Adventure is Afoot...
Dear SFFA Participants,
For those of you who have managed to endure weeks of silence in the Adventure, we ask for your patience; for those of you who have recently joined, welcome aboard; and to those who are interested in partaking in the Adventure, soon you will be able to do so much, much more easily.
Changes are coming, and new management styles are underway.
Look forward to more soon.
by skulblaka_fricai on 01/07/10 - 07:37 pm
1 Comments
Tips for Beta Readers
Interested in becoming a beta reader, but have some questions? Already a beta reader, but feel over your head? Check out skulblaka_fricai's new Beta-Reading Tips guide on the forum. Feel free to ask questions about what beta-reading is, how to do it, and advice on aspects of beta-reading.
(A beta reader is an editor who can read over your chapters before you submit them to offer advice, as well as to pick up on grammar/spelling/punctuation errors a word processor might not notice. Come on over to the Beta Readers board to learn more, find a beta of your own, or even become a beta for someone else!)
by swenson on 27/04/10 - 02:13 pm
2 Comments
New Featured Fiction Style!
You may have noticed that lately there hasn't been a lot of traffic for the Featured Fiction , be it in polling or in nomming. So, in order to boost the "reward" for being a Featured Fiction, winners of the Featured Fiction will no longer be featured for just one week, but two!Of course, this means that polls will also last longer (instead of the typical one week for polls, they will last for two).
The current Featured Fiction will still last for the normal one-week standard: it begins today on April 18th and ends on April 25th.
The next Featured Fiction poll, however, will begin on April 25th and end on May 8th.
On May 8th, the winner of that Featured Fiction poll will be featured until May 21st!
A few new requirements have been added as well, though, so make sure the story you nominate fits the new requirements!:
a.) If a chaptered story, it must have at least four chapters OR a minimum word count of 10,000 words.
b.) If a one-shot, it must have a minimum word count of 1,000 words.
Poetry, clearly, would be an exception to this rule, and placed in a poll with other poetic pieces. All other rules/requirements are the same: it must have been updated within the past year, it cannot be your own story or previously featured, and any nominations should be PMed to SFFfeaturedfiction.
Happy nomming! :)
by skulblaka_fricai on 18/04/10 - 02:27 pm
5 Comments
Please Participate in the SFF Adventure Interest Poll!
We're looking for opinions on the SFF Adventure. Whether you're a part of it or not (or even if you've never heard of it), please come down to express your opinion! I'd like to get a broad view of what all members think.Check out the poll and express your opinion (pretty please!) here.
by swenson on 14/04/10 - 03:04 pm
0 Comments
We're Back... Again!
As you may have noticed, Shurtugal and its associated sites (Inheritance Forums, Shurtugal FanFiction, etc.) have been down for the past few weeks. Fortunately, Shurtugal's head and manager (Mike) has (after many, many hours of searching) successfully retrieved all Shurtugal sites, including all the data located on said-sites. Hopefully something of this scale won't happen again--Mike's done a lot of work to make sure that our sites are as protected as possible, so it shouldn't happen again. That being said... Welcome back, everyone! :D
by skulblaka_fricai on 10/03/10 - 02:09 pm
5 Comments
Two Exciting Things
This announcement has been far too long in the coming, but we're finally ready to announce the winners of the Holiday Double Contest! We had some great entries, all of which can be read here, but when it came down to it, we decided to award the top honors to:
QueenMindi, for her fabulous Christmas limericks (be sure to check out the rest of her poems, too!),
echo_sacket, for Untouched and Unkissed, a story about a girl's New Year's resolution to kiss as many boys as possible, and
Lessagirl, for I Resolve; I Hope, about a woman resolving for another.
We liked all of the entries, though, and thanks to everyone who participated!
I did promise two pieces of news, so here's the second, extremely exciting piece of news. SFF has gained a new co-administrator: Fires Light! I'll still be around, but we will now share administrator duties. Hopefully, this means we can work more efficiently to make SFF a better place for you all. I'm sure FL will be a great administrator, and we hope you agree!
by swenson on 22/01/10 - 10:48 pm
4 Comments
New Year's Contest... Extended!
I know there were a few people who wanted to enter this contest, but just weren't ready to submit their stories by the deadline. Because only two stories were submitted within the deadline, I've decided to extend the deadline by one more week, until midnight of January 6, 2010. (seems weird to see "2010", right?)
Hopefully this allows enough time for more entries. If you've already submitted an entry without putting it in the contest category, you may go back and change it to the contest category if you wish. (I did change an entry or two I saw, but don't hesitate to switch your story's category if I missed it.) And if you haven't written a story yet... well, here's your chance!
As always, any questions can be PMed to me or any other moderator, or sent to shurtugalfanfiction (at) gmail (dot) com.
by swenson on 01/01/10 - 02:24 pm
1 Comments
Happy New Year, Everyone!
Unbelievably, it's come that time where we're at a new decade (or, for some of us, already there, and for others, anxiously waiting on the edges of our seats and waiting for the clock to turn)! Since it's not only a new year, but the start of a new decade, it's a pretty incredible marker. Just think, ten years ago, we were sitting at the turn of the millenium! And not to mention all the things that have happened between. It's strange to think, particularly for me as an American, that ten years ago, September 11, 2001 was nothing more than a date. But, to everyone around the world, we know that a *lot* has changed since ten years ago, a lot will change in these next ten years, and now, all I can say is, Happy New Year to all, good luck with the New Year's Resolutions, and hurray, it's 2010!by skulblaka_fricai on 01/01/10 - 05:16 am
4 Comments
Holiday Double Contest!
Happy holidays, everyone! For most people around here, two very special holidays are coming up--Christmas and New Year's Day. In recognition of those two important days, we're holding a double contest this holiday season. So pick up your pencils (or keyboards) and get ready for no less than two holiday-themed contests.
Christmas Limerick Contest:
It's Christmas (or at least the winter solstice) in Alagaesia, and plenty of ridiculous things are happening with everyone in the Inheritance Cycle. For this contest, write a holiday-themed limerick taking place in the Inheritance Cycle.
Rules:
* all submissions must be in limerick form
* must be set in the Inheritance Cycle
* must be holiday-relatedlike all poetry submissions, it must be 50 or more words. If you don't have enough words, write a second limerick to submit--or write several and create a whole one-shot entirely in limericks!
* if writing multiple limericks, you've got a choice: you can make them relate, or simply write two unconnected holiday limericks
If you want more information on a limerick and how they're written, read through this page (or Google "limerick" for more ideas).
New Year's Resolution Contest:
For a change of pace, the other half of this double contest is a longer, more open short story contest. The rules are lax--all it has to be is a prose story revolving around a New Year's resolution. It can be a one-shot, a two-shot, or a five- or six-chapter story, whatever you like. It's all up to you!
Rules:
* must be written in prose (so no poetry!)
* must be an original fiction (not Inheritance fanfiction, and not fanfiction for any other fandom)
* must include a New Year's resolution
All entries are due by 11:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time) December 31, 2009. Be sure to add them to the "Holiday Double Contest" category when submitting. Now good luck and have fun! If you have more questions, read the official announcement on the forum or ask questions in the comments, and I'll answer as soon as possible.
by swenson on 15/12/09 - 02:16 am
1 Comments
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
For those Americans among us (like myself!), it's that time of year again--the time when school's out, eating as much food as possible is mandatory, and shopping is insane. That's right, it's Thanksgiving!Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for two reasons. First, I like having an excuse to gorge myself on delicious food, of course! But second and more importantly, it's the one time of year when I get to see some of my more extended family. I don't get to see them very often, so it's great to have this one day when we all come together, some of us from other states or even another country, and have a meal together.
This Thanksgiving, I'm most thankful for my family. I'm also thankful for all of you guys, for making my life a bit more interesting (!!), the Internet in general, God, the fact that I don't have to go shopping on Black Friday, and DC Comics. :)
So, whether you're an American or no, what are you thankful for this year?
by swenson on 26/11/09 - 01:04 pm
3 Comments
To All SFF Adventure Members:
We're trying to clean up the Adventure a bit and keep track of who is and isn't involved, so if you are currently involved in the Adventure, there are a few things you need to get done:
- If you have submitted a character sheet to SFF, you MUST post it on SF3 as well for official validation! Post it in the Character Discussion board.
- If you have submitted a character sheet to SF3 and it HAS been accepted, you MUST post it on SFF as well! See this thread for more details- and hurry, because to stay active, you must post it on SFF within two weeks! (by October 25, 2009)
- If you have submitted a character sheet to both SFF and SF3 and BOTH have been accepted, you need to finish and submit Challenge #1 on SFF. You will need to complete this within one month. (by November 11, 2009)
Failure to complete any of these three tasks will result in your character being labelled inactive! This will mean you will be unable to participate in roleplaying, will no longer be eligible for receiving any Player Points, and cannot participate in Tasks, Riddles, or Challenges. If you need more information or would like to request an extension, PM Swenson on the forums, or send an e-mail to shurtugalfanfiction (at) gmail (dot) com.
by swenson on 11/10/09 - 05:31 pm
7 Comments
Therinsford Description Contest Winners!
Congratulations to the winners of the Therinsford Description Contest! The overall winner was shikadude, with his fabulous piece about Therinsford in general (read it here ). The other three runners-up were Ceranthor, Princess Sierra, and supersam499. Congratulations, all!by swenson on 10/10/09 - 03:41 pm
1 Comments
The Therinsford Description Contest
There's a new contest in town! This one will work a bit differently from our usual format- instead of being a standard writing contest, this contest is specifically for the Shur'tugal Fan Fiction Adventure (more information here), SFF's on-going writing-based role-playing adventure. In this contest, you have the chance to become a part of the Adventure by designing and describing a part of Therinsford, where the Adventure is currently at. For those who don't know, Therinsford isn't a nice place- it's filled with warring gangs and ruled by a draconian Duke and his Council. But what is it really like? That's where you come in.
Starting now, we will be accepting submissions for detailed descriptions about an area of Therinsford. The contest will end in one week's time- any entries submitted after 1:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, October 8 will be invalid for judging.
Official Rules:
You may describe any area of Therinsford on the map (found here), including the arena, the village, the fort, the bazaar, the surrounding forest and mountains, and any other place on the map.
You must describe the physical detail of the location, but you should also include other aspects- the people that live there, the history of the place, how it got the way it is today, and so on. Include information on the gangs (information here) if you think it is appropriate.
You do not have to be a current participant in the Adventure to enter! All you have to do is submit your description.
The more detail and creativity, the better! If you simply restate what's already posted here, your description will not win. Instead, go more in-depth- take a different spin on your chosen area, look closely at a particular aspect, or talk about the people, culture, or history of the area. There's no such thing as being too detailed!
You're free to use any information on SF3 for inspiration, including the original maps by Shadowjhunter and amardatar, as well as the gang descriptions.Submissions may be PMed to Swenson through the forums, or you may e-mail them to shurtugalfanfiction (at) gmail (dot) com.
You are welcome to submit entries for more than one area, but you will only be able to win for one of them.
The contest will run for exactly one week, officially beginning at 1:00 AM October 1, 2009 (EST) and ending 1:00 AM October 8, 2009 (EST). If your entry is received outside of that timeframe, it will not be accepted, so watch your clocks and be sure to convert to Eastern Standard Time!
Format:
The format for this contest is open- all that is really required is your username and the description you're submitting. The length of the description is also up to you. Obviously, we're looking for something more in-depth than a hundred words, but any length will be accepted. Write a book about it if you like!
Pictures, maps, diagrams, or other supplementary material are not required, but are welcome. (If you submit your entry by e-mail, please attach any extra files. If you PM it, upload the pictures or other material to an online website and include a link to it in your message. If you need help with this, PM swenson or another moderator for instructions.)
Prizes!
Wait, so not only do you get to participate in an awesome contest, but you get rewards, too? Of course you do!
The best entries will be chosen to become part of the official descriptions, and will be used for future SFFA chapters, gang information, and roleplaying. The winners will also receive 100 Player Points (which may come in handy sometime soon, if you participate in the Adventure!) and permanent bragging rights.
If there's some entries that are almost as good as the winners, but just aren't chosen as the best, they will be designated runners-up. Runners-up will also get bragging rights, as well as 50 Player Points.
Finally, everyone who participates in the contest will receive 30 Player Points automatically. If your entry does not fit the guidelines, you will not be awarded the points, but otherwise, they're yours just for writing a quick description of part of Therinsford.
If you have comments or more questions, see the official contest thread on SF3. Good luck!
by swenson on 01/10/09 - 05:05 am
1 Comments