Sunday, November 25, 2012

HASA How-to November 2012

Last month I asked for topics for the how-to, and on LJ Juno asked for a current overview of HASA volunteers, so here it is. To keep it simple, I've only listed the main volunteer(s) for each section, not the backups (who are usually the same people in a different order):

Site owner/Tech support all sections/Members
Anglachel

Site News/About
Nath, Julie

Challenges
Jay of Lasgalen, Linaewen

Birthday Challenges: Imhiriel

Reviews
Jay of Lasgalen

Stories
Nath

Resources
Elena Tiriel, Jay of Lasgalen, Linaewen, Nath

Forums/Comments
Nath

Workshops/Playlists/Polls don't currently need enough attention to have a main volunteer beyond Tech Support.

So, that's HASA. Remains for me to thank my fellow volunteers for their - usually unseen - effort, and hopefully I haven't forgotten any people or sections…

*-* Nath *-*

Sunday, November 18, 2012

HASA Reviewed Stories November 2012

Since the previous Bulletin, two stories passed through review while there are currently 6 stories waiting for reviewers. Make an author's day and review a story!

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!

The Mandrake Child by WindSurfBabe

Rating: General

Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards

Genre: Drama

Summary: If only he'd been mean, she thought. If only he'd been resentful and harsh, she could have done her duty with a clear conscience, and the regret his death had brought would not have been.

Bearing the News by Virtuella

Rating: General

Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War

Genre: General

Summary: As the Third Age draws to a close, a message needs to be carried that five have become four.

 

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

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A short note about donations.


Our account is still positive. However, the funds from HASA's Story Pledge Challenge are running low. We can stretch them longer if we have more subscribers and "just because" donations. Right now subscriptions cover about a third of the hosting fee.

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. Your contact information is not for sale to marketeers. 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.

Our PayPal account has three ways to donate:

  • Monthly subscriptions - set up a monthly recurring donation in amounts from $5 to $25 dollars.
  • Yearly subscriptions - set up a recurring annual donation in amounts from $15 to $50 dollars.
  • "Just because" donations of any amount.

If you're a little short on spare change at the moment, donations of time are always appreciated. 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 reviewer, no better time than now to sign up. If you are an author, please consider donating a new story.

Thanks for enjoying HASA!

Julie

Sunday, November 4, 2012

HASA news - Birthdays, Challenges, Stories

November Birthdays

Is your birthday in November, 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.

Challenges

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 November Nuzgûl, Where was Glorfindel?, 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!

October Stories

All 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:

--- 3 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.

--- 21 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!