Help!

Home

When you click on the home button, it will bring you back home. Nothing too special about that, except that you'll end up at the main screen, which contains the recent news items, interesting statistical information, the categories, featured stories, and the six most recently added or updated stories.

Recently Added

The most recent stories will be listed here. You will be able to see all of the story information for each selection, and each selection will look a little like this:

Let's explore what each of these items means:

• Title
  The title of this story is 'No Words'. If you click on the title, you will get a confirmation window explaining the rating if it is R or above and asking if you wish to continue. By clicking 'Okay', you agree that you understand the warning. The story will then open in the same window. If you wish, you may read the story, or print the story by clicking on the printer icon to reformat the story into a printable version.
  
• Author
  Zhie is the author of this story. If you click on the author's name, you will be taken to a page with that author's information, such as how to contact them to poke them into writing more or where their personal website is to see further work they have done. You will see a list of their stories, and can check to see who their favorite authors are and what their favorite stories are.
  
• Love Meter
  The love meter depends upon how well loved a story is. Only registered users may use the love meter, and although you can use the love meter to rate your own story, we highly suggest against this. Also, if you are not a fan of a particular genre or style and repeatedly go about using the love meter incorrectly with stories that you aren't even reading or rating certain authors with low scores because you aren't friends with them, we'll eventually find out about it, and then, we send out the balrogs (who don't even like the love meter), so just don't play around like that. Ratings are a helpful part of the reviewing process, but if you aren't going to honestly review, you won't be allowed to rate. Besides, you need to give the author a written review in order to use the love meter.
  
• Reviews
  Clicking on the Reviews link will show the reviews for that particular story as left by other readers. You will also be told how many others have reviewed the work.
  
• Round Robin
  He rocks in the treetops, and here, he's the symbol that this is a story you can join in on if you so choose. Roundrobins are a great way to meet other writers and generally have fun. The robin symbol alerts you to this.
  
• Summary
  Directly below the information listed above is the summary, as set by the author. If you write something like 'I'm not good at writing a summary', you aren't going to get a lot of readers, and it's simply annoying. Please, make an attempt to write out something, even if it's just 'A story about (insert character or pairing here)' This is the best place to snag readers; to catch their attention with the summary to get them to read the rest of the story.
  
• Category
  The category section will show the category title. In the case of this story, it is in the main category of 'Sunshine & Shadow'.
  
• Characters
  This is where a listing of the main characters found in the story would appear.
  
• Genres
  A variety of genres are listed to choose from. This story is listed as a 'Drabble' and a 'Romance' selection. The full list of genres are as follows:
  • Action/Adventure
  • Comedy
  • Drabble
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Romance
  • Songfic
  • Smut
    
• Rating
  Each story which is archived must have a rating. When you click on a story title, a display will pop up explaining the rating if it is R or above. The ratings are as follows:
  • Unrated (If for some reason you don't want to rate your story or are unsure, you may use this)
  • NE-49 (equates to a NC17 rating, this is just me trying to be cute, roll your eyes accordingly and continue)
  • R
  • PG13
  • PG
  • G
    
• Warnings
  These are optional tags which may be added to give readers a better idea of what is included in your story. You are not required to use them, but they will help the users of this archive find the type of story they are looking for.
  
• Chapters
  To get an idea of how long the story is, you can refer to the number of chapters. Even stories which are short and do not necessarily include 'chapters' will show as being one chapter long. When looking at categories in the series section, the number of chapters should be equal to the number of individual stories in that series.
  
• Published
  This is the date the story was first posted to the archive. This story was published on September 27, 2005.
  
• Updated
  This is the date that the story was last added to or edited. This story was last updated on September 27, 2005.
  
• Completed
  If 'no', then that means the author still has plans to update or edit this story. If 'yes', then that means the story should be complete. This particular story is not yet complete.

Categories

This is an archive for stories about Glorfindel or Erestor or, more importantly, Glorfindel & Erestor.  If your story does not have one of these elves in it, apologies, but it can not be archived here.  (However, there are some other wonderful places to archive your story - may I suggest Dream Elf if your story has other elves in it.)

There are currently six categories as follows:

• Sunshine & Shadow
  Please place here any stories about Glorfindel & Erestor. These can be any rating, the only requirement being that these two lovely elves at some point in the story are together as lovers (Or at the very least, friends who like to snuggle together a lot. And if not that, if they are both in the story, and neither is paired with anyone else, that is allowed, too.)
  
• Erestor's other romances
  There are times when the urge comes to write Erestor with someone other than Glorfindel. Do feel free to share those stories here.
  
• Glorfindel's forgotten flings
  Although he swears to having eyes only for Erestor, there are times when Glorfindel has slipped betwixt the sheets of someone else's bed. Those stories can be told here.
  
• Happily Engaged Elsewhere
  For whatever bizarre reason, some stories have both Glorfindel and Erestor both in different directions with other lovers. Ridiculous, I know, but there are bound to be a few times that it happens. Those stories will find a good home here.
  
• Poetry and the like
  Poems, thoughts and musings, other such drabblings and ramblings (please keep this to things that you truly want archived, not just things that could be discussed in the forums) may be placed here.
• Land of Innocence
  Stories that do not focus upon relationships, have no smut (no smut? what the- ), and are generally innocent in nature, that focus upon Glorfindel and Erestor or one of them can be placed here. An especially good place for elfling stories.

Authors

This alphabetical listing will allow you to browse the list of registered users. By clicking on a particular name, you will be able to see more information about that particular author.

The first screen will show the member's information and the Stories By The Author that they have submitted to the archive:

If you click on the Favorite Stories option, you will get to see which stories are the favorite for this member:

If you click on the Favorite Authors option, you will get to see the listing of this member's favorite authors:

Titles

To obtain an alphabetical listing of titles, simply click on a letter or on the 'other' option to get a listing of stories that start with a non-alphabetic character.

Help

You are currently viewing the help screen.

Search

The search function allows you to search for a story using a number of different elements to help narrow your search. You can do a simple search by Penname of the author, by Story Title, by Chapter Title, or by looking for words in the Summary. You can also try an advanced search, which allows searches by Category, Characters, Genre, Rating, Warning, or overall Searchterm, which is like a keyword search.

Your Account

This is the area where stories can be submitted, personal information can be edited, reviews can be viewed, favorites can be managed, and is also a place other than the menu at the left hand side where you can log out of the archive.

Add New Story

Click on this option to add a new story to the archive. Please note, all stories added must have either Erestor or Glorfindel (preferably both! and together! it's a bit of a theme around here) as a main character in the story for them to be included in the archive.  If you accept the rules, you can then select a subcategory to submit your work to. The categories are listed as well, but these are simply placeholders and you will need to choose a specific subcategory to load any works. Once you have done that, you will be taken to a screen where you will then fill in the information pertaining to your story as follows:

• Author: This will already be selected for you
  
• Category: This is the subcategory you chose on the last page.
  
• Title: This is the overall title of your story. This is also the title that will be used to index your story on the Title page.
  
• Chapter Title: This is the title of your first chapter. If you are submitting a short story or something without chapters, you will still need to type something into this box or your story will not be archived.
  
• Summary: This is the summary of your story. Please type something into this section, even if it is simply 'This is a story about Glorfindel, Erestor, and a magic goat.', so that readers have some idea of what to expect. Using a summary like 'I don't write summaries well' is not only frustrating to the readers, but isn't a very good way to attract them, either. The summary is the first thing most readers are going to notice after your title. Use this space wisely!
  
• Genres: This is the type of story you are archiving. You will need to select one of the options, but you can select more than one. Hold down the control key as you click the genres you wish to include. The full list of genres are as follows:
  • Action/Adventure
  • Comedy
  • Drabble
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Romance
  • Songfic
  • Smut
    
• Characters: The listings of characters is the same in each category.  You will see two names in capital letters, and that is because, in every story archived here you should end up using at least one (hopefully both, and in close and compromising positions, hint hint) of those characters when you're filling out the information.  If you do not see one of the main characters you are using listed, please use the Other Canon Character selection.  If you have made up your own characters, please use the correct original character options that are listed.
  
• Ratings: This is where you decide upon the rating for your story. There are six ratings to choose from. You must select one, and only one. The ratings are as follows:
  • Unrated (If for some reason you don't want to rate your story or are unsure, you may use this)
  • NE-49 (equates to a NC17 rating, this is just me trying to be cute, roll your eyes accordingly and continue)
  • R
  • PG13
  • PG
  • G
    
• Roundrobin: If you want to make this entry a roundrobin entry, this is the place where you should check the box.
  
• Post to Mailing List: If the email you are using for this archive is the same one you use for a mailing list you post to, you can mail your story to that list from this archive. The subject line is whatever you title your story, however, the text you type in or the file you upload are the only items that will be included in the body of the message you send to the group. Depending on the rules of the group and what must be included in the subject line or header, you may or may not wish to use this option. We have already tested it to see if it would work for yahoo! groups and it does.
  
• Story Text: You have two options here, to copy and paste the text into the box or to select a file to upload. If you choose to copy and paste, you can use the html tags specified on the page to enhance your story's appearance. If you choose to upload a file, please use a .txt or .html or .htm file. All files are stored as .txt files, so uploading a microsoft word file or a wordperfect file may cause unwanted formatting.

Click on 'Preview' to see you story before you submit it to the archive.

Add New Chapter

To add chapters to an already existing story, simply click on the Add New Chapter option and then select the story which you want to add a chapter to. The page looks a lot like the Add a New Story page, except that you already have a title for the story. Simply fill in the information for the new chapter, preview it, and add it to the archive.

Edit/Delete Stories

This option allows you to edit your stories, delete them, add chapters to them, and established whether or not they are completed. Simply click on the option that you want.

Edit Personal Information

This option allows you to edit your personal information. It is also a place to change your password or your email address. You can also set two story options here. If you wish to be contacted when new reviews are posted for your stories, check the box next to 'Contact for New Reviews'. If you want to have information carry over between chapters (such as, all chapters have the same rating, summary, characters, and genre), select the 'Carry Over Chapter Info' box. If you select the 'Carry Over Chapter Info' box, you will still be allowed to edit the information for each chapter, but you won't have to go through the work of selecting all of the options for each and every chapter.

View Reviews

This option allows you to see all of the reviews for all of the stories that you have posted. Pretty nifty, huh?

Manage Favorites

This is where you can see a listing of both your favorite stories and your favorite authors, and either delete them or click on the links to go to that story or author immediately.

Logout

If you are finished using the site, or at least using your account on the site, you can log off by clicking the link.

Login

Registered users can login using this option by simply typing in their penname and their password. If you have forgotten your password, you can click on Lost Password and by submitting your email address. A new password will be sent to you. If you need to register for an account, that can be done by selecting the Register option on the Login screen, and will be asked for the following information:

• Penname: This is the name that will be used as your author name, the name your stories will be linked to and also the name that will be used when you leave comments for other authors. This is a required field.
• Real name: If you wish to list your real name, you may do so here.
• Email: This is the email that will be used as your contact email. This is a required field.
• Website: If you have a personal website, you may link to it here.
• Bio: Any information you would like to list about yourself can go in this area.
• Forum Username: This should be the same name as your Penname. This is a required field, although we do not have the forums active at this time.
• Forum Email: This should be the same email as your Email. This is a required field, although we do not have the forums active at this time.

Once you submit your information, a password will be sent to you via your email. Once you login, you will be able to change your password in the Your Account area. Consequently, once you have logged in, the Login option changes on the left side to Logout, and back to Login once you have logged out.

Contact Information

If you have any other questions, please contact Zhie at zhiester@gmail.com

Love and snuggles,

Zhie, Ress & Fin