I know it has taken a long time to finally get it underway, but the summer was hard on my work schedule and I lost my momentum.

A lot of small improvements have been made in the last few months. None that are noteworthy, but they add up to a better and more reliable site.

One noticeable change is the name. After much dithering I finally settled on Next. Among its good points are, it is short and easy to say and write, implies a step into the future, is modern sounding, and no other fiction library uses that name. It is amazing how many good names are already taken. Google was a lot of help in the name search. I didn’t use it to find names, but it was great for finding if other sites used a given name.

I have to thank my friend Stephantasy, both for her wonderful site design and artwork, and for her putting up with me trying all my ideas out on her. Despite being busy with many of her own projects, she always found the time to listen and give thoughtful replies. A friend in deed.

Not much else to say other than to urge you all to join, write, share.

Mike

This site has been a long time coming. It has been a long term goal of mine to create an original fiction site. I have finally made it.

It all started 4 years ago when I began creating the software that would eventually become Tolkien Fan Fiction. Even then, an original fiction site was in the works. The original TFF software had too many problems, because it was my first attempt at building a web site and I was learning as I made it. A new site needed new better software. This new site incorporates everything I learned in from making and running TFF, and is far easier to maintain and upgrade. It has more useful features and has lost the various unused or difficult features at TFF.

As with TFF, the software will not make or break the site. It will be the people who post and read stories who will determine its success. I am planning to keep this a friendly, writer oriented site, one that nurtures the fledgling writer and gives them exposure to a wider world as they grow in their craft.

I have made many friends in the last five years in the Tolkien Fan Fiction community, and many of them are also writing original fiction. I am hoping that this site will become a place where they can show their original works to a wider world and learn from each other in a writer's community.

If you write original fiction, you are invited to join.

Mike Kellner