Library - Link/Promote Your Stories From Here

Library - Link/Promote Your Stories From Here

All Your Favorite World Sims Stories: Now In One Easy To Navigate Space

Josh has opened the new fiction library to all users following a period of testing.

Until this feature takes off, I have made this thread a sticky, so that writers can use it to direct visitors to their opuses (magna and minora ... ah, that school latin wasnae wasted ... nor apparently, was my 18 month relationship with a Scotsman )

Meanwhile I shall kick off with blowing my own saxamaphone.

I give you the Penn Vale Saga.
Full and uncut for the first or second ... ok third time.
The Penn Vale Saga

 

I am not sure I understand how to post to that thread. How do I just link to my story that's already up?

And what would you call PDL? Drama or Humor? There's a little of each.

I took a stab at it. Let me know if I did it right. It looks different from the others ...

 

How To Post A Story

SBW's question caused me to remember my own confusion when I first tried this facility.

Here's how to get started.

1. Go to the Library Home Page Section (same as link in the first post above)
2. Before you can begin a story you need to create a "category". Think of a category as your own private sub-forum where only you may start thread, but once you post anyone can reply (comment). It may alternatively help if you think of the "Category" as your story's title.
3. To create a new Category first:
   1. Open the sub-menu (from the Top Navigation Bar)
      • My Stuff
        • Category Manager
   2. In the Category Manager you will need to add your first category. Click The Add Category Button
   3. On the next page you can:
      • Name the new Category: This will normally the name of your story.
      • Provide a brief description of the new Category
      • The third option is to choose, via down list, the parent "category" this is your chance to pick a genre under which your story will be filed. Try to consider your target audience, and what they would expect.
      • The next two options are interesting.
      • First the password option. This is matter of choice. Your basic account security should protect your stories from being hacked. My recommendation is not to bother.
      • The last option is to allow other users to post stories. Unless you want a collaborative type story this choice should be unchecked. Note that is checked by default and unless you change that other users will be able start new new threads within your story ... making a mess of it. NOTE that other users can comment on individual episodes by using the "Post Reply" button at any time.
      • Once you are done. Click the Add Category Button.
   4. Now you have your category created you are ready to post the first chapter of your story.

How To Post Your Story

1. From the Top Navigation Bar click the Submit Story Link
2. Then choose the category you have previously made. (Note that if you skippped all the above there is also an "add category" link beside the choose category drop down list.
3. You will now be looking a familiar Forum style posting page.
4. Posting Notes and Advice
   1. There's a maximum of around 4,000 words per instalment (20,000 characters)
   2. Remember that images may included as attachments using the manage attachments section at the bottom of the Post Message Form. You can also insert images directly into the text if you upload the images to a suitable hosting site such as
      • The World Sims Gallery
      • Photobucket, flickr, image shack, lots of other sites also available
      • The insertion code for inline images will count toward your 20,000 character limit so allow approximately 150-250 charcater per image

That's it. All done. Enjoy!

 

No harm in simply providing links to that which has gone before, SB.
You might also consider adding a link to the Who's Who.

I've posted a how to for Category Management.

Perhaps you could start PDL IV?

I'd call it romance. Good drama needs comedy, just as good comedy needs drama, but the defining strain of PDL is the search for love ... if I'm not mistaken. But don't feel constrained by my opinion. I'd rather think, and hope, that you will make your own choice.

 

I might start So a Robot Married a Woman Part Dos, but I am having a bit of difficulty setting up the category. Every page I go to everywhere in the Library is blank. :knockedout:

 

You're right, Chee-Z. Something has gone wrong with the Library.

I get blank white pages, too.

JOSH !!! JOSH, HELP !!! My stories are gone. :bitelip:

 

Oops ... and I was the last person in there as well ...

What was that Bart Simpson catchphrase? "I didn't do it!"

 

LOL, Mirelly, of course it is, The subtitle is, after all "the search for love."

I didn't realize I could add my own category. Thanks for the excellent directions.

I am on hiatus until my computer works properly again, but at that point I will create my own romance category story, PDL IV ... or something of that nature.

If, of course, I still can play that town. Fingers crossed.

 

So, I made my own category and did it correctly this time ... PDL can be removed from the Humor section. It's firmly ensconced in romance with a new entry. I don't know how to remove it, though. Mirelly? Josh?

No, this doesn't mean my computer is working. I'm just catching y'all up to where I stopped playing.

At least I can write about my sims even if I can't play them ...

 

I am so confused. Can I post more than one chapter in the same thread? Can other people? I thought I set it up correctly so their messages would go somewhere else ... I may have to delete some stuff once I figure this out.

Sigh.

 

No offense, Josh, but UGH. That means I'm going to have hundreds of chapters. I write short little bits on purpose. I think they're easier to read and they fit the way I like to tell the story. But that would mean my readers would have to click hundreds of times instead of just scrolling through.

I'm going to have to think about this, but I will probably end up posting my stories in the same old thread format.

 

I'm going to take a stab at doing it the way it's intended, but I'm worried about overloading the system. I'll try to write longer chapters, but they might cramp my style ...

I guess we'll see. Let me know if I'm causing storage problems.

 

I think you should just write the way you always do. I would think the Library can handle it. Besides, it's in a testing stage. So your style of shorter posts is one way to test it.

p.s. I read through your posts to PDL today at a comfortable pace. Clicking on "Next" at the bottom didn't bother me. And I can read through the story first before looking at any comments that people have posted.

 

What Lynet said. Course the system can handle it. I'll be subscribing to the PDL category once you get up and running and will be reading PDL by email. I'll only get involved in commentary when it seems appropriate (as before). If you use the library as intended then email subscribers will not miss a single episode ... it's why I kept missing chuncks of PDL and Ironsides, because I'd see new posts and go there all excited just to read someone else's comments. I feel like a right curmudgeon ... specially cos I purr like a puddy-tat whenever someone is kind enough to pass a little praise my way. I think I'm half cat, half female dog <ahem> and half stupid.

 

So, how do I find the library other than through this link? I've looked at the main page and don't see it.

Am I just crazy?

 

LOL SB. There should be a link up the top in the header log area ... if Josh has used some variety of Javascript for it might be stripped out by some overly sensitive firewalls though. (Means you wouldn't see it if that was the case)

Josh is planning to add a link within the forums ... (Poor Josh must be feeling a bit put upon. I told him I wanted a Wiki and now he's crying inconsolably and wishing he'd not mentioned it in the first place.)

 

So sad to see a grown man cry.