Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ Story of the Week Nominations, Rules and Regs, as well

[Musings]

Hi gang -- here are the details:

Story Criteria:

• All stories must be archived on PhoenixSong.
  
  
• Number of Reviews: We ask that any story nominated for SotW have no more than the following number of reviews at the time of nomination: 10 for one-shots, 20 for short stories (up to five chapters); 50 for stories exceeding five chapters; 200 for completed novel-length fics.

When you're ready to nominate a story, please post your request in this forum. We need the following information in your post:

• Name of Author
  
• Name of story
  
• URL for the story (just go up, copy the web address in your browser address line and paste it!)
  
• Reasons for nomination: This is not a popularity contest. We're asking you to seriously consider what makes the story eligible for SotW. You need to provide specific details about the story that makes it special (e.g. plot lines, characterizations, perspectives, etc...). In short, you're the critic -- sell us on why the story should be considered. Remember: your comments will -- in all likelihood -- be included in the news article prepared for the story. One or two word descriptions, comments like "it's cool!" etc...will not be accepted.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask any of the staff here on Perch (admins, Beaters or Mods) Thank you for your continued support of PhoenixSong!

Also... if the story you want to nominate has a few more reviews than the limits at the beginning of this post, that's okay -- but our main idea behind this was to promote fics that haven't received as much attention as the readers felt they should, so just keep that in mind as your main criteria. THANKS!! ~Sherylyn

[snowbear96]

Name of Author: Mistral

Name of story: Just Plain Harry

URL for the story: http://www.phoenixsong.net/fanfiction/story/568/

Reasons for nomination: A wonderful characterisation of a post-GoF Harry, a well developed Ginny, fantastic Weasleys, a good charactersation of Sirius and Remus. The introduction of an intriguing new character adds mystery to a story that is already 'a pager turner', interesting plot details and new characters. A very well written and well rounded story.

[girlyswot]

I don't know if this forum is still in operation, but I'd like to nominate a story for Story of the Week.

Air by Moonette
http://www.phoenixsong.net/fanfiction/story/4182/

It's a great story about a minor character and several OC's. Told from Oliver's POV it's an insightful analysis of what drives Oliver to play Quidditch the way he does, and of the family dynamics that help/hinder him. Touching fluffy moments, terrible angst and (I know because I've seen the end!) a satisfying resolution. This is definitely a story that deserves a little more love!

[Sherylyn]

Excellent suggestion, Girlyswot! I'll be sure to point Aibhinn to your note -- she's in charge of the Story of the Week, and she's always glad to get suggestions.

[Jake]

I recently just re-read one of my favourite stories archived at the 'song and if this thread is still in use I feel the story deserves a nomination.

Author: Cygnus Crux

Story: Harry Potter's Existence After Life

URL:Harry Potter's Existence After Life

First of all, the story is an exceptionally well written Super!Harry fic which is fairly hard to find. There are authors who have done it very well but the majority are either too ridiculous, making Harry into a God-like figure or just badly written. Cygnus Crux does neither of these things, Harry is incredibly powerful in the story but not so much that all the confrontations are boring. There are also a lot of very well developed OCs in this story and some very interesting ideas are presented along with them, for example; one of the main characters is half incubus and he is basically the male version of a veela. I feel that the reason this story wasn't as popular as it should be is because there is a lot of H/G angst involved. The couple has a lot of trouble and I feel that many readers could not get over that angst. I'm rambling now so I'll stop but I feel that this author deserves the recognition that SotW provides.

Thanks
-Jake

[Sherylyn]

Thanks for the recommendation, Jake! I'll pass it on!

Anyone else have a nomination? We haven't had many come in lately, and I'm sure there are more stories that could be nominated!!

~Sherry

[Sovran]

Well, this one has just a few too many reviews, but maybe that's okay. I recently rediscovered it (with forum help!) and think it's worth pointing out to people.

Author: embates
Title: The Last of the Horcruxes
URL: http://www.phoenixsong.net/fanfiction/story/3346/
Reasons for nomination: This story has a back-story that is believable and in-character without being very detailed. The conversations and general interactions between Harry and Ginny are wonderful, and the action is very slick.

[SeaNymph]

Hello! I would like to nominate the story Stars by Thorny Rose for the Story of the Week. The URL is:

http://www.phoenixsong.net/fanfiction/story/4789/

This is a great story from an insider's point of view of the family life of the Blacks before Sirius attended Hogwarts. Sirius muses on the names of his family, their personalities, and finally why he doesn't understand what they believe in. This is a really deep story, and the author has done a great job in taking a less known topic and really delving into it, taking us along for the ride. This really is a great read, and, aside from just reading the story, it makes you think about the circumstances Sirius faces as a young boy, and why he grows into the man that he is.

[mommawama]

My nomination for Story of the week is "Afterthoughts" by loverlydaisy520.

It's a beautifully written, thought-provoking missing moment from DH after the last battle.

[Sherylyn]

Hello all...

I'm going right now to set up these most recent suggestions as Story of the Week, but I know we need some more of these before we can really get this rolling again.

Even if a story has a few more reviews than was originally suggested as guidelines, feel free to suggest it -- I'd rather do that than to have such a big gap in getting stories linked, as we've had recently.

Also, my apologies for not getting to this sooner, as well. It's been perking along in the back of my mind for a while now, and just never would surface from the mire while I was actually at the computer and able to do something about it!!

I really like our Story of the Week feature myself (and we had an email recently that reminded me I'm not the only one who felt that way ), and I'd like to get a good list going. I've got a bit more time to do this during the summer (although, like most families, we seem to find a way to make summer "insane" as well!!), but once school starts, I'll really be busy again. So... all of that so say -- can y'all please help me get a good list of stories (and why they're good ones to be our SotW!) so that I can set up several weeks' worth of stories at once? That'd be soooo helpful!!

Thanks!!
~Sherry

[Sherylyn]

I'm adding this idea to my previous post, actually, but doing it this way makes it more likely someone might see/respond to it

New stories have been posted from those suggested here already. That'll take us through the 1st week of August, so we need more, people! PLEASE? Look at it as your chance to be part of the "PS team" in helping to keep things going

[turnip head]

While I absolutely DON'T want any more responsibility than I'm already shouldering, your request for nominations made me curious. So:

Lady Whizbee's Turning Leaves.

I'd never heard of the author. I read it on a whim. I generally don't read outside of h/g but I loved this. I've always had a soft spot for Neville but in my head he was always paired with Luna. I know I'm not alone in this thinking. So canon kind of threw me a bit. I was more than a little upset he ended up with Hannah Abbott. But this story made canon more realistic than my firmly rooted, long-held opinions of Should Be. She writes him the way I see him: adorably unsure but so sweetly worth it for the lady who nabs him. And Hannah owning the Leaky Cauldron, Neville making a life there- the author makes what seemed to me incredibly far-fetched when I first read it a fitting, wonderful thing.

This story broke me into the direction canon took him- I'm not very good with change m'self.

I totally owe her a review!

[Sherylyn]

Oh thank you! I know the author will be soooo thrilled that you liked that so much -- she's a sweetheart, and I'll definitely keep her in mind for a SotW! THANKS for the suggestion!

[turnip head]

Can I volunteer more than one story? If not it'll keep 'til next time.

[Sherylyn]

Sure! Volunteer any/all you want, anytime! It always helps to have several in a row to get set up -- then I don't have to do them as often And also, having them here makes it easy to find them, whenever I do have time to update the system

[Wings]

Hey Sherylyn!

I've been with PS a long time, ever since it started, and I've always loved the "Story of the Week" feature. I think that one reason why there may be decreased help with it right now is that new users may not realize that it used to exist and they may not know about the forums. So, they may not be able to navigate and find this thread to suggest ideas.

So, my suggestion to y'all is to make a general SoTW notice on the home page with a link to someone's email rather than a link to this forum. It might be worth it to go through and "teach" everyone how it's supposed to work again.

Thanks for everything you do for the site! I love having an Internet home.

~ American Wings (known just as Wings for my stories ... I created this login about a year and a half before I was an author).

[Sherylyn]

That's a VERY good idea! THANKS! I'm not quite sure about linking it to an email addy, simply b/c spambots seem to LOVE that sort of thing (the amount of spam around here is insane, including those who try to register here on the boards I'm seriously deleting like 20 "requests for membership" a day lately, b/c they're obviously not "real" people, not to mention around 200 spam emails a day or so There's a reason I love this emoticon: )

But yeah, even a "permanent" link to the suggestion thread here would be good, too... I have received a couple emails lately about recommendations, but haven't had the chance to post some new story links just yet -- I'll get it done soon, though, definitely!

Also... I changed your member group to "authors", but if you ever decide you want to be just "wings" here on Perch, too (or vice versa ), just let me know and we can edit a name as you choose!

THANKS again for all your good input!!