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| A question for the Stories of Arda administrators by KathyG | 6 Review(s) |
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| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 3/22/2024 |
| To Lady Forlong, and the question, I notice that often collections of "drabbles"/short stories are almost always "in progress" and most of the time never seem to be completed. Why don't the authors close out and "complete" one collection of drabbles once in a while and then start a new one? The SoA interface limits the number of chapters in a story to roughly 150. Over the years, some authors have chosen to "complete" a collection of drabbles or "one-shots" after about 100 chapters and begin a new collection. Others may have multiple collections based on themes or some other organising scheme, and some may have chosen to mark a collection complete for any number of reasons. In any event, 150 chapters is the limit. (Thus, if I reach Chapter 150 in a current very-long WIP, I will have to rename it "Part 1" and begin anew with "Part 2", which I am trying to avoid but is somewhat difficult due to the nature of that particular story.) If I am remembering right, about 20 years ago, SoA authors were asked to consolidate shorter works for technical reasons (something to do with how a database works; maybe saving storage space?). I can date that change from mid-2004, when I published the first in a collection of drabbles and began to post one-shots in a collection I called "This and That". It might have been my own idea (to keep the list of stories I was posting more manageable, for instance, so that people wouldn't have to keep hitting "Next page" while searching through the list on my author's page), or it might have been in response to a request by the SoA moderators, or both things might have happened about at the same time. My memory of the exact circumstances is a bit blurred, but my brain seems to remember that I came up with the idea of doing that at about the same time the announcement from the mods was made. So, anyhow, that's more or less why authors maintain collections of less than 100 (or 150) chapters as "incomplete" and just keep adding to them. | |
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 3/22/2024 |
| One more thing while I'm at it -- and I'm sorry if this is not an appropriate place to put this -- I don't know where else to say it and I don't want to single out any one author since a number of them do it... I don't normally read stories unless they're complete, but I notice that often collections of "drabbles"/short stories are almost always "in progress" and most of the time never seem to be completed. Why don't the authors close out and "complete" one collection of drabbles once in a while and then start a new one? | |
| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 3/20/2024 |
| First of all, I want to say that I really enjoy this site and I'm glad to see that new stories are still being posted regularly and that it is still being kept up and running. So don't get me wrong with what I'm about to say... I have noticed that the guidelines page for what is and is not acceptable on this site have not been updated since 2007, so I wonder if there have been changes that have not been added to the page. For one, "modern character insertion" was originally not allowed, and I have seen a number of stories on this site that fit that description. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed them, even though I normally do not care for such stories. Maybe that says something about the high caliber of the authors on here, but still, maybe it's time to update the guidelines? | |
| Erulissé | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 3/19/2024 |
| I'm so glad you asked this question, because at some point or another, (when I have a story fully written) I am planning to fill out an application and try to join y'all as an author. I heard it might not work, so I haven't done anything about it yet. Hopefully someday... 😁 Thank you to the administrators of SOA for keeping it running this far, because the stories posted here are amazing and we all appreciate having the opportunity to read them for so long! | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 3/18/2024 |
| Hello! Thanks for posting this question, KathyG. To the site admin: I'm wondering if this information might be added to the "About Us" page? I also want to thank those who have kept the site going over the years. It's been a wonderful anchor in the storm, so to speak, and I'm so grateful for the privilege of reading and posting here over the past two decades, even though RL work has kept me busy the past few years. I'm glad to have found the site still here when I was able to turn my attention from my often overwhelming workload. I especially bless Nilmandra and those who worked with her, as well as all the authors who shared their visions with us and, of course, the readers who generously took the time to engage with the stories and the authors. Hugs to all, Lin | |
| Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 3/18/2024 | |
| Send me an e-mail at storiesofarda@gmail.com (it's working now). Thanks meckinock Author Reply: I just did. Is it the SoA list serve's new email address? | |