HASA news - Donations, Birthdays, Stories

Story Pledge Challenge and donations

There have been 9 entries in the Sun, Shadow and Smaug challenge. We have two pledges for $5 per story, with a maximum of $70 for one pledge and $75 for the other. With 9 entries, this gives us a pledge total of $90 for the challenge.

Challenge entries will appear on the HASA home page for the next two weeks and pledges will continue to be accepted through that time. List your pledge in the pledges thread.

As of yesterday, Sunday, February 2, HASA has received $55 in regular donations for January, and has an outstanding hosting balance of $775. This includes the cost for January 2014.

As you know, HASA depends on donations from members and readers, both one-time gifts and subscriptions. 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.
• One-off 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 love an email complimenting them on their work, challenges that need entries, playlists that need to be created, research that needs doing and forums begging for discussions.

February Birthdays
Is your birthday in February, 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 some stories written for previous requests.

January 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 January:

---34 General Stories were published or updated.
---no Beta Stories were updated.
(Please note, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)

Thank you for reading and writing at HASA. Enjoy!

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…

HASA news - Birthdays, Challenges, Stories

First, before anything else: Happy New Year, and happy writing!

Second: Thank You! to everybody who helped HASA to meet our donations goal and end 2011 in the black.

January Birthday Challenge

Is your birthday in January, and would you like a drabble about your favourite character or topic? Keep an eye out for the January Birthday Challenge to appear!

Meanwhile, if you received any stories in 2011, remember to make a Birthday story for your gifts. Create a story, make each present into a chapter in your story (copy/paste), and then link the collection of stories to the 2011 Birthday Challenge; feel free to ask for help if you need a hand.

Not sure what the birthday cards are about? Have a look at some 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 January Nuzgûl, Alternate Perspectives, 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!

December 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 December:

--- No Reviewed Stories were published or updated.

--- 33 General Stories were published or updated.

--- 3 Beta Stories were updated.

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

Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

HASA news - Donations

HASA depends on donations to meet hosting costs. While this means that we come ‘begging’ about once a month, the good news is that a little can make a great difference!

We currently have six Monthly subscribers who together donate $40 every month to HASA. We also have two Annual subscribers who together donate $30 per year. Together, these regular donations provide $510 towards hosting every year, and cover 28%, just over 1/4, of HASA's annual bill.

Think of that! It takes just 8 people donating a few dollars every month or every year to cover more than a quarter of the site costs.

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

Currently, our account is at - $283. If you are one of our regular visitors, please consider setting up a subscription. $5 = one day of hosting. Economic times are tough. If you can't spare money, then please give something just as valuable - your time. There are stories that need reviews, a story comment can really make an author's day, we have forums for discussing any topic and, of course, you can post your own works for the enjoyment of everyone.

Thanks for enjoying HASA!

Nath

HASA news - Birthdays, Challenges, stories

Donations

Thank you everybody who donated recently. You are wonderful!

July Birthday Challenge

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

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

Current and closing Challenges

There are no closing challenges this month.

Prospective Challenges

Challenges are born from Prospective Challenges, and the Prospective Challenges Forum is where you´ll find out what other people would like to spring on unsuspecting authors... If you have any ideas you want to share, why not head over to the Challenges Forum (including the new Oliphaunt Forum); or be inspired by what is already there and pick up an older idea instead?

Nuzgûl of the Month

Just as Challenges come from Prospective Challenges, Prospective Challenges come from Nuzgûl, and Nuzgûl need attention to grow from tiny ideas into 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!

This summer´s Nuzgûl (three of them!) can be found here: here, and will run until the end of August.

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!

June Stories

All of us writers love feedback. It is the lembas and miruvor that sustains us as we write our story, and leaving a few words about a story you read is always a nice thing to do, whether the story is new or old.

Every fifteen minutes HASA highlights a story chosen at random from the Reviewed and General stories in the archive. Read the currently featured story on our front page.

Many talented writers are publishing every day. In June:

--- 3 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.

--- 67 General Stories were published or updated.

--- 1 Beta Stories was updated.

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

 Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!

HASA news - Challenges

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

Birthday Challenges

The April Birthday Challenge has just finished, though I’m sure the April birthday babes won’t mind a very late drabble.

The May Birthday Challenge has just opened, and we already have one request. Feel free to add your own request if your birthday is in May, and/or start writing if you’re feeling inspired.

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

Current and closing Challenges

There are no closing challenges this month.

Prospective Challenges

Challenges are born from Prospective Challenges, and the Prospective Challenges Forum is where you’ll find out what other people would like to spring on unsuspecting authors... If you have any ideas you want to share, why not head over to the Challenges Forum; or be inspired by what is already there and pick up an older idea instead?

Nuzgûl of the Month

Just as Challenges come from Prospective Challenges, Prospective Challenges come from Nuzgûl, and Nuzgûl need attention to grow from tiny ideas into 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!

May’s Nuzgûl will be: Heroes and Demons.

Come on over to the Nuzgûl of the Month Workshop and join in the fun.

Other news - donations
First, thank you to everyone who donated after last week’s appeal. It is much appreciated, and helps to keep HASA going.

However, we’re still over two months’ worth in the red, so please consider donating in May if you haven’t done so recently. Every little bit helps, even if you can only give $5.



Thank you for reading at HASA. Have fun!

HASA news - Birthdays, stories, funding

December birthdays and links to the stories written or updated in November, as well as an update on HASA’s funding.

Funding
After paying December fees, our account is currently at -$201. As you know, HASA depends on member and reader donations to pay hosting fees. The hosting fee pays for the dedicated server we need to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more.

First of course, thank you! to all of you who have donated either this month or this year. If you haven't donated yet to help support HASA, please consider doing so; any amount is welcome and is greatly appreciated.

If you're a little short on spare change at the moment, donations of time are always appreciated. Those stories aren’t going to read or write themselves, after all! If you’re a reviewer, why not go over to Reviews and review one or two of the stories that are waiting? Or comment on a story or write an email to an author...

December Birthday Challenge

Is your birthday in December, 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.

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:

--- 2 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.
--- 25 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!

~Nath ~

HASA news - October 2010 week 2 - advertisements

This week's news features an announcement by Anglachel about advertising on HASA.

HASA will start displaying advertisements in next few weeks. It was a hard decision to make. This post is to explain the reasoning for the change to the site's previously ad-free environment.

One of the reasons HASA was created was to provide a place to read Tolkien fanfiction that did not bombard the site visitors with obnoxious advertisements. In the early Naughties, web advertisements were hitting their stride with invasive, annoying, bad-mannered and downright offensive crud. Web browsers didn't have ad-blocking capabilities, so the only refuge was an ad-free site.

For seven years, I've been able to keep the site advertisement free. I've been able to rely on voluntary donations by site members and the reading public alike. [...]

Read the full announcement here on HASA. Of course, you can still donate if you prefer, but clicking an advert now and again helps to pay for the site hosting as well.

Thank you for reading at HASA!

HASA news - Challenges

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

Funding
HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction.

Currently, we still need $48 for our August site hosting. Please consider donating a small amount, if you haven’t already done so. Every bit helps! And if you can’t afford to donate money, why not donate time? Review or comment on a story, start a Forum discussion, enter a Challenge...


Birthday Challenges

The August Birthday Challenge is still going on, so there is still a bit of time left to make a request or write a birthday drabble.

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


Current and closing Challenges

August 2010 Birthday Cards - closes August 31

Prospective Challenges

Challenges are born from Prospective Challenges, and the Prospective Challenges Forum is where you’ll find out what other people would like to spring on unsuspecting authors... If you have any ideas you want to share, head over to the Challenges Forum or be inspired by what is already there and pick up an older idea instead?


Nuzgûl of the Month

Just as Challenges come from Prospective Challenges, Prospective Challenges come from Nuzgûl, and Nuzgûl need attention to grow from tiny ideas into big stories. Step into the Nuzgûl hutch. The bunnies don’t bite (much). And who knows what ideas you may come out with?

And to make that dive into the hutch that little bit(e) more attractive, have a taster of what is in there:

The Nuzgûl of the Month!
This month’s bunny is Elven Divorce.

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

There are still a few days left on the August bunny Royally Screwed, so feel free to join in the fun, even if it’s with no more than a drabble...


Thank you for reading at HASA. Have fun!

~*~
Nath

Site Hosting update

Thanks to recent donations, HASA is funded through November.

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Currently, our monthly hosting costs are $150 US.

I am very happy that readers and writers continue to support this site. (As I write this message, “Visitors currently online” is at 123 – a fun number that makes me smile.) If you haven’t yet made a donation, please consider doing so sometime soon. Since November and December are busy months for me, I am hoping that December will be fully funded by the end of October. I will keep you informed.

To see the HASA donation page, click here: http://www.henneth-annun.net/about/donate.cfm

Thanks for enjoying HASA,

Julie

Funding update: OK for October, Donations for November needed

HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment ofquality JRRT fanfiction. Currently, our monthly hosting costs are$150 US.We have been getting a series of $5 and $10 and $25 donations so thathosting fees for next month are covered. There are stillmatching funds left over for the 3rd quarter challenge that areavailable through September 30th. We still need about $35 forNovember.

If you look down at the bottom of any HASA page you will see amessage, "Visitors Currently Online". As I write this it's at 153 visitors. I've seen it over 200 and never under 50. Readers, thanksfor visiting and enjoying! Writers, thanks for writing and postingyour stories! If just 7 of you can donate $5 each, HASA will be setfor October. If you donate before the end of this month, we may get ahead start on December. I'll keep you informed.

To see the HASA donation page, click here: http://www.henneth-annun.net/about/donate.cfm

Thanks for enjoying HASA,

Julie

Qtr. 3 Funding Challenge

When checking over the site for problems after the recent attack, I noticed that site hosting donations are a little over $50 short for the August hosting bill due week after next.

I spoke with HASA's Secret Admirer, who generously agreed to do another matching funds challenge!

Our funding goal is $200, which will pay for August and September. Our Secret Admirer will match dollar for dollar up to $200 from now through September 31. This way, every dollar you give is worth $2.

Thank you for your support!
Anglachel

HASA Announcements - Bday Drabbles, Funding Update, Challenges

HASA FUNDING UPDATE

No website is truly free. HASA does not display ads or charge for memberships, but there are still costs associated with running the website. The website depends on member donations to pay its monthly hosting fee of $150.00.

Currently available funding: $220.78
To provide funding through: June 2008

If anyone would like to make a donation, you may do so here.

---

BIRTHDAY CARDS

No birthday drabbles have been requested for June. Get those requests in so we can write you something!

The following drabbles have been written in the following week:

--- "Least Expected" by Imhiriel for Dwimordene
--- "The Stitch in Time" by Dwimordene for Nath
--- "(untitled double drabble)" by Aiwendiel for Dwimordene
--- "Cerin Amroth" by Elena Tiriel for Nath
--- "Winnowing" by Gwynnyd for Dwimordene
--- "The Least of Rings" by Marta for Dwimordene

--- "A New Road or a Secret Gate" by Marta for Dwimordene
--- "Inevitable" by Gwynnyd for Dwimordene
--- "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony" by Nath for Dwimordene

If you have a birthday in June and would like a drabble about your favorite character or topic, you can request it here.

---

This Week's Focus:

CHALLENGES

Unfortunately, there are no ongoing challenges right now, except the ongoing birthday drabble challenge. Why not select a new one? If we get five people interested we can get another challenge going.

Suggest challenges at the Prospective Challenges forum.

You can also peruse the Nuzgul Hutch (for ideas that have never been challenges) here, or the Oliphaunt Pen (where you can enter pieces for past challenges) here.

---

Happy writing!

Fangedly yours,
>:-E Marta

PS- Do you have something in particular you would like included in next week's announcement? If so, please contact me here.

Qtr. 2 Fund Drive Success

Current Qtr. 2 fund drive total - $200!

Goal - $160

3/10 - $25
3/11 - $20
3/11 - $10
3/16 - $10
3/17 - $25
3/17 - $10
3/17 - $100

Total Collected: $200

Distance to Goal: We are $40 above goal!

If you intended to donate, you can still do so. Your contributions will be applied towards Qtr. 3 funding.

Thank you to our donors!

Anglachel

Qtr. 2 2007 Hosting Fund Drive

HASA has fixed hosting costs of $150 per month. This pays all server and bandwidth costs and allows HASA to keep membership free and not accept advertisements.

At the end of each quarter, we ask for donations to cover the upcoming quarter's bills. In addition, HASA has a secret admirer who match every donation dollar for dollar up to $100 per month.

Our current balance for Qtr. 2 is $131. That's only $19 short for paying the April hosting bill.

Our fund drive goal for Qtr. 2 is $160. With matching funds and the current balance, that will pay all hosting through June 2007.

There is no minimum donation amount, and most donations are for $20 or less. Small amounts add up quickly, particularly with our matching funds system.

If you don't have money but do have some time to donate, we're always in need of volunteers.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Anglachel