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!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
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
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!
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!
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!
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!
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
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
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
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
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
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--
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
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
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 -
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
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
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!
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
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-
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
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!
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
Thanks for enjoying HASA,
Julie
Sunday, February 1, 2009
HASA news - February 2009
Birthday Cards
If you have a birthday in February 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 January requests.
Challenges and Nuzgul
There are no current open Challenges, but the Unbelievable AU idea only needs 3 more people to make it into one. Take a look and wait for that nibble on the ankle...
Challenges need nuzgul. Have ideas you’d like to see written? Why not take 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 14 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 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.
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.
January 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 January:
--- 17 Reviewed Stories
--- 54 General Stories
--- 4 Beta Stories (Please note, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)
Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!
-Nath-
If you have a birthday in February 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 January requests.
Challenges and Nuzgul
There are no current open Challenges, but the Unbelievable AU idea only needs 3 more people to make it into one. Take a look and wait for that nibble on the ankle...
Challenges need nuzgul. Have ideas you’d like to see written? Why not take 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 14 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 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.
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.
January 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 January:
--- 17 Reviewed Stories
--- 54 General Stories
--- 4 Beta Stories (Please note, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)
Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!
-Nath-
Friday, January 9, 2009
Donations February site hosting needed
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. Currently our balance is at $62.05, which means we will need donations to pay the January hosting bill. The due date is February 8th. If you look down at the bottom of any HASA page you will see a message, "Visitors Currently Online". As I write this, late Friday afternoon, it's at 93 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
Thanks for enjoying HASA,
Julie
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Happy Holidays
We hope everyone is having a safe & happy season.
Thanks to generous donations January site funding is covered and we have a good start on February! Thanks to everyone who made a donation and thanks to everyone for reading and writing and enjoying HASA.
Julie
Thanks to generous donations January site funding is covered and we have a good start on February! Thanks to everyone who made a donation and thanks to everyone for reading and writing and enjoying HASA.
Julie
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Donations for January site hosting needed
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.
Currently our balance is at $48.99, which means we will need donations to pay the December hosting bill, which is due January 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 161 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.
To see the HASA donation page, click here: http://www.henneth-annun.net/about/donate.cfm
Thanks for enjoying HASA,
Julie
Currently our balance is at $48.99, which means we will need donations to pay the December hosting bill, which is due January 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 161 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.
To see the HASA donation page, click here: http://www.henneth-annun.net/about/donate.cfm
Thanks for enjoying HASA,
Julie
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
We're OK for December!
17 Nov Update: Thanks everyone! With donations from readers & members, we now are covered for December. Thanks very much for reading, enjoying & supporting HASA
Julie
=========
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.
Currently our balance is at $42.83, which means we will need donations to pay the December hosting bill, which is due December 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 117 visitors. If a fraction of that number can donate $5 each we will be funded for next month. 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
Julie
=========
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.
Currently our balance is at $42.83, which means we will need donations to pay the December hosting bill, which is due December 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 117 visitors. If a fraction of that number can donate $5 each we will be funded for next month. 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
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Site hosting update: OK for November, Donations for December needed
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.
Currently our balance is at $154.21, which means we have November covered, but will need donations for December. 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 118 visitors. I've seen it over 200 and never under 50. Readers, thanks for visiting and enjoying! Writers, thanks for writing and posting your stories! If a fraction of that number can donate $5 each we will be set for 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
Currently our balance is at $154.21, which means we have November covered, but will need donations for December. 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 118 visitors. I've seen it over 200 and never under 50. Readers, thanks for visiting and enjoying! Writers, thanks for writing and posting your stories! If a fraction of that number can donate $5 each we will be set for 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
Friday, September 26, 2008
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
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
Thursday, September 18, 2008
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.
Julie
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
Julie
Saturday, July 26, 2008
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
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
Friday, July 25, 2008
Site Restored
Beginning in the late afternoon of Monday, July 21, I received emails from a number of HASA site visitors that something was terribly wrong with the site. Because of regulations at my workplace, I had to wait until I got home to view the site. My heart sank when I saw the errors affecting almost every page of the site. It was obviously malicious work, so I shut off the site to prevent further access.
Looking at source code, I saw information that should not have been there - JavaScript snippets, strange URLs, and other text garbage. A quick Google search revealed the problem. There had been a worldwide SQL injection attack on ColdFusion sites that ran on IIS web servers. Many sites had been brought down and a lot of data had been corrupted. Luckily, the attacker had only tried to insert code to convert site links to go to his own web site, and had not tried to delete data or erase databases. The ColdFusion community had responded quickly. By the time I was looking for information, the exact attack had been identified, various clean up scripts had been posted, and I had the tools necessary to fix the database.
What is a SQL injection attack? It is the nastiest, most destructive web site attack out there. In general terms, a coder takes a site form or URL, looks for a variable that appears to be an ID used by a database to locate a record, such as a story. Most database driven web sites work like this. The coder then resends the URL or form with a string of database commands (Structured Query Language statements) and tries to take over your database. If their SQL string is written well enough and if the database under attack is not protected, these commands can do anything from insert text to delete the entire database to (under very rare conditions) take over the server itself.
ColdFusion has a number of features to foil SQL injections right on the server and there are coding practices to help prevent the attacks. Just over a year ago, I had spent a month retrofitting much of the site to protect the main data tables and search functions from attacks. However, real life demanded my attention, and I did not get all the tables protected. Some of the lookup tables, like Story Era, were still vulnerable, and that's where HASA was attacked. In addition, the SQL statement used for the attacks was very sophisticated and bypassed most of the server-level protections.
The first thing to do was assess the damage. I ran some scripts and discovered there were 29 fields in 11 tables where trash data had been inserted. None of them affected the main story, forum, comment or review tables, which was a great relief. Also, non-HASA databases had not been affected, which meant damage was contained. Next, I ran a scrubber on those tables which located the bogus text and stripped it out. The biggest advantage here was that I did not have to run a restore from a backup, which would have lost content added to the site since the time the backup was run.
Data restored, I now had to track down those vulnerability points in the site. That is what has taken so long as every individual page in the site that an external (not logged in) user can reach had to be examined for all database connections and then those connections had to be evaluated for whether they were injection points. After the pages were reviewed, corrections made, and new code posted to a hidden site for the testers to check for bugs, all the forms had to be gone over. Forms are more dangerous than URLs, though more difficult to compromise, because they are the most common way to insert data into a database. The forms were completed yesterday. After that, the revised code was merged with the production code, uploaded again to another protected test area and put through its paces. That went on until pretty late last night.
There are a few glitches left. One form, the Knowledge Base search in the Research Library, could not be fixed and has been taken offline. The index search and all of the individual section lookups the Research Library are working. Also, the pop-up forum window attached to story pages will throw an error message if you try to use it. The Who's Online feature for logged in members does not appear to be working in production. There are a few conditions on a few forms we were not able to reproduce, so it's not 100% certain that they are working.
More testing will continue over the next month to be certain all access points were caught and to fix any bug accidentally introduced during the fixes. If you encounter an error message or you see something that just seems wrong on the site, please use the Contact form and send me an email at Tech Support.
This was the worst technical problem the site has experienced in its seven year history because of the data corruption. We got away with correctable damage, but it could have been much worse had the attacker been trying to destroy data. My deep thanks and appreciation for the site members who alerted me to the attack and provided their assistance to get the site fixed.
Anglachel
Looking at source code, I saw information that should not have been there - JavaScript snippets, strange URLs, and other text garbage. A quick Google search revealed the problem. There had been a worldwide SQL injection attack on ColdFusion sites that ran on IIS web servers. Many sites had been brought down and a lot of data had been corrupted. Luckily, the attacker had only tried to insert code to convert site links to go to his own web site, and had not tried to delete data or erase databases. The ColdFusion community had responded quickly. By the time I was looking for information, the exact attack had been identified, various clean up scripts had been posted, and I had the tools necessary to fix the database.
What is a SQL injection attack? It is the nastiest, most destructive web site attack out there. In general terms, a coder takes a site form or URL, looks for a variable that appears to be an ID used by a database to locate a record, such as a story. Most database driven web sites work like this. The coder then resends the URL or form with a string of database commands (Structured Query Language statements) and tries to take over your database. If their SQL string is written well enough and if the database under attack is not protected, these commands can do anything from insert text to delete the entire database to (under very rare conditions) take over the server itself.
ColdFusion has a number of features to foil SQL injections right on the server and there are coding practices to help prevent the attacks. Just over a year ago, I had spent a month retrofitting much of the site to protect the main data tables and search functions from attacks. However, real life demanded my attention, and I did not get all the tables protected. Some of the lookup tables, like Story Era, were still vulnerable, and that's where HASA was attacked. In addition, the SQL statement used for the attacks was very sophisticated and bypassed most of the server-level protections.
The first thing to do was assess the damage. I ran some scripts and discovered there were 29 fields in 11 tables where trash data had been inserted. None of them affected the main story, forum, comment or review tables, which was a great relief. Also, non-HASA databases had not been affected, which meant damage was contained. Next, I ran a scrubber on those tables which located the bogus text and stripped it out. The biggest advantage here was that I did not have to run a restore from a backup, which would have lost content added to the site since the time the backup was run.
Data restored, I now had to track down those vulnerability points in the site. That is what has taken so long as every individual page in the site that an external (not logged in) user can reach had to be examined for all database connections and then those connections had to be evaluated for whether they were injection points. After the pages were reviewed, corrections made, and new code posted to a hidden site for the testers to check for bugs, all the forms had to be gone over. Forms are more dangerous than URLs, though more difficult to compromise, because they are the most common way to insert data into a database. The forms were completed yesterday. After that, the revised code was merged with the production code, uploaded again to another protected test area and put through its paces. That went on until pretty late last night.
There are a few glitches left. One form, the Knowledge Base search in the Research Library, could not be fixed and has been taken offline. The index search and all of the individual section lookups the Research Library are working. Also, the pop-up forum window attached to story pages will throw an error message if you try to use it. The Who's Online feature for logged in members does not appear to be working in production. There are a few conditions on a few forms we were not able to reproduce, so it's not 100% certain that they are working.
More testing will continue over the next month to be certain all access points were caught and to fix any bug accidentally introduced during the fixes. If you encounter an error message or you see something that just seems wrong on the site, please use the Contact form and send me an email at Tech Support.
This was the worst technical problem the site has experienced in its seven year history because of the data corruption. We got away with correctable damage, but it could have been much worse had the attacker been trying to destroy data. My deep thanks and appreciation for the site members who alerted me to the attack and provided their assistance to get the site fixed.
Anglachel
Sunday, June 29, 2008
HASA Announcement - Reviews
BIRTHDAY CARDS
The following members have birthday this week. If you're in the drabbling mood, why not write them 100 words as a birthday card?
Linaewen (June 17) requested "a tale of pre-Quest Boromir – specifically, a tale of him having an adventure on his way to Rivendell."
The following drabbles have been written in the following week:
Fording the Greyflood by Jay of Lasgalen for Linaewen
Arrival by Larner for Linaewen
And the July thread is up! If you have a birthday in July and would like a drabble about your favorite character or topic, you can request it here.
This Week's Focus:
REVIEWS
The review process is probably one of the trickiest aspects of the HASA website. Here we ask members to decide whether a story should be recognized as examples of outstanding JRRT fanfiction. Whenever something is judged, especially something as subjective as good fanfiction, there is the potential for unfairness and hurt feelings. Members are provided with criteria to consider when evaluating a story, but the final decision in most cases rests with those members who choose to review.
For more on HASA Reviews, check out the following links (you must be logged in):
--- Reviews Overview
--- Review Policies
--- Review Criteria
As you can perhaps guess, member participation is crucial. The more people that are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented, and the less impact any one opinion will have on the process. Having more people involved also means that stories pass through review more quickly – which benefits everyone.
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. Ready the pages I link above, 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.
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.
There are currently fourteen stories waiting for reviewers. To whet your appetite, here are a few of the stories you can choose from.
"Here You Cannot Leave Me"
A poem about Arwen's final farewell to Estel.
"A Maid Waiting"
Some who came to Minas Tirith did so in hopes of pursuing a larger ambition. For Systerien of Celebstrand in Dor-en-Ernil and Ivormil of Bidwell in Lossarnach, to find themselves in the presence of the King Returned served to put those ambitions into perspective.
"To Establish Ties"
Gil-Galad meets his future herald for the first time. Drabble.
So go forth and review!
Marta
PS- Do you have something in particular you would like included in next week's announcement? If so, please contact me here.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
HASA Announcement - Stories + Forum Posts
Hey guys,
Due to a mix-up on my part, last week's announcement wasn't posted. Ergo, this week you get all the features that would have been posted last week as well as this week.
No members had birthdays last week or this week. If you're in the drabbling mood, you can still write a drabble for this month's sole birthday baby:
Beruthiel [June 7] requested "a scene between Pippin and Faramir, before Pippin leaves for the battle at the Black Gate."
The following drabble has been written in the following week:
For Want Of... by Larner for Beruthiel
If you have a birthday in June and would like a drabble about your favorite character or topic, you can request it here.
The thread to request drabbles for next month isn't up, but it should be before too much longer. Keep an eye out for it!
Last week's focus:
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 is always a nice thing to do, whether the story is new or old.
Every fifteen minutes HASA hilights a story chosen at random from the Reviewed and General stories in the archive. The current story is
Drink a Cup by SheBit
A drinking song sung by the men of Gondor in remembrance of those who fought against Sauron over Mordor.
Why not go here and check out the currently featured story?
Many talented writers are publishing every day. Check out these stories just added to HASA:
Reviewed Stories
My Shing Stars by Oshun
And now for something controversial: Elrond stands on the deck of the ship carrying him to Aman writing notes in a journal.
The Green Flash by DrummerWench
Written as 2007 holiday gift for Dawn Felagund to following prompt: "Fingon and Turgon, younger, in Valinor. You hint about their relationship--or lack thereof--a lot, and I find myself thinking on this when reading your stories. So I'd like to see a scene between them. It doesn't have to be serious or even revealing; just a hint of what there was between the two brothers in Aman."
~*~
General Stories
Prince of Horses, Lord of Stone by Elen Kortirion
Prince Theodred is prevented from travelling to the Fords of Isen by a strange message, and is sent to Parth Galen to rescue Boromir... 'where the quest balances on a knife-edge'... and the changes this entails, when Theodred eventually fights at the Pelennor and Boromir at the sieges of Lothlorien and Dol Guldur. (Adult, WIP)
With Hope and Without Hope by docmon
One decision made differently - the Three Hunters run through that second night of their chase after the Orcs rather than rest - and everything changes. Well, not everything. They're merely captured by the Orcs like Merry and Pippin. Not in the plan. (WIP)
~*~
Beta Stories
(Please note, you need to be logged in to view these stories.)
A Woman of Valor by Red's Head
The Return of the King told through the eyes of a Haradrim woman, a tale of her escape from enthrallment to the redemption of her spirit. (WIP)
Orcs in Hobbiton by The Lauderdale
AU. Two years after Sauron won the war, his Orcs have come to a Shire under Saruman's dominion. The hobbits that are its proper inhabitants are caught in the middle. Told in drabbles and double-drabbles. (AU)
This week's focus:
One of the best ways to get involved at HASA is through our forums. People are discussing research questions and stories as well as having fannish squees regularly there.
Some useful 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 has 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.
Now, here are some of the most recently-updated threads in HASA forum. Don't be shy. If any interest you, why not jump in?
HASA Birthday Card Forums
Subject: Re: June 2008 Birthdays
Prospective Challenges
Subject: Re: Challenge Proposal: Tiny AUs
MEFAs – The Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards
Subject: MEFA 2008: A Reminder for Nominated Authors
Here's hoping this week finds you having many interesting discussion about all things Tolkien. Because, really, you were trying to cut back on sleep anyway, right?
Until next time,
Marta
PS- Do you have something in particular you would like included in next week's announcement? If so, please contact me here.
Due to a mix-up on my part, last week's announcement wasn't posted. Ergo, this week you get all the features that would have been posted last week as well as this week.
BIRTHDAY DRABBLES
No members had birthdays last week or this week. If you're in the drabbling mood, you can still write a drabble for this month's sole birthday baby:
Beruthiel [June 7] requested "a scene between Pippin and Faramir, before Pippin leaves for the battle at the Black Gate."
The following drabble has been written in the following week:
For Want Of... by Larner for Beruthiel
If you have a birthday in June and would like a drabble about your favorite character or topic, you can request it here.
The thread to request drabbles for next month isn't up, but it should be before too much longer. Keep an eye out for it!
Last week's focus:
RECENTLY UPDATED 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 is always a nice thing to do, whether the story is new or old.
Every fifteen minutes HASA hilights a story chosen at random from the Reviewed and General stories in the archive. The current story is
Drink a Cup by SheBit
A drinking song sung by the men of Gondor in remembrance of those who fought against Sauron over Mordor.
Why not go here and check out the currently featured story?
Many talented writers are publishing every day. Check out these stories just added to HASA:
Reviewed Stories
My Shing Stars by Oshun
And now for something controversial: Elrond stands on the deck of the ship carrying him to Aman writing notes in a journal.
The Green Flash by DrummerWench
Written as 2007 holiday gift for Dawn Felagund to following prompt: "Fingon and Turgon, younger, in Valinor. You hint about their relationship--or lack thereof--a lot, and I find myself thinking on this when reading your stories. So I'd like to see a scene between them. It doesn't have to be serious or even revealing; just a hint of what there was between the two brothers in Aman."
~*~
General Stories
Prince of Horses, Lord of Stone by Elen Kortirion
Prince Theodred is prevented from travelling to the Fords of Isen by a strange message, and is sent to Parth Galen to rescue Boromir... 'where the quest balances on a knife-edge'... and the changes this entails, when Theodred eventually fights at the Pelennor and Boromir at the sieges of Lothlorien and Dol Guldur. (Adult, WIP)
With Hope and Without Hope by docmon
One decision made differently - the Three Hunters run through that second night of their chase after the Orcs rather than rest - and everything changes. Well, not everything. They're merely captured by the Orcs like Merry and Pippin. Not in the plan. (WIP)
~*~
Beta Stories
(Please note, you need to be logged in to view these stories.)
A Woman of Valor by Red's Head
The Return of the King told through the eyes of a Haradrim woman, a tale of her escape from enthrallment to the redemption of her spirit. (WIP)
Orcs in Hobbiton by The Lauderdale
AU. Two years after Sauron won the war, his Orcs have come to a Shire under Saruman's dominion. The hobbits that are its proper inhabitants are caught in the middle. Told in drabbles and double-drabbles. (AU)
This week's focus:
FORUMS
One of the best ways to get involved at HASA is through our forums. People are discussing research questions and stories as well as having fannish squees regularly there.
Some useful 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 has 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.
Now, here are some of the most recently-updated threads in HASA forum. Don't be shy. If any interest you, why not jump in?
HASA Birthday Card Forums
Subject: Re: June 2008 Birthdays
Prospective Challenges
Subject: Re: Challenge Proposal: Tiny AUs
MEFAs – The Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards
Subject: MEFA 2008: A Reminder for Nominated Authors
Here's hoping this week finds you having many interesting discussion about all things Tolkien. Because, really, you were trying to cut back on sleep anyway, right?
Until next time,
Marta
PS- Do you have something in particular you would like included in next week's announcement? If so, please contact me here.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
HASA Announcement - Recent Resources Additions
BIRTHDAY DRABBLES
The following members have birthday this week. If you're in the drabbling mood, why not write them 100 words as a birthday card?
Beruthiel requested "a scene between Pippin and Faramir, before Pippin leaves for the battle at the Black Gate."
The following drabbles have been written in the previous week:
"At the Sign of the Prancing Pony" by Nath for Dwim
"Inevitable" by Gwynnyd for Dwim
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:
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 to both members and non-members at http://www.henneth-annun.net/resources/index.cfm.
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.
What's new in Resources:
Timeline Events:
Tidings of Sauron's passing reach Minas Tirith. (25 March, 3019 T.A./1419 S.R.)
Elven Smiths of Eregion begin to Forge Rings of Power (1500 S.A.)
Character Biographies:
Nahar
The Tooks
Places
Straight Road
Sirion
Things:
Thains of the Shire
Laurelin
Good luck researching your story! If you enjoy this section of the site please feel free to thank the researchers, listed at the bottom of every entry.
And always remember, grasshopper: the path of wisdom leads through proper citations. *grins*
Marta
PS- Do you have something in particular you would like included in next week's announcement? If so, please contact me here.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
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.
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