News

The Winners List and Author Reveal are UP!

Hey all,



YES!! It's all up! All the winners and authors for the 2014 exchange!! And there's more going up in the next couple of days, so be sure to keep watching.

Posted by Anise on Apr 15, 2014 12:50 pm (0 Comments)

Just a few more days to get those votes in...

Hey all,

So... exchange voting has been extended until Friday. And then that's it! Winners will be announced a few days after that, exciting prizes will be given out, and much fun will be had by all. :) If you haven't voted yet, DO EET. Do not make me send a nom nom kitty over there.

Posted by Anise on Apr 02, 2014 02:03 pm (3 Comments)

The Noms Are UP!!!

The nominations for the 2014 D/G Fic Exchange Revival A Go-Go are IN!! It's an official Day of Yayness! (tm) :)

Here are the links to the lists. Get your votes in by April 1st, and remember to send them to dgfics@gmail.com

The Nom List, Part One


The Nom List, Part Two




Posted by Anise on Mar 25, 2014 11:46 am (0 Comments)

Exchange Noms are Now Closed

Hey all,

So… Noms for the D/G exchange are now closed.

There’s just one fic prompt that suffered the slings and arrows of a few outrageous flaker-outers, and that has been assigned to the ULTIMATE reliable backup author. :P It’s the only one that will not be eligible for noms.

The nomination categories will be up on Monday, and then you will all have one week to vote for your favorites. :) It's time to vote, vote like the wind! Remember to send your votes in by email. dgfics@gmail.com

Posted by Anise on Mar 23, 2014 01:54 pm (0 Comments)

Where the Fics Are...

Hey all,

So... I just thought of something that may not be immediately apparent... we don't have a ton of fics on here lately, and the reason is that they're all on LJ. For the exchange. :) (Another good reason why the challenges will be on the FIA forums from now on, btw!!)

So. If you want to read some really excellent D/G, just head on over to the LJ page. The link is in the lower left hand corner of the front page of FIA.

Also, some people have really been looking for some mysteriously missing fics by some authors. I just found a bunch of them-- completely by accident, actually. (It was very weird.) There's a new thread in the FIA forums with the info )in the find a fic section). The link to the forums is in the upper RIGHT hand corner of the screen. It's click clicky clickety time! :)

Posted by Anise on Mar 19, 2014 08:06 pm (4 Comments)

New Poll, Yay!

ETA:: Here's a poll option I forgot to include until it was too late, and I don't think I can go back and fix it.

Creating a new Classics list. :)

Let me know what you think!


The Why Does D/G Matter poll was finally retired. I loved it so much… I just couldn’t resist keeping it up insanely past its sell-by date. Anyway, the final results were:

D/G is the OTP and always will be
53%

Draco and Ginny were the two most horribly overlooked characters in canon
42%

We will be getting new canon soon, lots of room for growth
1%

D/G fanfic supports our original writing
3%

D/G doesn't matter! Also, I hate chocolate.
0%


And oo, OO! I ran the numbers, and I've figured out that we must have had around 100 votes, maybe even more. :) This is a good thing.

And now, here's the brand NEW poll! The exchange is going really well, and I'm looking forward to where we're headed AFTER it. Here are some ideas about where to go next... so I would love some input! :) There's isn't an "other" option, but I think it's better to talk about this in the comments anyway (because otherwise, I won't know what you mean...) So read and vote!

And if you haven't read the exchange fics yet, DO EET. Then nominate. And vote on those. And get valuable prizes. :)

Posted by Anise on Mar 15, 2014 02:29 pm (2 Comments)

Nominations Extended One Week

Hey all,

Due to reality being what it is... and that pesky twenty four hours in a day thing... and the work season crunch really starting up... and Anise having to finish the first 15,000 words of Death: A Love Story (the ofic) and submit by yesterday for a writing group... and the techie article that's supposed to be in for Seeking Alpha by this weekend... and, you know, fill in the blank... the nomination period for exchange fics will be extended by one week. All noms will now be due on March 21st. But that's STILL sooner than you think, so read and review and nominate! Yay!

Posted by Anise on Mar 13, 2014 01:46 pm (0 Comments)

The Total and Complete FIA Forum Revamp of Doom Is Coming

Yep, and I'm working behind the scenes on it right now. As soon as I finish the complete backup, big chunks of the forums are going to be archived in Forum Heaven (or maybe Forum Hell; I don't know.) And we're going to keep what's actually useful. And you, yes, YOU have a chance to help, and to shape the new forums!

The discussion board is a new topic right here. So come on over and join the Oo Shiny New FIA Forum plans! Yay! :)

Exchange nominations

BTW... I KNOW that poll about why D/G still matters has been up forever!! But I really like it... I guess I just can't stand to take it down...

Here's the categories list-- it's the same one they used to use in past years.

WE NEED REVIEWS. Whoever leaves the most reviews on the exchange fics will receive a special prize (said enticingly.)

That having been said, I am NOT!! going to try to keep track of who reviewed in terms of being eligible to nominate and vote. Work it out amongst yourselves!!!

And remember to send in your nominations!! They're due on March 14th.

We will start voting on March 21st. :)

Here's the Nom List again:


Best Fic Overall
Sweetest Fic Overall
Darkest Fic Overall
Funniest Fic Overall
Favorite Line
Snarkiest Conversation
Best kiss
Best smut
Best prose/passage that knocks you flat on your ass
Best portrayal of Draco Malfoy
Best portrayal of Ginny Weasley
Best Minor/Supporting Character
Most in Need of a Sequel
Best Interpretation of the prompt

I would say to just copy, paste, and then insert your choices underneath each category. I don't think they literally had a template before.



And don't forget to email them to:
dgfics@gmail.com

Posted by Anise on Mar 03, 2014 02:06 pm (0 Comments)

The Ginormous List of the 2014 FIA D/G Exchange of Doom A-Go-Go

Here it is!!

And do not forget to review. Because…

1.) The sheer joy of reviewing
2.) Whoever leaves the MOST reviews will get a special prize!!
3.) Don’t make me come over there with that Draco/Hermione/Gollum fic, because I WILL come over there. Nobody wants that, RIGHT??

(It’s kind of a good cop/bad cop thing… ;)

NOTE: New fic! this is the next to last one. The very last fic JUST got reassigned to a backup author, so it will be just a little while.


The Ties That Bind, for Baroness_Black, Part One of Four

Rescue Me, for Dyk3adellic Part One
A Singular Love, Which Is Far From Common. For semper-x-eadem Chapter 1

Dreaming About The Things That We Could Be, for Marinka

Double-Pointed Needles, for breereeves-- Chapter One

The Love We Deserve, for a_gypsys_dance

The Deteriorating Psyche, for Pan: Part 1

A Change of Policy, for Natasha_ohl7

Intertwine, for idreamofdraco


Red Sky at Morning, for Rinney: Part One


Murder at Malfoy Manor, for Javastix

Vanished, for Sunnystorms This is Part One, there is also a Part Two.


Christmas Cookies, for LifeofDracoandGinny


What Lies Ahead, for Gin0cide


Her Secret Boyfriend, for Writerdragonfly


The Art of Paying Attention, For akiamaya


Lighten Up, for Ori


Family Feuds and In-Laws Wooed, for Eustacia_Vye28

A Malfoy Down the Hole, for Hipokras


A Game of Thrones, for Rae—Part One


Shopaholic and Thief, for xcassisx


From Ground Up, for Seegrim, Part One


We All Come From the Goddess, for Anise, Part One

Secrets and Truth, for rainywinters

Of One-Night Stands and Drastic Plans, for aislyn813, Part One


Altered Images and Mirrored Truth, for Javastix


Posted by Anise on Feb 27, 2014 05:29 pm (14 Comments)

Almost Time to Post the Links!

Hey all,

So even though we still have just a couple of fics we don't have in yet, here's what I think I'll do. I'm going to post the complete list of links to all the fics we have up for the exchange. The mods used to give everyone a week or two for nominating, and then the voting started.

PLEASE let me know what everybody thinks of that time frame.

And the list should go up tomorrow night! :)

Posted by Anise on Feb 25, 2014 07:46 pm (0 Comments)

What should still be on the FIA Forums?

So the title pretty much says it all... even in the middle of the exchange, I'm thinking ahead to what's going to happen afterwards. The FIA Forums haven't been used very much at all for a long time. But they ARE there, and I COULD see some valuable things that they might still be used for. So that's what this topic is about:

Just click right here. I think that you need to have already registered to comment, but a lot of people have-- and if not, it's really easy to do.

So head on over there and join the discussion! :) This is one of the topics we need to talk about to really decide how we're going to shape FIA for the exciting future. EXCITING, I tell you! Let's all do the Exciting Dance. :)

Posted by Anise on Feb 20, 2014 03:29 pm (0 Comments)

Fic Posting Has Begun!!

Yes, that's right-- we have STARTED to post exchange fics on the LJ page. Just click on the icon on the lower left hand side of your screen, because I gave up coffee today, and I don't really feel up to typing out the link... :P

Anyway, I will post the Big Long List of Links in a couple of days. And you know, even though at one point I thought I was COMPLETELY going to lose my sanity over this exchange, I'm glad we revived it again.

Glad, I tell you!!!

(yelling was not a good idea)
(the headache of no coffee)

Anyway. More soon. :)

Posted by Anise on Feb 15, 2014 06:17 pm (4 Comments)

The State of the Exchange

Okay, y'all, we have eight fics up on LJ as of right now-- and I've decided that I'm not posting any more of them until we get more in. I'm just not. It doesn't make sense.

So thanks to those who have sent their WONDERFUL fics in, and to those who haven't... I still have the flu. It's really bad. And I could COUGH ON PEOPLE. So write, write like the wind!!!

Anise

Posted by Anise on Feb 06, 2014 04:03 pm (0 Comments)

You Just KNOW That I Had to Do This...


Okay, y'all, I'm SURE that you've seen quotes from that upcoming interview where JKR says that she SHOULD have written H/Hr instead of R/Hr. (And if you haven't, what are you doing reading this blog?? Anyway, we're happy to have you here. We will convert you to D/G.)

Understand, I don't really have a dog in the hunt one way or the other with R/Hr vs. H/Hr. I've read good and bad fanfic for both pairings, and there are good arguments to be made for both.

No, the reason for happiness in D/G-land is that if H/Hr was what JKR should have done, then, by logical extension, H/G IS THE MASSIVE FAIL OF ALL TIME AND EVEN THE AUTHOR ADMITS IT.

Which means, by logical extension, that D/G is supported.

(break for the Happy We Were Right All Along Dance. :)

Why is this important after six and a half years? Why do we still care? Well, it's all in the rest of that D/G essay... but basically, it's because of what these books meant and what the theme really was. They weren't just children's entertainment; they were about something important. And H/G represented the total trashing of that vital theme at the end of DH, especially in the Epilogue of Horror and Doom.

Anyway, more later, but for now, HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
And in other news, we're almost done getting in fics for the exchange!
Now let's all eat chocolate. :)


Posted by Anise on Feb 03, 2014 08:43 am (8 Comments)

This Is Your Mind on D/G Crackfic


So I was trying to figure out exactly how to make the paragraph spacing work in LJ so that posting the fic exchange fics wouldn’t be one ginormous unspaced mess. And I posted a short fic to test it out… And don’t even ask. Just don’t. But if you want to see the crackfic product of a mod’s mind in the last days of getting the fics in, this is it.



Posted by Anise on Jan 30, 2014 07:33 pm (0 Comments)

Some Betas Have Stepped Up

(insert cute pic)

We have three wonderful, amazing human beings who have volunteered to be last-minute betas for Exchange fics. That means that if you need them, contact them NOW. THIS MILLISECOND.

Because posting full email addys is just asking for spambots, here are their names:

Embellished
Seegrim
Cherryredxx

What you're going to do is copy the name, click on "Search" in the upper right hand corner of the screen, paste the name into the "Search" box, and then click "Contact" and send a nice letter asking if they might be able to beta for you. Easy peasy! :)

Anise

Posted by Anise on Jan 23, 2014 07:14 pm (2 Comments)

One More Week Added to Due Date for Fic Exchange



Due to circumstances beyond our control, we’re extending the Fic Due Date for the Exchange by seven days. That means that we absolutely, positively, I am not even kidding, this-is-it, need to get the fics in by midnight on Feb 3. I really don’t like the Hall of Shame, and I truly do not want to put anyone in it, but if… IF… we just plain don’t get a fic in, and we don’t get an email/explanation until, say, 11:59 on Feb 2nd, I WILL DO EET. Don’t make me come over there.

But everyone will get their fics in by midnight Feb 3, and happiness and peace and prosperity shall reign in D/G-land. Please don’t make me post a link to the work of the only other person who know who does 3D HP computer art. He is all D/Hr, all the time. (Really. I’m not kidding!!) ;)

Also, we’ll have a list of betas up very very very soon. :)

ETA: And I KNOW the poll about why D/G still matters has been up for a long time... I just can't take it down when people are still voting, and they are! Through sophisticated statistical analysis (yehrite!!), I have determined that about 100 readers have cast their votes so far. And nobody's said that D/G doesn't matter, and they also hate chocolate. :)




Posted by Anise on Jan 22, 2014 11:37 am (1 Comments)

Beta Time, It's Beta Time!



So. Some authors are very very interested in betas for their D/G FIA Exchange fics, which, again, are due soon. You know what that means, right? We really need some beta volunteers. And YOU can do it! :)


Here’s what we’re going to do. If you are willing to be a beta, then you have some options as to how to let me know.

1. Reply to this post.
2. Email me—just click on “Anise”, and there’s a contact link.
3. Post on the forum link here. (Here’s the Beta Board, yay, check it out.

If, OTOH, you NEED a beta, we will have a list ready soon. You can also head on over to the ffnet forums (they would be right hereand do one of two things:

1. Introduce yourself in the Welcome thread, then get onto the beta threads and start looking for a beta.

2. If you don’t want to actually post, just look at the beta threads and then msg people who have already offered their services as betas. Click on the “writer services” button at the top of the ffnet page, and then on “Beta Search.”


Also, if you’re reading this and you need a beta, and you haven’t yet told me about it, NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME.

(And did you get the pic? It's a FISH... see... a BETA FISH. Funny? Right? *I* like it, anyway.. ;)


Posted by Anise on Jan 20, 2014 02:21 pm (2 Comments)

Just one week!!

TURN IN THE EXCHANGE FIC

Hey y’all,

Three things:

Thing #1:

It’s one week, SEVEN DAYS, before the exchange fics are due for the Official D/G Fic Exchange A-GoGo of Winter 2014. If you’ve turned yours in already, then yay! If yours will be ready in a week, then yay! If you’re having trouble, please let us know. If… okay, positive thinking is important, so we won’t even go there with that last IF. But remember, only you can prevent other Draco pairings. ;)

And Ginny pairings, too. Remember, EVERY time an author doesn't turn in their fic, Ginny has to kiss Harry. We don't want that, now do we??


Thing #2:

Facebook seems to imply that something meaningful and exciting will happen once we reach 100 likes on the FIA page. I’m not sure how this would work—maybe Draco and Ginny riding on a unicorn?—but whatever it is, let’s find out! We're REALLY close. Like us today!
Just click right here…


Thing #3:

Give yourself a great big hug for paving the way for the New Era of D/G (and the craft of writing in general.) Yay! :)



Posted by Anise on Jan 19, 2014 12:53 pm (0 Comments)

Return with me now to 2004...

Check it out!Wayback FIA

And now it’s time for another episode of “Guess What This Is,” aka “Why It’s Totally Pointless To Take Down Your Fanfics In An Attempt To Pretend You Never Wrote Or Posted Them.” Because The Wayback Machine knows. That’s why. It knows what rating they were, too.

Yep, y’all, it’s Dec 28, 2004. All of these lovely fics are still with us, to the best of my knowledge; this is a date randomly chosen to make a point.

Also, it’s fun to look up old web pages. Wow, there’s a lot on there. :)

And wait, there's more. Lest anyone think that an author deleting their fics guarantees that they're not floating around the web somewhere out there... I give you THIS. April 24, 2006.

Check it out!Wayback FIA

ETA: BTW, I've been working on adding some new featured fics, but, well, I don't seem to quite exactly remember how to do it... ;) It WILL be figured out.


Even more ETA: And it was. There are new featured fics! How did I figure that out? Um... it's really, really dumb... I don't think I want to explain it...

HEY LOOK OVER THERE!

Hmm. I could have sworn I saw Draco riding a unicycle. Never mind.



Posted by Anise on Jan 13, 2014 04:45 pm (4 Comments)

How to Read ePUB on Kindle

Click to read the articleKindle and ePUB


I KNOW, I know, I’ve been promising everybody that I’d R&R their fics. And I WILL!! But well, a lot is going on right now. The OFIC discussion forums… the fic exchange… the site… the D/G art… all the new social media sites… my book…the family business...a new cat… sniff…


(is that the sound of the world’s smallest violin? ;)


Anyway. The point of this post is that I’m having post-Christmas with my sister and her partner tonight (that’s the way we always do it; don’t ask! Well, you could, but it’s a long story.) I’ve gone back and forth on the present I want approximately a zillion times. But I FINALLY settled on a new Kindle, and the biggest reason is that I can see how overwhelming all of the reading will increasingly be getting. I have a crazy amount for my regular F2F writers’ group to begin with, there will be the new forums, I’m trying to make a commitment to R&R everyone’s fics. So, yep. That’s why a Kindle. I can use it all summer on breaks while I’m out working. :)


We’ve had ePUB books on here for a long time (a really nice feature—if you’ve never noticed it before, it’s the little book icon in the upper right hand corner when you click on a story. You can also go into your own account settings and see the list of your ePUB fics, including how many downloads each one has. (The only thing with that is the max seems to be consistently stuck at 127 downloads. So if that’s your number, it’s safe to say that you’ve had MORE downloads than that.)


The PROBLEM is that the ePUB format is open source, and for some weird reason, it’s not directly supported by Kindle. So here’s what you do. Click on the pic above, and it will take you to a cnet article that shows how easily you can convert ePUB. There’s a free software (Calibri) that does it very easily.

And… don’t forget to come over to the OFIC forums and join in the discussion! I’m trying to do something that… well, let’s just say that I’m sure it HAS been done before, but not all that often. To actually discuss all the potential issues that could come up with new forums, to discuss what WORKS and what DOESN’T in a forum, and to get input from both readers and writers on what we should have! Yay! Planning. What a concept. :P It’s good to have a plan. :)


And the exchange fics are due in two weeks!!! So lots more D/G is on its way soon.



Posted by Anise on Jan 11, 2014 01:10 pm (3 Comments)

The OFIC Forums Discussion

The OFIC forums

Hey all,

So I’ve thought about this a lot. The ofic forum idea has been on my mind for about a year. And I’ve never really done anything with it yet. There’s so much going on right now, including the D/G fic exchange (only 19 days left, people!!) But I realized something: there will never be a perfect time!! Or maybe right now is ALWAYS the perfect time.  Sometimes you just need to carpe that diem.

What exactly IS an ofic forum? It’s all explained right here—and even a little bit about why it’s so important for the future of the D/G fandom. Whether you’re a writer, a reader, or both, you REALLY want to be involved with this. I’ve decided to have the discussion board as part of the FIA forums, because they’re already there and set up. So come and join in! We need YOU!


Posted by Anise on Jan 08, 2014 05:36 pm (1 Comments)

The Fate of the Flash Drive

The drive will come back

Is still UNKNOWN!!

That's right, y'all, the Long-Lost Flash Drive of Song and Legend is STILL with the computer experts. :P BUT IT IS COMING BACK, OH YES, IT IS.

Okay, even if... um... the worst happens (AND I DIDN'T SAY THAT), the next chapter of the essay WILL go up. Probably right after Jan. 26th, when the exchange fics are in.

But there's something coming up in the essay that I think is important to say right now. I was over at the forums, which, as you may know, aren't very active anymore. The forum activity slack has been taken up by the ffnet forums-- and they are WONDERFUL, and to tell y'all the truth, I just don't have the energy to try to revive the FIA forums. Later this year, I would really like to start a discussion there about the things we want to see in the original fic forums. But that's then, and this is now.

The point is that there are several threads about authors who disappeared and took their fics down. When I see those, I feel sad-- but NOT just because the fics are gone and we can't read them anymore. It's so much more than that.

(here's the big entire point of this entire post, so read read read it!!)

It's because authors taking down fics is a staggeringly bad idea for MANY reasons. And that's an issue that I will talk about in the essay. But please just trust me for now-- it's a TERRIBLE idea, not only for fans, but even more so for authors. If you're an author, and you plan to ever, EVER try to publish original work, there are no words for how you are hurting yourself by taking down those fics. I've been involved with both traditional and digital publishing for a long time, and I know... I could go on and on and on for zillions of pages and still not cover all the reasons. In the essay, of course, I'll do my best. ;)

In conclusion, I guess, that's a thought that occurred to me when I was reading those sad threads about the disappearing fics. I really feel an obligation to try to stop people from doing this. It's such a bad, bad, bad idea. So if you're out there, and you've EVER even thought about doing it... please don't. At least until you read that chapter of the essay. It's for your own good!!

P.S.: BTW, I will R&R every fic from the last couple of weeks! It's just been kind of nuts around here... ;)

Posted by Anise on Jan 06, 2014 07:33 pm (8 Comments)

3 Weeks Left to Write Exchange Fic! And New Ginny Pic!

Time to write!

Hey all,

So here's a new Ginny concept I've been working on. What do y'all think? Ginny 1.0, or Ginny 2.0? 1.0 is the one you've been seeing, and this is 2.0. I'll do another closeup render of 1.0, too.

And it's 3 weeks to the day before the exchange fics are due! Yippee skippee! :)

Anise


Posted by Anise on Jan 05, 2014 10:35 am (7 Comments)