Sunday, March 28, 2010
HASA news - Challenges
Birthday Challenges
Is your birthday in April, and would you like a drabble about your favourite character or topic? You can request it here.
The March Challenge is still going strong as well, and it’s not too late to write a drabble featuring geeks (Elena Tiriel) or Orcs (thelauderdale)...
Not sure what the birthday cards are about? Have a look at stories written for previous requests.
Current and closing Challenges
March 2010 Birthday Cards - closes March 31
March 2010 Treasure Hunt - closes April 11
April 2010 Birthday Cards - closes April 30
Prospective Challenges
Challenges are born from Prospective Challenges, and the Prospective Challenges Forum is where you’ll find out what other people would like to spring on unsuspecting authors...
Some recent suggestions in the Forum:
- What triggered the attack in Moria?
- Why didn’t the barrow-wight take the Ring?
Dive in and pick something you’d like to write, or drop a suggestion that you’d like others to write.
Nuzgûl of the Month
Just as Challenges come from Prospective Challenges, Prospective Challenges come from Nuzgûl, and Nuzgûl need attention to grow from tiny ideas into all-dominating obsessive thoughts that keep you from your sleep and monopolise every waking minu^^^... erm... yes, well... Put on your mithril boots and step into the Nuzgûl hutch (the boots don’t actually protect your ankles, but they might be shiny enough to blind the Nuzgûl long enough to let you escape again...). Who knows what ideas you may come out with?
And just to make that dive into the hutch that little bit(e) more attractive, here’s a taster of what is in there:
The Nuzgûl of the Month!
This month’s fanged beauty is Let Meeee entertain you:
Think you want to write it? Come on over to the forum, see how many others you can inflict this idea on, and perhaps even turn it into a Challenge.
Thank you for reading at HASA. Have fun!
~Nath~
Sunday, March 21, 2010
HASA Reviewed Stories March 2010
There are 6 reviewed stories since the February bulletin, and 5 stories are currently in review.
Reviews are an important part of the site: there are the authors who sit waiting with bated 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 5 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? Or, if you are a writer, take the plunge and submit a story for review!
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!
Seasons of Gladness by Raksha
Rating: Adult
Genre: General
Era: Multi-Age
Summary: Four drabbles dealing with different kinds of happiness experienced by Faramir over many years. Originally written for, and loosely inspired by, the American Thanksgiving holiday.
Bee-Elves by Darth Fingon
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 1st Age
Summary: At the end of the First Age, Finarfin, political missionary, travels across Middle-earth and finds his way to Oropher's court. Much to his dismay. Written as part of a story swap challenge, using the following prompts: Finarfin and Mirkwood.
Songs for the Seasons by losselen
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: Multi-Age
Summary: Prose-poems of loss, across a spectrum of emotions. They are as follows: 1. "The Kingfisher's Wing" - Aegnor for Andreth 2. "The Late November" - Elrond for Arwen 3. "The Tolling Bell" - Arwen for Aragorn 4. "Midwinter Spring" - Daeron for Lúthien
Balm by Armariel
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: Frodo remembers the escape from Cirith Ungol. Non-slash.
Leithian by Russandol
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 2nd Age - Pre-Rings
Summary: Eärwen, wife of Finarfin, reads a book that was brought to Valinor from the Hither Lands after the War of Wrath. Written for the Probably AU Genfic Swap, following the prompts "Eärwen" and "Second Age". My thanks to JDE for the beta. ...
The Trees Were Burning by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: Wishing to fight with his people and disappointed to be instead sent as a messenger to Mirkwood, young Blákári, a dwarf of Erebor, finds himself beneath the trees, forced to join in a battle that is not his and to fight alongside a race he has been taught to despise.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Flash news
HASA How-tos
How do I...
...set up a workshop?
While HASA has Beta status for works in progress, sometimes you need to show stories to a smaller set of readers before you unleash them on the general public. Or maybe you and a few others jointly write stories and need a place where you can all work at the same time. The Workshop is where you make this happen. It offers a private area where several members can work together on stories. This is in contrast to the My Stuff/My Stories area where you can only work on your own stories and no one else can get in there. It's also a way to avoid sending around email attachments and wondering if everyone can read the file format.
For answers to general questions, be sure to check out the Workshop FAQ.
- Be sure you are logged in.
- Go to the Workshop section
- Look at the top of the right hand menu area for the button "Add a New Workshop".
- Click the button.
- When you see the form, enter a name for your shop. If you are working on a story, using the story name is a good idea. You can also use your own name or your writing group's name.
- Add a brief description in the text box. If you need some inspiration for names or descriptions, check out the Site owned workshops here.
- Click the "Add" button.
- The system creates your workshop and shows you the shop home page. By default, the shop is set to Private, meaning only you and invited members can see it.
Now you have to add some members to your shop, so you can work together.
- Go to the home page of the shop if you aren't already there.
- In the navigation column, locate the "Shop Info" section.
- In that section, click on the "Edit Members" button.
- You should now see the Manage Members page.
- Scroll down the page until your see a multi-select box. It will display all the names of all active HASA members in alphabetical order.
- Click on the name of the member you wish to add.
- To select more than one person, hold down the CTRL key while you click.
- When your list is complete, click "Add Members to Workshop".
OK, so you have a workshop, you have members and now you need a story (or
two or three)!
- Go to the home page of the shop if you aren't already there.
- Scroll down the main shop page until you can see the Stories section.
- Click the button "Add Stories to Workshop".
- On the Add Story page you have three options:
a. Add an existing story directly - pick a story from a drop-down list and click "Select". The story is linked into the shop.
b. Clone an existing story - pick a story from a drop-down list and click "Select". The system makes a copy of that story including all of its chapters and adds it to the shop.
c. Create a new story - Click the "Create New Story" button. You'll go to a standard story form. Fill it out and click "Add". This creates a new, empty story for you to work with.
You're set! You can now work in the shop just like you work in your my Stories section of My Stuff, except that as many people as necessary can work there, not just you.
--
Nath
Sunday, March 7, 2010
HASA news - Last month’s 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 February:
--- 10 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.
--- 50 General Stories were published or updated.
--- 1 Beta Story was published.
(Please note, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)
Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!
~Nath ~
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
HASA news - Challenges
March Birthday Challenge
Is your birthday in March, and would you like a drabble about your favourite character or topic? You can request it here.
Not sure what the birthday cards are about? Have a look at stories written for previous requests.
Current and closing Challenges
February 2010 Treasure Hunt - closes March 7
March 2010 Birthday Cards - closes March 31
Prospective Challenges
Challenges are born from Prospective Challenges, and the Prospective Challenges Forum is where you’ll find out what other people would like to spring on unsuspecting authors...
Some recent suggestions in the Forum:
- What triggered the attack in Moria?
- Why didn’t the barrow-wight take the Ring?
Dive in and pick something you’d like to write, or drop a suggestion that you’d like others to write.
Nuzgûl of the Month
Just as Challenges come from Prospective Challenges, Prospective Challenges come from Nuzgûl, and Nuzgûl need attention to grow from tiny ideas into all-dominating obsessive thoughts that keep you from your sleep and monopolise every waking minu^^^... erm... yes, well... Why not put on the mithril boots and step into the Nuzgûl hutch (the boots don’t actually protect your ankles, but they just might be shiny enough to blind the Nuzgûl long enough to let you escape again...). Who knows what ideas you may come out with?
And just to make that dive into the hutch that little bit(e) more attractive, here’s a taster of what is in there:
The Nuzgûl of the Month!
This month’s fanged beauty is an oldie, but a goodie: Tom’s brooch.
Think you want to write it? Why not see how many others you can inflict this idea on, and make it into a Challenge?
Thank you for reading at HASA. Have fun!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Donations for March site hosting needed
If you haven't donated yet to help support HASA, please consider doing so; any support will be greatly appreciated. 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!
Julie
Sunday, February 21, 2010
HASA Reviewed Stories February 2010
18 reviewed stories since the January bulletin, and 10 stories are currently in review.
Welcome to the February 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 10 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 Boon Companion by JDE
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: One fair Rivendell evening, Bilbo chances to see Lord Elrond without his usual mask of stoicism. For the first time, Bilbo realizes that the famed Lord hides pain and vulnerability underneath his compassion and bravery. Bilbo resolves to become a boon companion to Elrond, come what may.
Maglor's Lament for the Lost Silmaril
by losselen
Rating: General
Genre: Poetry
Era: 2nd Age - Pre-Rings
Summary: What Maglor, in both obdurate pride and grievous lament, might have sung of the Silmaril. In blank verse unrhymed, after Paradise Lost.
Flame of the Desert by pandemonium_213
Rating: Adult
Genre: Action
Era: 4th Age
Summary: After a celebration in Tavrobel in the famous House of a Hundred Chimneys, Gilfanon, one of the oldest of the Elves, proposes that he, Glorfindel and Elrond journey to the fabled Rock of Omar in the middle of the great desert of Valinor, where it is said that the Rock sings the echoes of the Ainulindalë.
A Storm of Glory by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Since the end of the Quest Frodo Baggins has found that storms tend to spark nightmares as certain memories are evoked. What will this one on Tol Eressëa bring him, then? This supposes that Frodo has known the attentions of the Valar to assist his healing.
In the Prophet's Tent by The Lauderdale
Rating: Adult
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: An old Orc recalls an interlude, and an interesting woman, from his not-so-younger days. This is a little slice of Mordor camp life in the time leading up to the War. Standard warnings for Orc-talk, four-letter words, some graphic sexuality, and other adult content.
Scars by Gilraen
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Little one-shot in the gardens of Ithilien.
Not Fade Away by Jael
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: Other
Summary: A modern day woman lands a job that is too good to be true at a mysterious toy company, where things are not as they seem. Has she strayed into a dream? Drama; humor. Characters: All the usual Mirkwood suspects and an OFC. Rated PG-13 for innuendo and naughty language. AU
Glowing Embers by Ygrain
Rating: Adult
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: Some motives behind Galadriel's test of Boromir, not strictly canon. A thematic sequel to Family Traits, dealing with the problem of foresight. Rated adult for implied sex.
Victim of the Unlight by Alassante
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: Time of the Trees
Summary: Finwe was the first elf killed in Valinor. This is about his final moments. Written for ALEC's October Challenge - Death and Undead Things 2009 MEFA 2nd Place Winner, Races: Elves: House of Finwe ...
Seen In The Halls Of Dwarrowdelf
by Aruthir
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - The Kings
Summary: The Dwarves dug too deep...
"History Becomes Legend, and Legend Fades into Myth..." by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 4th Age
Summary: As he travels to Gondor via Rohan c. 35 FA, Frodo Gardner finds the Hobbit trader with whose caravan he travels is a most garrulous Bracegirdle, most intent on sharing the tales he's learned on previous trips south.
Until We Meet Again by Adonnen Estenniel
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Arwen parts with her mother in Imladris, content in the knowledge that they will be reunited in the Undying Lands. However, not everything is as it seems
The leaves were falling
by Ygrain
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 4th Age
Summary: "Then at last when the mallorn-leaves were falling, but the spring had not yet come, Arwen laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth."
A sign of Hope by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Faramir encounters Gandalf in his father's garden. A double drabble. 200 words as counted in MS Word. Written for the LOTR GFIC Group's "Birds" Challenge. MEFA Winner 2009.
So Beautiful, So New by IgnobleBard
Rating: Adult
Genre: Drama
Era: Other
Summary: After his release from Mandos, Celegorm renews his relationship with Orome. Slash
Employee Review
by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: Humor
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: Think your boss is a hard case? Join the nine Ringwraiths for a lesson in Management, Mordor-style. Not to be taken seriously (or canonically, since it's about as AU as you can get)!
Silver Bells by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Part of a series. Falling snow, a warm fire and haunting memories. A grieving Elrond determines to skip the holiday festivities, not realizing how much he is needed, especially when it comes to his devastated sons. When a mysterious trunk is uncovered, the contents help return hope to the Lord of Imladris.
To Sing Of... by Darth Fingon
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 2nd Age - Pre-Rings
Summary: Gil-galad, about to be married to a very nice lady, makes an important discovery about himself with Erestor's help. A heartwarming tale of cluelessness, ill-fitting clothing, impractical pets, and exploitation of Elvish linguistic ambiguity. Very tame slash.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
HASA How-tos
How do I...
...link a story to an item in the Research Library?
You've written a story for the Treasures Hunt Challenge, and have entered it in the Challenge, and now you want to link it to the treasures you used, or you have another story that you want to link to a Research Library item.
Make sure you are logged in.
Go to Resources, and find the Character, Event, Place or Thing you want to link your story to.
In the righthand column you will see a heading 'Linked Stories' with two options underneath: "View Stories linked to this Character/Event/Place/Thing" and "Link my story to this Character/Event/Place/Thing".
You click on "Link my story to this Character/Event/Place/Thing". Now you are on a page with a pull-down list of your stories.
Select the story you want to link to the Research Library item, and click on Link Story.
Your story is now linked to the Research Library item you picked.
If you made a mistake and linked the wrong story, you can now easily remove the link again: on this same page, you have a list of all your stories that are linked to any particular research topic. Just click on "Remove Link" and the story is no longer linked to the Research topic.
Stories can be linked to more than one research topic, and you can link more than one story to any one research topic too.
So take a look at the February Treasures Hunt, and be inspired by this month's items...
You don't need to be entered in a Treasure Hunt challenge to link your stories. You can link any of your stories to Research Library entries whenever you like. Do you have something that takes place in Dol Amroth or Rivendell? Link to those places! Is your story set during the Fall of Gondolin? There's an Event entry for that awaiting your link. Do you discuss Wargs? Link to their entry!
Link away, and above all, have fun writing!
~Nath~
Saturday, February 6, 2010
HASA news - February 2010 - week 1
And don’t forget to enter your story for the first ‘Treasures’ Challenge, which closes February 7th!
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. Read the currently featured story on our front page.
Many talented writers are publishing every day. In January:
--- 27 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.
--- 55 General Stories were published or updated.
--- 1 Beta Story was published.
(Please note, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)
Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!
~Nath ~
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Donations needed for February site hosing
We hope you have been enjoying the new layout and features. Our hosting costs are $150 US per month. This pays for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more.
If you haven't donated yet to help support HASA, please consider doing so; any support will be greatly appreciated. Thanks also to anyone to donated to help Haiti; those links on my earlier news article should still be active.
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!
Julie
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Something Different
Cash is needed most of all to purchase immediate supplies: food, water, portable shelter, medical supplies.
Julie
Thursday, January 14, 2010
HASA Reviewed Stories January 2010
Welcome to the January 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 8 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!
What's For Dinner? by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: Humour
Era: Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: UFS: Gimli always knew that wood-elves were strange, but just how strange, he never fathomed. Can he make it through the feast without insulting the Elvenking and his people? Or will the outlandish customs of the elves be too much for a stout dwarf like Gimli?
Don't Say Goodbye by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Undying Friendship Series: "I do not abandon you. Ever will I be in your heart, as you are in mine. But I must meet my fate. You know this. You know it is the right path for me…" Elladan must come to terms with his brother's choice for the future.
When You Believe by Adonnen Estenniel
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: On the eve of battle, one soldier has misgivings as to whether or not the fight is worth his life. But through wise words spoken by an old man, he learns the truth about courage. Takes place before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Hearts In Stone by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 4th Age
Summary: When the love story ends, and the beloved is laid to rest, how does the lover face a lonelier world? Faramir wrestles with grief in this Fourth Age story.
All That Is Gold by Jael
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Early autumn of the year 3018, Third Age. Legolas and Thranduil share a decanter of wine and some long-kept secrets. Drama; Angst. Rated PG-13
The Prince and the Shepherdess by Nieriel Raina
Rating: General
Genre: Romance
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Undying Friendship Series. Elrohir discovers that sailing West alone does not bring healing. He must find purpose in a new life, and finds healing and peace in an unlikely place and the arms of an unlikely maiden. Elrohir/OFC
Questioning by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - Ring War
Summary: After Aragorn finally caught Gollum in the Dead Marshes and left him in the care of Thranduil of Mirkwood, Gandalf came to question him.... Written in dialogue format.
The Names of Flowers by losselen
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 4th Age
Summary: My try at an old favorite story-- the death of Arwen in Lorien.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Challenges in January
Check out challenges!
You have through today to write up a birthday present story for one of our December birthday babies. Even if you just have an idea and not a full story ready, you can enter it as a placeholder. If you need a reminder on who had a birthday in December, go to the Event Calendar in About and do a search for December 2009 birthdays. There are currently 35 birthday girls and boys. NOTE: You have to be a logged in to search for other member's birthdays.
We have several people asking for presents, and several stories have already been written. Check out the January 2010 discussion thread for the latest news. There are 35 member birthdays in the calendar, so plenty of members who would love a little recognition of their special day.
HASA has a new kind of challenge - the treasure hunt. All HASA pages now have a little treasure tucked away on them. The treasures are obscure entires in the Research Library, and different treasures appear in different areas of the web site. The challenge is to take the Challenges treasure for a story focus and then use one or more of the other treasures to write a story. See the challenge itself for more detailed instructions.
Who is going to come up with the most interesting combination of treasures?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
HASA news - January 2010
Also, congratulations to all authors who won or placed in the MEFAs, and applause to the many people volunteering their time to make the awards a success.
Birthday Cards
If it’s your birthday in January, and you would like a drabble about your favourite character or topic? You can request it here.
At the moment there are two requests:
Imhiriel (Jan. 3) would like drabbles focusing on diplomacy (between allies or enemies, successful or not, any age, race, place) and Princess of Gondor (Jan. 11) would like something (romantic!) focusing on Aragorn and Arwen.
Not sure what the birthday cards are about? Have a look at 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 5 new stories that are waiting for reviewers.
Or, if you are not yet a reviewer, why not sign up to become one? Reviewing is not nearly as daunting as it may seem, and you're eligible if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.
Member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.
By submitting a story for review, you are asking nine other members to read and evaluate it. So why not do unto other authors in reviews as you'd like other reviewers to do unto you: check out one of the stories already in review and give it a read. Put more simply: put one in, take one out
Challenges and Nuzgûl
In honor of the new site, here is a new challenge!
1. Locate the Treasure link hidden on the Challenges home page. That is your story focus.
2. Select a Treasure from any other publicly viewable section of the web site. The public sections besides Challenges are: HASA Home, Stories, Playlists, Forums, Resources, and About.
3. Write a story of any type or length using those two treasures. Drabbles, poetry, vignettes, short stories, longer than that - all are welcome.
4. Link to the two treasures in the story.
5. If you can make use of more than one treasure in crafting your tale, go for it! Just be sure to link.
The challenge runs through January and will close on Sunday, February 7, 2010.
Have fun exploring and writing!
If you have an idea that you'd like at least five people take on, grab that nuzgûl 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
Click here for the Challenges homepage, to enter Challenges, suggest new ideas, and wander through old Challenges (and perhaps be bitten anew?).
December Stories
All of us writers love feedback. It is the lembas and miruvor that sustains us as we write our story, and leaving a few words about a story you read is always a nice thing to do, whether the story is new or old.
Every fifteen minutes HASA highlights a story chosen at random from the Reviewed and General stories in the archive. Read the currently featured story on our front page.
Many talented writers are publishing every day. In December:
--- 16 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.
--- 38 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!
~Nath
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Play with Playlists!
Playlists have been a part of HASA for a few years, and with the new design are easier to use than ever before.
What is a playlist?
Playlists are lists of HASA stories put together by authors andreaders, just as music lovers put together lists of their favorite songs.
Examples:
- Stories in a series put in reading order.
- A collection of similarly themed stories, such as Hobbit romance or critical essays on Men.
- A reader's "favorites" list, complete with explanations of why the reader likes them so much.
- A collection of stories by multiple authors.
What is in a Playlist?
There are two parts to a playlist:
- The list itself. This is a name and a short description of what the list is presenting.
- List items. These are links to stories that have been added to the list, plus a short description of why that story has been added. It can be as long or as short as you want.
Once stories have been added and given a description, you can set an order to them, just like ordering chapters in a story.
Why would I want to create a playlist?
Lots of reasons!
- You are an author and want to promote your stories. A playlist helps with this:
- Updated playlists appear on the home page of HASA.
- Playlists can put your stories in chronological reading order, which makes it easier for readers to follow along.
- Playlists let you write extra commentary about your stories in the overview and individual story descriptions.
- You are a reader who follows an author or likes a particular genre of stories.
- A playlist can put together a set of her works in the order you like reading them.
- It's an easy URL to send to friends to get them hooked on this author, too.
- You can collect a set of stories together that you might not be able to create a saved search for, such as dramas by these four authors that always have Faramir and Aragorn in them.
- You are a reader with a huge number of favorite stories on HASA.
- A playlist helps you organize that large list into more manageable chunks.
- Stories you like but aren't actively reading can be safely stored for easy retrieval.
- You can use the playlist overview and story overview areas to go into detail about why you recommend this story to other readers.
- You are part of a workshop.
- If you are authors jointly writing stories, you can create a multi-author story list complete with commentary on how they are combined.
- You are authors who don't write joint stories, but have similar themes and want to combine your works.
- You have a set of challenge stories to put into a playlist.
- You want to build a set of research articles or critical essays.
- Some reason we haven't thought of yet.
Playlists are handy ways to put big sets of stories together, including commentary on why they are in the list, for very little effort.
Want to learn more about playlists and how to create and collect them? Visit the Playlists FAQs on HASA.
Give them a try!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Site Hosting donations needed for December and January
http://www.henneth-annun.net/index.cfm
If you haven't seen the New HASA, please visit and check out the new and redesigned features and navigation, and please consider making a donation for site hosting. HASA is an ad-free, fee-free Web site, run for the enjoyment of quality JRRT fanfiction. Our monthly hosting costs are $150 US. This pays for the dedicated server HASA needs to provide the features and fun visitors love - stories, comments, forums, alerts, challenges and more. Every penny donated to HASA goes directly to paying the hosting costs.
Donations will get combined with matching funds, so currently we need donations totalling $25 for December and $75 for January. If you do not have spare change for hosting, please be sure to donate some time to the site. Review a story, post a comment, join a discussion, share a tale, create a playlist, and help make HASA a great place to visit.
Julie
Thursday, December 24, 2009
HASA is back online
HASA is back online a little earlier than expected: http://www.henneth-annun.net
- If you are using an older browser (IE6, Firefox 2.x, Opera earlier than 9.8, etc.) you need to upgrade for the best view of the site. HASA is usable, but not very nice under older browsers.
- The site has been reorganized. Please take time to study the new navigation menus and choices and see if you can locate the page you're looking for if you don't see it right away.
- You will have to log in again to the new site. Passwords saved by your browser probably will not work.
- A great deal of database work has been performed in the last 48 hours. Some settings have been reset to default values and you may need to restore your customizations.
- Check your profile. Everyone has been upgraded to full member (no more Readers/Authors) and all members now have an author record. Members can now list state/province and city if desired, and they can add URLS to multiple websites they own.
- If you have stories, take a look at them. Very old stories may have lost their paragraph and line breaks.
- If you have Challenge entries, make sure they are all still there. Challenges are now all public, all the time, and some old settings may keep your entries from showing.
- My Library not only shows bookmarked stories, bookmarked authors, and all alerts, you can now save searches and manage comments you make to authors.
- Alerts & Favorites under My Stuff will now show you who has you and your stories saved as favorites, as well as showing alerts and comments. You can manage subscribers to your alerts, too.
- Readers now have a Readers Toolbox on story pages to help manage bookmarks, playlists, alerts, recommendations and so forth.
- Authors have more story management tools.
- The forum thread for recording bug reports is:
http://www.henneth-annun.net/forums/threads.cfm?confid=0&forumid=906
Happy Reading!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
HASA Reviews December 2009
Welcome to the December reviews bulletin.
Reviews are an important part of the site: there are the authors who sit waiting with baited breath and fraying nerves, and there are our intrepid reviewers to think of. So before looking at the stories: Thank you all for your work, authors and reviewers alike!
Stories in review
As I type this, there are 3 stories waiting for reviewers (remember to log in before you follow the link).
Of course, member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in reviewing, the more opinions are represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.
If you are an active reviewer, why not go and check out a story?
Becoming a reviewer
If you're not an active reviewer, but think you can spare a bit of time... – even if you just review one or two stories in a month, every review is welcome. If you are logged in, you can sign up here if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.
Put one in, take one out
By submitting a story for review, you are asking nine other members to read and evaluate it. So why not do for the other authors who have a story in review what you'd like other reviewers to do for you: check out one of the stories already in review and give it a read. Put more simply: put one in, take one out...
Reviewed story spotlight
These stories have passed through review since the previous bulletin. Congratulations to all authors; well done!
Anadûnai by Darth Fingon
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 2nd Age - Pre-Rings
Summary: 163 years after their parting in Middle-earth, Elrond travels to Númenor to see his brother again.
The Journal of Fingolfin by JDE
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: 1st Age
Summary: The High-King of the Noldor Exiles, Fingolfin, tells the story of the Noldor, and the story of his family. The self-deprecating King reminiscences about his family, his half-brother and the complex relationship they shared. He watches his children, niece and nephews turn from spoilt princes and princesses into leaders of maturity and wisdom. Grief, pride, regrets, determination, courage and an all-encompassing love for his family characterise his narrative as he sketches his tumultuous life in his journal. Warnings: AU. Incest. Homosexual content(mild). Heterosexual content(mild).Adult. Part One of The Song of Sunset AU
Threnody for the Dispossessed by kenaz
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 4th Age
Summary: When the Valar recall Maglor to Valinor to plead for clemency, it falls to his reluctant rival to find him. Mild slash content.
Prisoners of Conscience by JDE
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: Akallabêth/Last Alliance
Summary: "And it came to pass that Tar-Palantir grew weary of grief and died. He had no son, but a daughter only, whom he named Míriel in the Elven-tongue; and to her now by right and the laws of the Númenóreans came the sceptre. But Pharazôn took her to wife against her will, doing evil in this and evil also in that the laws of Númenor did not permit the marriage, even in the royal house, of those more nearly akin than cousins in the second degree. And when they were wedded, he seized the sceptre into his own hand, taking the title of Ar-Pharazôn (Tar-Calion in the Elven-tongue); and the name of his queen he changed to Ar-Zimraphel." AU, romance, mild heterosexual content.
After Sirion by toastedcheese
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: 1st Age
Summary: After the Third Kinslaying, two pairs of brothers struggle to repair their broken families.
The Bearing of Burdens by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: Faramir, Prince of Ithilien and Steward of Gondor, learns how burdens can be lightened in an interview with Samwise Gamgee.
Yavanna's Gift by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Bell Gamgee and her daughters find help from an unexpected source in their hour of need. With grateful thanks to Raksha and Virtuella.
While We Live by JDE
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: Akallabêth/Last Alliance
Summary: "The King yielded to Sauron and felled the White Tree, and turned then wholly away from the allegiance of his fathers. But Sauron caused to be built upon the hill in the midst of the city of the Númenóreans, Armenelos the Golden, a mighty temple." AU, heterosexual content, romance.
The Houseless by Jael
Rating: General
Genre: Other
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: On a day in late autumn, Legolas has a strange encounter with a girl in the woods. A tale for Halloween.
Fired Anew by Larner
Rating: General
Genre: Drama
Era: Other
Summary: At the End of All Things, it has been said that in order for Morgoth to be defeated anew the Silmarils and their maker must come together and unite. And how would Nerdanel feel in those last moments as her husband and sons emerge from the Halls of Mandos? Will she greet him or spurn him?
Looking For Dragons
by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Gandalf makes a new friend, in an unanticipated and fruitful meeting.
King of Shadowed Halls by Jael
Rating: Adult
Genre: Drama
Era: 3rd Age - The Kings
Summary: As a shadow falls upon Greenwood the Great, Thranduil takes steps to protect his people. The building of the underground fortress casts his personal life into shadow as well. Will he lose that which is most dear to him in an attempt to save it? Drama/Angst. Thranduil; Galion; OFC. Rated Mature for mildly graphic sexual activity between a married couple.
Refraction by Darth Fingon
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: After an unexpected turn for the worse, Legolas finds himself having to repay a debt he never knew existed. Slash.Written as part of a fiction swap.
Will Overruled By Fate by oshun
Rating: Adult
Genre: Romance
Era: 4th Age
Summary: Haldir meets Beleg in Valinor and each comes to terms with his past. Slash. A Lord of the Rings-Silmarillion crossover. Response to a prompt: " . . . an encounter between an Elf recently released from the Halls of Mandos and an Elf who has recently come to Valinor from Middle-earth. . . . struggling to acclimate themselves to a new place and time, and trying to relate to each other . . . . love to see Haldir meet Beleg."
Anemone by Armariel
Rating: General
Genre: Romance
Era: 4th Age
Summary: In the Blessed Realm, Frodo meets a mysterious and enchanting little creature from the sea. Could it be true love at last? Non-slash.
Hindsight by Russandol
Rating: Adult
Genre: General
Era: 1st Age
Summary: Maedhros remembers his captivity in Angband. Warnings: torture and rape. Thanks to JDE, most patient of beta readers, and to the Lizard Council.
We Three Kings by Jael
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: Other
Summary: Set in the 'Not Fade Away' story-verse, a tale for the holiday season. One night in winter, Thranduil and two companions are forced to take shelter in a stable.
Reach For The Stars by Raksha
Rating: General
Genre: General
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: What can Eärendil give the son who he can see but not touch? Find out, as the Mariner looks in on two special stargazers.
The Shadow of the Past by lindahoyland
Rating: General
Genre: v
Era: 3rd Age - Post-Ring War
Summary: The dead have no power over the living,or do they? Somewhat AU
A Dangerous Hunger by IgnobleBard
Rating: Adult
Genre: Other
Era: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Summary: Haldir's encounter with an Easterling leads to an unexpected attraction. - AU, Slash
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
HASA news - December 2009
Birthday Cards
If it’s your birthday in December, and you would like a drabble about your favourite character or topic? You can request it here.
Not sure what the birthday cards are about? Have a look at the stories written for previous requests.
Reviews
You’ll find a list of stories in review at the top of the members home page. If you are an active reviewer, log in to see the 2 new stories that are waiting for reviewers.
Or, if you are not yet a reviewer, why not sign up to become one? Reviewing is not nearly as daunting as it may seem, and you're eligible if you've been a member of HASA for thirty days or more.
Member participation is crucial for reviews. The more people are involved in the review process, the more opinions will be represented. Just as importantly, having more people involved means that stories pass through review more quickly - which is good for everyone.
By submitting a story for review, you are asking nine other members to read and evaluate it. So why not do unto other authors in reviews as you'd like other reviewers to do unto you: check out one of the stories already in review and give it a read. Put more simply: put one in, take one out
Challenges and Nuzgul
Click here for the Challenges homepage.
If you have an idea that you'd like at least five people take on, grab that nuzgul by the scruff of the neck (mind the teeth!) and see if you can get four others to make it a Challenge. Prospective Challenges can be found here
There are currently no open Challenges (except Birthdays), so if you have any spare Nuzgul lying around, don’t hesitate to see how many others it can bite!
Resources
The HASA Research Library is a very useful resource for writers as well as for online discussions on book canon. You can find entries on characters, settings, events, and items, containing cited quotes about the item you are trying to find more information on. This portion of the site is available here.
Would you like to get involved with Resources? If you like researching and want to help develop this section of HASA you can contact the Resources & Research Library through the contact form at http://www.henneth-annun.net/about/contact.cfm.
Some recent articles in Resources:
Timeline Events:
Eluréd and Elurín born in Ossiriand
Fëanor creates the Silmarils
Character Biographies
Bëor the Old
Elurín
Places
Nennin
Celebros
Things
Gift of the Elf-minstrels
Doom of the Noldor
Good luck researching your story! If you enjoy this section of the site, why not tell the researchers (they’re listed at the bottom of every entry).
November Stories
All of us writers love feedback. It is the lembas and miruvor that sustains us as we write our story, and leaving a few words about a story you read is always a nice thing to do, whether the story is new or old.
Every fifteen minutes HASA highlights a story chosen at random from the Reviewed and General stories in the archive. Read the currently featured story on our front page.
Many talented writers are publishing every day. In November:
--- 20 Reviewed Stories were published or updated.
--- 32 General Stories were published or updated.
--- 1 Beta Story was published or updated.
(Please note, you need to be logged in to view beta stories.)
Thank you for reading at HASA. Enjoy!
- -
Nath