of stories together that you might not be able to create a saved search for, such as dramas by these four authors that always have Faramir and Aragorn in them.
  • You are a reader with a huge number of favorite stories on HASA.
    • A playlist helps you organize that large list into more manageable chunks.
    • Stories you like but aren't actively reading can be safely stored for easy retrieval.
    • You can use the playlist overview and story overview areas to go into detail about why you recommend this story to other readers.
  • You are part of a workshop.
    • If you are authors jointly writing stories, you can create a multi-author story list complete with commentary on how they are combined.
    • You are authors who don't write joint stories, but have similar themes and want to combine your works.
    • You have a set of challenge stories to put into a playlist.
    • You want to build a set of research articles or critical essays.
  • Some reason we haven't thought of yet.

Playlists are handy ways to put big sets of stories together, including commentary on why they are in the list, for very little effort.

Want to learn more about playlists and how to create and collect them? Visit the Playlists FAQs on HASA.

Give them a try!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Site Hosting donations needed for December and January

Hi all,

http://www.henneth-annun.net/index.cfm

If you haven't seen the New HASA, please visit and check out the new and redesigned features and navigation, and please consider making a donation for site hosting. HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. This pays for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more. Every penny donated to HASA goes directly to paying the hosting costs.

Donations will get combined with matching funds, so currently we need donations totalling $25 for December and $75 for January. If you do not have spare change for hosting, please be sure to donate some time to the site. Review a story, post a comment, join a discussion, share a tale, create a playlist, and help make HASA a great place to visit.

Julie

Thursday, December 24, 2009

HASA is back online

HASA is back online a little earlier than expected: http://www.henneth-annun.net

  • If you are using an older browser (IE6, Firefox 2.x, Opera earlier than 9.8, etc.) you need to upgrade for the best view of the site. HASA is usable, but not very nice under older browsers.

  • The site has been reorganized. Please take time to study the new navigation menus and choices and see if you can locate the page you're looking for if you don't see it right away.

  • You will have to log in again to the new site. Passwords saved by your browser probably will not work.

  • A great deal of database work has been performed in the last 48 hours. Some settings have been reset to default values and you may need to restore your customizations.

  • Check your profile. Everyone has been upgraded to full member (no more Readers/Authors) and all members now have an author record. Members can now list state/province and city if desired, and they can add URLS to multiple websites they own.

  • If you have stories, take a look at them. Very old stories may have lost their paragraph and line breaks.

  • If you have Challenge entries, make sure they are all still there. Challenges are now all public, all the time, and some old settings may keep your entries from showing.

  • My Library not only shows bookmarked stories, bookmarked authors, and all alerts, you can now save searches and manage comments you make to authors.

  • Alerts & Favorites under My Stuff will now show you who has you and your stories saved as favorites, as well as showing alerts and comments. You can manage subscribers to your alerts, too.

  • Readers now have a Readers Toolbox on story pages to help manage bookmarks, playlists, alerts, recommendations and so forth.

  • Authors have more story management tools.

  • The forum thread for recording bug reports is:
    http://www.henneth-annun.net/forums/threads.cfm?confid=0&forumid=906

Happy Reading!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

HASA Reviews December 2009

20 reviewed stories since the November bulletin, and 3 stories currently in review...

Welcome to the December reviews bulletin.

Reviews are an important part of the site: there are the authors who sit waiting with baited breath and fraying nerves, and there are our intrepid reviewers to think of. So before looking at the stories: Thank you all for your work, authors and reviewers alike!

Stories in review
As I type this, there are 3 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?

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!

Anadûnai by Darth Fingon
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 2nd Age - Pre-Rings
Summary: 163 years after their parting in Middle-earth, Elrond travels to Númenor to see his brother again.


The Journal of Fingolfin by JDE
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: 1st Age
Summary: The High-King of the Noldor Exiles, Fingolfin, tells the story of the Noldor, and the story of his family. The self-deprecating King reminiscences about his family, his half-brother and the complex relationship they shared. He watches his children, niece and nephews turn from spoilt princes and princesses into leaders of maturity and wisdom. Grief, pride, regrets, determination, courage and an all-encompassing love for his family characterise his narrative as he sketches his tumultuous life in his journal. Warnings: AU. Incest. Homosexual content(mild). Heterosexual content(mild).Adult. Part One of The Song of Sunset AU


Threnody for the Dispossessed by kenaz
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 4th Age
Summary: When the Valar recall Maglor to Valinor to plead for clemency, it falls to his reluctant rival to find him. Mild slash content.


Prisoners of Conscience by JDE
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: Akallabêth/Last Alliance
Summary: "And it came to pass that Tar-Palantir grew weary of grief and died. He had no son, but a daughter only, whom he named Míriel in the Elven-tongue; and to her now by right and the laws of the Númenóreans came the sceptre. But Pharazôn took her to wife against her will, doing evil in this and evil also in that the laws of Númenor did not permit the marriage, even in the royal house, of those more nearly akin than cousins in the second degree. And when they were wedded, he seized the sceptre into his own hand, taking the title of Ar-Pharazôn (Tar-Calion in the Elven-tongue); and the name of his queen he changed to Ar-Zimraphel." AU, romance, mild heterosexual content.


After Sirion by toastedcheese
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 1st Age
Summary: After the Third Kinslaying, two pairs of brothers struggle to repair their broken families.


The Bearing of Burdens by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: Faramir, Prince of Ithilien and Steward of Gondor, learns how burdens can be lightened in an interview with Samwise Gamgee.


Yavanna's Gift by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Bell Gamgee and her daughters find help from an unexpected source in their hour of need. With grateful thanks to Raksha and Virtuella.


While We Live by JDE
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: Akallabêth/Last Alliance
Summary: "The King yielded to Sauron and felled the White Tree, and turned then wholly away from the allegiance of his fathers. But Sauron caused to be built upon the hill in the midst of the city of the Númenóreans, Armenelos the Golden, a mighty temple." AU, heterosexual content, romance.


The Houseless by Jael
Rating: General
Genre: Other
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: On a day in late autumn, Legolas has a strange encounter with a girl in the woods. A tale for Halloween.


Fired Anew by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: Other
Summary: At the End of All Things, it has been said that in order for Morgoth to be defeated anew the Silmarils and their maker must come together and unite. And how would Nerdanel feel in those last moments as her husband and sons emerge from the Halls of Mandos? Will she greet him or spurn him?


Looking For Dragons
by Raksha

Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Gandalf makes a new friend, in an unanticipated and fruitful meeting.


King of Shadowed Halls by Jael
Rating: Adult
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - The Kings
Summary: As a shadow falls upon Greenwood the Great, Thranduil takes steps to protect his people. The building of the underground fortress casts his personal life into shadow as well. Will he lose that which is most dear to him in an attempt to save it? Drama/Angst. Thranduil; Galion; OFC. Rated Mature for mildly graphic sexual activity between a married couple.


Refraction by Darth Fingon
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: After an unexpected turn for the worse, Legolas finds himself having to repay a debt he never knew existed. Slash.Written as part of a fiction swap.


Will Overruled By Fate by oshun
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Haldir meets Beleg in Valinor and each comes to terms with his past. Slash. A Lord of the Rings-Silmarillion crossover. Response to a prompt: " . . . an encounter between an Elf recently released from the Halls of Mandos and an Elf who has recently come to Valinor from Middle-earth. . . . struggling to acclimate themselves to a new place and time, and trying to relate to each other . . . . love to see Haldir meet Beleg."


Anemone by Armariel
Rating: General
Genre: Romance
Era: 4th Age
Summary: In the Blessed Realm, Frodo meets a mysterious and enchanting little creature from the sea. Could it be true love at last? Non-slash.


Hindsight by Russandol
Rating: Adult
Genre: General
Era: 1st Age
Summary: Maedhros remembers his captivity in Angband. Warnings: torture and rape. Thanks to JDE, most patient of beta readers, and to the Lizard Council.


We Three Kings by Jael
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: Other
Summary: Set in the 'Not Fade Away' story-verse, a tale for the holiday season. One night in winter, Thranduil and two companions are forced to take shelter in a stable.


Reach For The Stars by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: What can Eärendil give the son who he can see but not touch? Find out, as the Mariner looks in on two special stargazers.


The Shadow of the Past by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: v
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: The dead have no power over the living,or do they? Somewhat AU


A Dangerous Hunger by IgnobleBard
Rating: Adult
Genre: Other
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Haldir's encounter with an Easterling leads to an unexpected attraction. - AU, Slash

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

HASA news - December 2009

The December news focuses on Birthdays, Reviews, Resources and Challenges.


Birthday Cards

If it’s your birthday in December, and you would 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 the stories written for previous requests.


Reviews

You’ll find a list of stories in review at the top of the members home page. If you are an active reviewer, log in to see the 2 new stories that are waiting for reviewers.

Or, if you are not yet a reviewer, why not sign up to become one? Reviewing is not nearly as daunting as it may seem, and you're eligible if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.

Member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

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


Challenges and Nuzgul

Click here for the Challenges homepage.

If you have an idea that you'd like at least five people take on, grab that nuzgul by the scruff of the neck (mind the teeth!) and see if you can get four others to make it a Challenge. Prospective Challenges can be found here

There are currently no open Challenges (except Birthdays), so if you have any spare Nuzgul lying around, don’t hesitate to see how many others it can bite!


Resources

The HASA Research Library is a very useful resource for writers as well as for online discussions on book canon. You can find entries on characters, settings, events, and items, containing cited quotes about the item you are trying to find more information on. This portion of the site is available here.

Would you like to get involved with Resources? If you like researching and want to help develop this section of HASA you can contact the Resources & Research Library through the contact form at http://www.henneth-annun.net/about/contact.cfm.

Some recent articles in Resources:

Timeline Events:
Eluréd and Elurín born in Ossiriand
Fëanor creates the Silmarils

Character Biographies
Bëor the Old
Elurín

Places
Nennin
Celebros

Things
Gift of the Elf-minstrels
Doom of the Noldor

Good luck researching your story! If you enjoy this section of the site, why not tell the researchers (they’re listed at the bottom of every entry).


November 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 November:

--- 20 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.
--- 32 General Stories were published or updated.
--- 1 Beta Story was published or updated.
(Please note, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

- -
Nath

Friday, November 27, 2009

Donations needed for November and December site hosing

Hi all,

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. We're still short on donations for site hosting for the rest of the year. If you haven't donated yet, please consider doing so. This pays for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more. Every penny donated to HASA goes directly to paying the hosting costs.

Donations will get combined with matching funds, so currently we need donations totalling $10 for November and $75 for December. If you do not have spare change for hosting, please be sure to donate some time to the site. Review a story, post a comment, join a discussion, share a tale, create a playlist, and help make HASA a great place to visit.

Julie

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Donations needed for November and December site hosting

Hi all,

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. This pays for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more. We're still short on donations for site hosting for November and, in a few weeks, the December bill will need to be paid. If you haven't donated yet, please consider doing so. Every penny donated to HASA goes directly to paying the hosting costs.

Donations will get combined with matching funds, so currently we need donations totalling $30. If you do not have spare change for hosting, please be sure to donate some time to the site. Review a story, post a comment, join a discussion, share a tale, create a playlist, and help make HASA a great place to visit.

Julie

Saturday, November 14, 2009

HASA Reviews November 2009

10 reviewed stories since the October bulletin, and 4 stories currently in review...

Welcome to the November reviews bulletin.

Reviews are an important part of the site: there are the authors who sit waiting with baited breath and fraying nerves, and there are our intrepid reviewers to think of. So before looking at the stories: Thank you all for your work, authors and reviewers alike!

Stories in review
As I type this, there are 4 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?

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!

Gentlemen's Agreement by Khazar-Khum
Rating: Adult
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Kings
Summary: What really happened to Earnur? Earnur, the Witch-king, Gothmog & assorted orcs.


Expectations by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 4th Age
Summary: The birth of a second child does not always fulfill the expectations of complacent fathers; as Faramir soon learns…


A Mother's Day by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: So far her birthday hasn't gone precisely as planned. But a visit from Mr. Bilbo will change that for Bell Gamgee.


The Ring-day Fete by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Here it is, the Birthday, and Sam Gamgee is hundreds of leagues from Bag End. A matter to make a Hobbit feel...unsettled!


Hues of Middle-earth by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: Multi-Age
Summary: A series of drabbles inspired by the colours of the Rainbow. Written for the Tolkien Weekly "Rainbow" challenge. With thanks To Raksha.


The Thawing by JDE
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: 1st Age
Summary: Turgon is mourning his wife's death. He is determined never to forgive his Fëanorion cousins for their father's madness at Losgar. Curufin is repentant for the first time in his life, but cannot bring himself to admit that to his cousin. From pride, anger and grief into irritation, exasperation and ...


Tracking Monsters by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Legolas searches out a new and possibly evil creature in Ithilien. A companion to another story. Written for a challenge. Part of a series.


Many Hands by Russandol
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: Multi-Age
Summary: The story of a mighty weapon and heirloom, spanning the younger ages of the world. My heartfelt thanks to JDE for the thorough beta work!


The Tides of the World by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: As the long day and night of March 15, 3019 ends, an exhausted Aragorn seeks rest, and ponders the changes that have come to pass.


Day's Ending by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: What sight gladdens Halbarad's dying eyes? Share the northern Ranger's last moments.


==
Nath

Friday, November 13, 2009

Chapter display problem SOLVED

UPDATE: the problem is solved, and you should be able to access chapters normally again.
---
A needed security update to the HASA database is currently preventing story chapters from displaying.

Please note: no data has been lost!

The chapters are fine, and will be restored to view as soon as possible.

It is all a retrieval error, and Tech Support is working on it. It may be a few hours before the data is displaying correctly again.

We apologize for the inconvenience...

---
Nath

Sunday, November 1, 2009

HASA news - November 2009

The November news focuses on Birthdays, Reviews, Playlists and Challenges.
But first, to misquote Bilbo: I have to make an ANNOUNCEMENT: in December there will be a site update. Read immediately below for more details.


Site update

In late December, HASA will undergo a code refresh. Most of this work is behind the scenes and deals with database optimization, security and JavaScript support. Some changes will affect end users. There will be some changes to page layout to work better with newer browsers and handheld devices, IE6 support is being phased out, and there will be more choices in the top navigation bar.

There will be one HUGE change that will directly affect site readers. The cookie based bookmark system is going away. The code behind it is breaking under various browsers, the cookie interaction with the server is causing performance issues, and there are new tools out there that do a better job. The bookmarks will be replaced with AddThis ( http://www.addthis.com/ ) buttons on each story. AddThis supports dozens of social networking sites, allows you to bookmark directly to your browser, has browser toolbars, and many other features that HASA support can't possibly provide.

This means you need to prepare your bookmarks ahead of the code change so that you don't lose them. Over the next few weeks, instructions will be posted to help you figure out what to do with those bookmarks.


Birthday Cards

If it’s your birthday in November, and you would 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 the stories written for previous requests.


Reviews

You’ll find a list of stories in review at the top of the members home page. If you are an active reviewer, log in to see the list of 6 new stories that are waiting for reviewers.

Or, if you are not yet a reviewer, why not sign up to become one? Reviewing is not nearly as daunting as it may seem, and you're eligible if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.

Member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

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


Playlists

Playlists are lists of HASA stories put together by authors and readers, just as music lovers put together lists of their favorite songs.

For example:
- An author uses playlists to put the stories in a series in reading order.
- A reader puts her ‘favourites’ in a playlist and explains why they are listed
- A reader makes a list of similarly themed stories, for instance Hobbit romance or critical essays on Men.
- ...

Anyone can create a playlist!

As a reader, you can collect your favorite stories by different authors together in one place. As an author, you can put one together of your own stories. Using the Workshop, a group of authors can put together joint playlists of their work.

If you are logged in, go to My Playlists for more information on creating your own lists.

Playlists are meant to be shared!

Once you publish your playlist, other HASA members can add your list to a playlist favorites collection. You can collect playlists by authors and other readers even if you don't have any of your own. On every playlist overview page is an "Add to My Collection" button. Click, and that list is added to your collection. If you don't see the button, check to see if you are logged in.


Challenges and Nuzgul

Click here for the Challenges homepage.

If you have an idea that you'd like at least five people take on, grab that nuzgul by the scruff of the neck (mind the teeth!) and see if you can get four others to make it a Challenge. Prospective Challenges can be found here

There are currently no open Challenges (except Birthdays), so if you have any spare Nuzgul lying around, don’t hesitate to see how many others it can bite!


October 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 October:

--- 11 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.
--- 47 General Stories were published or updated.
--- 1 Beta Story was published or updated.
(Please note, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

4th Quarter Fun and Funding

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US; looking for $65 in donations by Friday next week. Every penny donated to HASA goes directly to paying the hosting costs. Our hosting cost pays for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more.

Currently our donation balance is at $20, which covers almost 1/5 of November hosting. HASA's marvelous Secret Admirer has guaranteed matching funds for all Quarter 4 donations, up to $500! Another member is covering all the service fees that PayPal takes, so every dollar you donate is worth double!

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

Saturday, October 17, 2009

HASA Reviews October 2009

15(!) reviewed stories since the September bulletin, and 9 stories currently in review...

Welcome to the October reviews bulletin.

Reviews are an important part of the site: there are the authors who sit waiting with baited breath and fraying nerves, and there are our intrepid reviewers to think of. So before looking at the stories: Thank you all for your work, authors and reviewers alike!

Stories in review
As I type this, there are 9 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?

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!

A Day to Celebrate by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: It's a year from the day on which Barad-dûr fell, and there are celebrations in both of the renewed kingdoms--except in one place....

Uncharacteristic Fury by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Part of a series. Eowyn returns from helping an injured man to find her husband is furious with her.

Filling the Breach by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: Ingold, soldier of Gondor, confronts damage and change when he visits the Rammas Echor some days after Sauron's fall. (700 word ficlet, as counted by MS Word)

Riding the Fire by Raksha
Rating: Adult
Genre: General
Era: Other
Summary: Fëanor Lives! Join him for a special moment in July 1969. Alternate Universe, 1000 words as counted by MS Word, and rated Adult only because of slight (and brief) sexual innuendo.

Stranger at the Gates by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: Romance
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: A weary stranger seeks shelter from Galadriel.

A Yearling Shoot by peredhil_lover
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: With the fateful first meeting of Arwen and Aragorn, the lives of the peredhil are changed forever. Aragorn, Elladan, Elrohir, Gilraen, Elrond, Arwen. Sequel to "Day and Night."

A Useful Gift by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: Humor
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Cheated of Bag End, as they see it, Otho and Lobelia decide to attend Bilbo's birthday party, no matter what; and Lobelia receives a most useful gift.

The Silver Tree by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: The new King and his Steward take a walk.

Ease My Heart by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Sometimes those who affect our lives so greatly are those who are silent - and we never forget them. A sequel to another tale, but can be read as a stand alone.

A Ring of Nine Watchers by Aiwendiel
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: Night in the foothills of Caradhras. The Fellowship waits in the dark for the approach of the hunting pack of wolves, and we hear their thoughts as they watch one another. An 'ennea-drabble': a set of nine drabbles.

The Hidden Lady by Rhapsody
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: Akallabêth/Last Alliance
Summary: Many scribes and bards have claimed that the Valar spared Elendil and his sons, but what is fact and what is myth?

I Will Wait by Andriana
Rating: General
Genre: Romance
Era: Time of the Trees
Summary: The parting of Fingolfin and Anairë.

A New Life by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: Arafim of Rhûn was surprised to find the captain of Gondor's forces was also a healer, and then more. But what could he do with his life when his own lord had ordered the wounded Rhûnim within the camp slain? Could such a man as he ever go home again? A series of eight true drabbles....

Aranel by Alphiriel
Rating: General
Genre: Action
Era: 4th Age
Summary: The death of King Elessar and departure of his Queen, Lady Arwen, seen through the eyes of their youngest daughter.

The Prince of Hearts by Rhapsody
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 2nd Age - Rings
Summary: One day Elrond decides to acknowledge a request that changed his life and that of others forever.




Thank you for reading, writing and reviewing at HASA. Enjoy!

Monday, October 5, 2009

HASA news - October 2009

Autumn is definitely here (or spring, for the southern hemisphere), and it's the perfect time to curl up somewhere warm to read or write some fanfic --- and if you’re reading, why not drop an author a comment?

The October news focuses on Birthdays, Challenges and Nuzgul, Reviews and Playlists.


Birthday Cards

It’s your birthday in October, and you would 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 the stories written for previous requests.


Challenges and Nuzgul

Click here for the Challenges homepage.

If you have an idea that you'd like at least five people take on, grab that nuzgul by the scruff of the neck (mind the teeth!) and see if you can get four others to make it a Challenge. Prospective Challenges can be found here

There are currently no open Challenges (except Birthdays), so if you have any spare Nuzgul lying around, don’t hesitate to see how many others it can bite!

In September the HASA Birthday Challenge '09* closed. Right now, there are two stories and two placeholders for the challenge, but you can always write an oliphaunt** entry for this or any other closed challenge.

* (please note, you need to be logged in for this link to work)
** What are oliphaunts? Click here to find the answer


Reviews

Reviews are now visible at the top of the members home page. If you are an active reviewer, log in to see the list of 8 new stories that are waiting for reviewers.

Or, if you are not yet a reviewer, why not sign up to become one? Reviewing is not nearly as daunting as you may think it is, and you're eligible if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.

Member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

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


Playlists

Playlists are lists of HASA stories put together by authors and readers, just as music lovers put together lists of their favorite songs.

For example:
- An author uses playlists to put the stories in a series in reading order.
- A reader puts her ‘favourites’ in a playlist and explains why they are listed
- A reader makes a list of similarly themed stories, for instance Hobbit romance or critical essays on Men.
- ...

Anyone can create a playlist!

If you are a reader, you can collect your favorite stories by different authors together in one place. If you are an author, you can put one together of your own stories. Using the Workshop, a group of authors can put together joint playlists of their work.

If you are logged in, go to My Playlists for more information on creating your own lists.

Playlists are meant to be shared!

Once you publish your playlist, other HASA members can add your list to a playlist favorites collection. You can collect playlists by authors and other readers even if you don't have any of your own. On every playlist overview page is an "Add to My Collection" button. Click, and that list is added to your collection. If you don't see the button, check to see if you are logged in.


September 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 September:

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

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

4th Quarter Fun and Funding

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. This pays for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more. Every penny donated to HASA goes directly to paying the hosting costs.

Currently our donation balance is at $47, which covers almost 1/3 of October hosting. HASA's marvelous Secret Admirer has guaranteed matching funds for all Quarter 4 donations, up to $500! Another member is covering all the service fees that PayPal takes, so every dollar you donate is worth double!

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!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

HASA Reviews September 2009

Welcome to the September reviews bulletin.

Reviews are an important part of the site: there are the authors who sit waiting with baited breath and fraying nerves, and there are our intrepid reviewers to think of. So before looking at the stories: Thank you all for your work, authors and reviewers alike!

Stories in review
As I type this, there are 13 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?

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!

Conquering the Helcaraxë by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 4th Age
Summary: A southern princeling faces a new challenge in the frozen North. Join young Barahir of Ithilien and his grandfather on a wintry day in this 600-word ficlet.

'Of Pride And Penalty' by JDE
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 1st Age
Summary: " Ay, do despise me, I'm the prouder for it; I like to be despised. " [From 'The Hypocrite', Act V, Sc 1']

Adolescence by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: General
Summary: Adolescent daughters sometimes seek to avoid restrictions set on them. Set the year Sam and Rosie visited Gondor with Elanor.

I Am Of The House Of Eorl by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: When the Three Hunters and Gandalf come to Edoras, history is made, events are set in motion and some will never be the same… A mix of book and movie verse told from an unusual point of view - a wolfhound.

Deliverance by Imhiriel
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - The Kings
Summary: A mariner has reached the end of his long quest. Drabble. MEFAwards 2008: 3rd Place - Races: Men: Gondor Drabbles

Pity Us Not by JDE
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 1st Age
Summary: A narrative from Oropher's point of view, set in Doriath after the kinslayings. A bit of everything, some angst, some diplomacy, some dreary musings, and of course, the house of Finwë.

Gamesmanship by Raksha
Rating: Adult
Genre: Action
Era: 4th Age
Summary: On a voyage to Dol Amroth with his family, Éomer faces peril at sea. Rated Adult for some battle scenes. Written in honor of Branwyn's birthday in 2008.

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.

First Victory! by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: Action
Era: 4th Age
Summary: At age fifteen, Eldarion Telcontar has his first true victory at sparring....

Far From Home by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: On the last night of 3018, what do Boromir and Frodo find they have in common? (a true drabble)




Thank you for reading, writing and reviewing at HASA. Enjoy!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

HASA news - September 2009

Exciting new things are happening at HASA! Those of you who have visited the site in the last few days have already seen the expanded focus on Challenges. And there is another new feature drawing attention to reviews.

Reviews

Reviews are now visible at the top of the members home page. If you are an active reviewer, log in to see the list of 10 new stories that are waiting for reviewers. Why not check one out?

Or, if you are not yet a reviewer, why not sign up? Reviewing is not nearly as daunting as you may think it is, and you're eligible if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.

Member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

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


Birthday Cards

If you have a birthday in September and would 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 the stories written for previous requests.


Challenges and Nuzgul

Click here for the Challenges homepage.

If you have an idea that you'd like at least five people take on, grab that nuzgul by the scruff of the neck (mind the teeth!) and see if you can get four others to make it a Challenge? Prospective Challenges can be found here

There is one open Challenge: the HASA Birthday Challenge '09*. On July 1st, it was HASA's seventh birthday, and there is of course no better way to celebrate than with a challenge involving the number seven or any other 'lucky number': The Challenge will run over the summer to give all entrants enough time to write your story, be it an epic story or a ficlet, and closes on Bilbo and Frodo's birthday. We wish you luck and a Happy Birthday to HASA.

* (please note, you need to be logged in for this link to work)


August 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 August:

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

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

---
Nath

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Donations for September site hosting needed

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. Thank you to generous site users who donated last month, and in previous months. Currently our balance is at $17, which means we will need donations to pay the September hosting bill. The due date is the 8th. If you look down at the bottom of any HASA page you will see a message, "Visitors Currently Online". As I write this it's at 143 visitors. If a fraction of that number who have not donated yet can donate $5 each we will be funded for next month. I'll keep you informed.

Thanks for enjoying HASA,

Julie

Monday, August 17, 2009

HASA Reviews August 2009

Welcome to the first new reviews bulletin.

Reviews are an important part of the site: there are the authors who sit waiting with baited breath and fraying nerves, and there are our intrepid reviewers to think of. So before looking at the stories: Thank you all for your effort, authors and reviewers alike!

Of course, there’s also Jay of Lasgalen, our Reviews Admin, who deserves her own round of applause for her hard work, and it’s in fact a forum discussion between her and Agape4Gondor that led to Reviews getting a separate news bulletin again. Go read, and if you have ideas and suggestions, please join in.

Stories in review
As I type this, there are 12 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?

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 are the latest stories to pass through review. Authors, congratulations; well done, people!

Bridal Bouquet by Lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: Romance
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: Galadriel prepares a very special bouquet for her granddaughter. 100 words as counted in MS WORD. Written for a challenge.


Crossing Borders by IgnobleBard
Rating: Adult
Genre: Drama Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: A misunderstanding threatens to expose Faramir's secret. AU, slash, angst, whipping (not bdsm)


In Defiance of the Dark by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: Romance Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: She had been very beautiful--and a courtesan and slave. Now she and the Ringbearer find themselves defying the Dark as he visits her in the Houses of Healing, encouraged by his friend, the King Elessar.


Truth by Starlight
Rating: General
Genre: General Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: Faramir learns of the manner of his father's death.


Autre temps, autre moeurs (Other days,other ways) by Lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: General Era: 4th Age
Summary: An envoy at King Elessar's Court writes a letter home. Written for a challenge.




Thank you for reading, writing and reviewing at HASA. Enjoy!

--
Nath

Sunday, August 2, 2009

HASA news - August 2009

The general news bulletin for August 2009, focusing on birthdays, reviews, profiles and stories.


Profiles

Time for a bit of summer cleaning? There are a bunch of new nationality flags available, but even if you're not from any of these places, it may be a good idea to go and have a look to see if your profile is still up to date (email address, beta reader status, bio etc).

New flags to wave:
Catalonia
European Union
French Guiana
Heard and McDonald Islands
Montenegro
Serbia
Reunion
Svaldbard and Jan Mayer


Birthday Cards

If you have a birthday in August and would 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 the stories written for previous requests.


Reviews

Right now, there are 13 stories waiting for reviewers (remember to log in first).

If you are an active reviewer, why not go and check one out?

If you're not an active reviewer, but would like to be one... why not sign up? You're eligible if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.

As you can perhaps guess, member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

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


Challenges and Nuzgul

We have one open Challenge: the HASA Birthday Challenge ‘09*. On July 1st, it was HASA's seventh birthday, and there is of course no better way to celebrate than with a challenge involving the number seven or any other 'lucky number': The Challenge will run over the summer to give all entrants enough time to write your story, be it an epic story or a ficlet, and closes on Bilbo and Frodo's birthday. We wish you luck and a Happy Birthday to HASA.

* (please note, you need to be logged in for this link to work)

If you have an idea that you’d like at least five people take on, grab that nuzgul by the scruff of the neck (mind the teeth!) and see if you can get four others to make it a Challenge?
Prospective Challenges can be found here


July 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. Why not go to http://www.henneth-annun.net/ and read the currently featured story?

Many talented writers are publishing every day. In July:

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

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

---
Nath

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A few donations for August site hosting needed

Thanks again for all the generous donations to date. In our fundraising for July we got a great start on August. We have $ 117.00, so we're close. We need only four $5 donations, because HASA's generous secret admirer is continuing to match donations; every dollar you donate will be matched.
HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. Donations pay for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more. HASA has many visitors every day. If only a fraction of that number can donate $5 each, we will be funded for next month. You can also show your support for HASA in other ways: why not write a comment or review a story, even if you cannot donate. But above all, enjoy the site!

Thanks for enjoying HASA,

Julie

Monday, July 6, 2009

HASA news - July 2009

HASA news - July 2009

The general news bulletin for July 2009, focusing on birthdays, reviews, resources and stories.

To start with: thanks to the generosity of our donors, costs for July are covered! Thank you all!

Of course, money (though welcome) isn't the only way you can "donate" to HASA. Just as much as funds to keep going, HASA needs you to write stories, make comments, perform reviews, post to forums etc. If you would like to donate, but your budget won't allow it, pick out a favourite story and post a comment. It just takes a minute and it will make that author's day!

Birthday Cards

If you have a birthday in July and would 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 the stories written for previous requests.


Reviews

Right now, there are 15 stories waiting for reviewers (remember to log in first).

If you are an active reviewer, why not go and check one out?

If you're not an active reviewer, but would like to be one... why not sign up? You're eligible if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.

As you can perhaps guess, member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

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


Challenges and Nuzgul

We have one open Challenge: the HASA Birthday Challenge ‘09*. On July 1st, it's HASA's seventh birthday, and there is of course no better way to celebrate than with a challenge involving the number seven or any other 'lucky number': The Challenge will run over the summer to give all entrants enough time to write your story, be it an epic story or a ficlet, and closes on Bilbo and Frodo's birthday. We wish you luck and a Happy Birthday to HASA.

* (please note, you need to be logged in for this link to work)

If you have an idea that you’d like at least five people take on, grab that nuzgul by the scruff of the neck (mind the teeth!) and see if you can get four others to make it a Challenge?
Prospective Challenges can be found here


Resources

The HASA Research Library is a very useful resource for writers as well as for online discussions on book canon. You can find entries on characters, settings, events, and items, containing cited quotes about the item you are trying to find more information on. This portion of the site is available here.

Would you like to get involved with Resources? If you like researching and want to help develop this section of HASA you can contact the Resources & Research Library through the contact form at http://www.henneth-annun.net/about/contact.cfm.

Some recent articles in Resources:

Timeline Events:
Frodo and Sam set off for Mordor
Éomer pursues the Orc-raiders towards Fangorn

Character Biographies
Nerdanel
Isengrim Took II

Places
Argonath
Caragdûr

Things
Shire-reckoning
Shire-reform

Good luck researching your story! If you enjoy this section of the site, why not tell the researchers (they’re listed at the bottom of every entry).


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. Why not go to http://www.henneth-annun.net/ and read the currently featured story?

Many talented writers are publishing every day. In June:

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

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

--Nath--

Friday, July 3, 2009

Quick funding update -- almost there for July

It's July and we're still a few dollars short. I updated the announcement box a
few days ago we got a good responce. Right now we only need 4 more $5 donations.
As I write this there's 135 visitors at HASA -- if just a few who are able and
haven't donated could do so, that would be great.

Thanks for enjoying HASA,

Julie

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Donations for July site hosting needed

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. Thank you to generous site users who donated last month, and in previous months. Currently our balance is at $12.05, which means we will need donations to pay the July hosting bill. The due date is July 8th. If you look down at the bottom of any HASA page you will see a message, "Visitors Currently Online". As I write this it's at 121 visitors. If a fraction of that number who have not donated yet can donate $5 each we will be funded for next month. I'll keep you informed.

Thanks for enjoying HASA,

Julie

Saturday, June 6, 2009

HASA news - June 2009

The general news bulletin for June 2009, focusing on reviews, birthdays, challenges, and stories.

Right now, there are 11 stories waiting for reviewers (remember to log in first). If you are an active reviewer, why not go and check one out? If you are not a reviewer, please consider signing up.

Reviews

Right now, there are 11 stories waiting for reviewers (remember to log in first).

If you are an active reviewer, why not go and check one out?

If you're not an active reviewer, but would like to be one... why not sign up? You're eligible if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.

As you can perhaps guess, member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

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

Challenges and Nuzgul

We have two prospective Challenges waiting for authors to join in: the Midsummer Challenge, and the HASA Birthday Challenge. You can find the Prospective Challenges forum here

Forums and Workshops

Forums are where you will find people discussing research questions and stories.

A quick overview of forum links:

On Our Minds displays the ten most recent posts in forums open to all HASA members. It’s a good way to catch up on what you’ve missed, though the page can move quickly when lots of forums are active at once.

If you've been out of touch for longer than a few days you might want to use the One Month of Posts page. This page is just what it sounds like: a list of forums that have been posted to in the last month, beginning with the most recently updated.

Workshops are specialized writing communities. They allow you to share stories you aren’t ready to post to the whole site, and many have interesting forums attached to them. Explore workshops to find a group of members interested in similar topics. (You must be logged in to see this link).

Playlists

Playlists are lists of HASA stories put together by authors and readers, just as music lovers put together lists of their favorite songs.

For example:
- An author uses playlists to put the stories in a series in reading order.
- A reader puts her ‘favourites’ in a playlist and explains why they are listed
- A reader makes a list of similarly themed stories, for instance Hobbit romance or critical essays on Men.
- ...

Anyone can create a playlist!

If you are a reader, you can collect your favorite stories by different authors together in one place. If you are an author, you can put one together of your own stories. Using the Workshop, a group of authors can put together joint playlists of their work.

If you are logged in, go to My Playlists for more information on creating your own lists.

Playlists are meant to be shared!

Once you publish your playlist, other HASA members can add your list to a playlist favorites collection. You can collect playlists by authors and other readers even if you don't have any of your own. On every playlist overview page is an "Add to My Collection" button. Click, and that list is added to your collection. If you don't see the button, check to see if you are logged in.

May 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. Why not go to http://www.henneth-annun.net/ and read the currently featured story?

Many talented writers are publishing every day. In May:

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

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

- Nath -

Friday, June 5, 2009

HASA is looking for reviewers

I made an announcement Wednesday on the website that HASA needed reviewers.
Thank you to reviewers that answered the request -- enough that there are now 17
stories waiting, down from 19.

If you are an active reviewer, why not go and check one out? Remember to log in
first.

If you are not a reviewer, please consider signing up. You're eligible if you've
been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.

As you can perhaps guess, member participation is crucial for reviews. The more
people that are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be
represented. Having more people involved also means that stories pass through
review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

Thanks for helping,

Julie

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Donations for June site hosting needed

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. Currently our balance is at $42.05, which means we will need donations to pay the June hosting bill.

This pays for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more. We need about eleven $5 donations, because HASA's generous secret admirer is continuing to match donations; every dollar you donate will be matched.

HASA has many visitors every day. If only a fraction of that number can donate $5 each, we will be funded for next month. You can also show your support for HASA in other ways: why not write a comment or review a story, even if you cannot donate. But above all, enjoy the site!

Thanks for enjoying HASA,

Julie

Sunday, May 3, 2009

HASA news - May 2009

The general news bulletin for May 2009, focusing on birthdays, challenges, reviews and stories.

To start with, some very good news: thanks to the generosity of our donors, costs for May are covered! Thank you all!

Of course, money (though welcome) isn’t the only way you can "donate" to HASA. Just as much as money to keep going, HASA needs you to write stories, make comments, perform reviews, post to forums etc. If you would like to donate, but your budget won't allow it, pick out a favourite story and post a comment. It just takes a minute and it will make that author's day!

Birthday Cards

If you have a birthday in May and would 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 the stories written for previous requests.

Reviews

Right now, there are 19 stories waiting for reviewers (remember to log in first).

If you are an active reviewer, why not go and check one out?

If you’re not an active reviewer, but would like to be one... If you've been a member of HASA for thirty days and think this might be an area you'd like to get involved, it's easy to get started. Read the links below, and then click "Reviews Home" and click on the link to "Activate my status now." You'll be taken to a list of stories awaiting reviewers. Click on the title, read it, and enter your review.

(please note: you need to be logged in for these links to work):
--- Reviews Overview
--- Review Policies
--- Review Criteria

As you can perhaps guess, member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Having more people involved also means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

Here's a simple thing to try. You're all familiar with the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." By submitting a story for review, you are asking nine other members to read and evaluate it. So why not do until other authors in reviews as you'd like other reviewers to do unto you: check out one of the stories already in review and give it a read. Put more simply: put one in, take one out.


Challenges and Nuzgul

Alas, there are no current open Challenges, but perhaps you have ideas you’d like to see written? Grab that nuzgul by the scruff of the neck (mind the teeth!) and see if you can get four others to make it a Challenge?
Prospective Challenges can be found here

Resources

The HASA Research Library is a very useful resource for writers as well as for online discussions on book canon. You can find entries on characters, settings, events, and items, containing cited quotes about the item you are trying to find more information on. This portion of the site is available here.

Would you like to get involved with Resources? If you like researching and want to help develop this section of HASA you can contact the Resources & Research Library through the contact form at http://www.henneth-annun.net/about/contact.cfm.

Some recent articles in Resources:

Timeline Events:
Frodo and Sam set off for Mordor
Éomer pursues the Orc-raiders towards Fangorn

Character Biographies
Nerdanel
Isengrim Took II

Places
Argonath
Caragdûr

Things
Shire-reckoning
Shire-reform

Good luck researching your story! If you enjoy this section of the site, why not tell the researchers (they’re listed at the bottom of every entry).

April 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. Why not go to http://www.henneth-annun.net/ and read the currently featured story?

Many talented writers are publishing every day. In April:

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

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Site no longer down

Edit: HASA is back up.

As you may have noticed already, the site is currently down. This will be resolved as soon as possible. Please check back here for news or check the main site (it may be back before I can update here).
--
Nath

Saturday, April 4, 2009

HASA news - April 2009

HASA news - April 2009

With March, Back to Middle-earth Month, now behind us, it’s time to erm... stay in Middle-earth a bit longer? A round of applause for everyone who took part, whether you wrote just one or two prompts or managed to do them all, and thanks to the organisers over at SWG for their hard work in thinking up all these prompts!

Birthday Cards

If you have a birthday in April and would 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 the stories written for the March requests.

Challenges and Nuzgul

Alas, there are no current open Challenges, but the prospective April Poetry Month Challenge needs just two more people joining in to become a Challenge.
And perhaps you also have an idea you’d like to see written? Grab that nuzgul by the scruff of the neck (mind the teeth!) and see if you can get four others to make it a Challenge?
Prospective Challenges can be found here

Reviews

Right now, there are 15 stories waiting for reviewers (remember to log in first).

If you are an active reviewer, why not go and check one out?

If you’re not an active reviewer, but would like to be one... If you've been a member of HASA for thirty days and think this might be an area you'd like to get involved, it's easy to get started. Read the links below, and then click "Reviews Home" and click on the link to "Activate my status now." You'll be taken to a list of stories awaiting reviewers. Click on the title, read it, and enter your review.

(please note: you need to be logged in for these links to work):
--- Reviews Overview
--- Review Policies
--- Review Criteria

As you can perhaps guess, member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Having more people involved also means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.

Here's a simple thing to try. You're all familiar with the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." By submitting a story for review, you are asking nine other members to read and evaluate it. So why not do until other authors in reviews as you'd like other reviewers to do unto you: check out one of the stories already in review and give it a read. Put more simply: put one in, take one out.

Forums

Forums are where you will find people discussing research questions and stories.

A quick overview of forum links:

On Our Minds displays the ten most recent posts in forums open to all HASA members. It’s a good way to catch up on what you’ve missed, though the page can move quickly when lots of forums are active at once.

If you've been out of touch for longer than a few days you might want to use the One Month of Posts page. This page is just what it sounds like: a list of forums that have been posted to in the last month, beginning with the most recently updated.

Workshops are specialized writing communities. They allow you to share stories you aren’t ready to post to the whole site, and many have interesting forums attached to them. Explore workshops to find a group of members interested in similar topics. (You must be logged in to see this link).

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. Why not go to http://www.henneth-annun.net/ and read the currently featured story?

Many talented writers are publishing every day. In March:

--- 10 Reviewed Stories
--- 35 General Stories
--- 7 Beta Stories (Remember, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

-Nath-

Monday, March 9, 2009

Donations for April site hosting needed

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. Thank you to generous site users who donated last month, and in previous months. Currently our balance is at $73.35, which means we will need donations to pay the April hosting bill. The due date is April 8th. If you look down at the bottom of any HASA page you will see a message, "Visitors Currently Online". As I write this it's at 125 visitors, which is a nice number. If a fraction of that number can donate $5 each we will be funded for next month. I'll keep you informed.

Thanks for enjoying HASA,

Julie

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

HASA news - March 2009

March is Back to Middle-earth Month. The Silmarillion Writers Guild is posting daily prompts at their site. Why not go over and participate? (and of course post the results at HASA *g*)

Birthday Cards

If you have a birthday in March and would 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 the stories written for previous requests.

Challenges and Nuzgul

Alas, there are no current open Challenges, but perhaps you have ideas you’d like to see written? Grab that nuzgul by the scruff of the neck (mind the teeth!) and see if you can get four others to make it a Challenge?
Prospective Challenges can be found here

Resources

The HASA Research Library is a very useful resource for writers as well as for online discussions on book canon. You can find entries on characters, settings, events, and items, containing cited quotes about the item you are trying to find more information on. This portion of the site is available here.

Would you like to get involved with Resources? If you like researching and want to help develop this section of HASA you can contact the Resources & Research Library through the contact form at http://www.henneth-annun.net/about/contact.cfm.

Some recent articles in Resources:

Timeline Events:
Frodo and Sam set off for Mordor
Éomer pursues the Orc-raiders towards Fangorn

Character Biographies
Nerdanel
Isengrim Took II

Places
Argonath
Caragdûr

Things
Shire-reckoning
Shire-reform

Good luck researching your story! If you enjoy this section of the site, why not tell the researchers (they’re listed at the bottom of every entry).

February 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. Why not go to http://www.henneth-annun.net/ and read the currently featured story?

Many talented writers are publishing every day. In February:

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

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Donations March site hosting needed

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. Currently our balance is at $67.67, which means we will need donations to pay the March hosting bill. The due date is March 8th. If you look down at the bottom of any HASA page you will see a message, "Visitors Currently Online". As I write this it's at 144 visitors. If a fraction of that number can donate $5 each we will be funded for next month. I'll keep you informed.

Thanks for enjoying HASA,

Julie