State of the Clan: 2019

State of the Clan: 2019

We’ve made it through another year!  As each year goes by, I’m amazed that Sylum is still going strong.  We have new followers *waves and welcome to the insanity*.  We have had some return who have been gone a while *welcome back*.  And we have those who have stuck with me from the beginning *what is wrong with you?*.

Each year I’ve found new challenges, new adventures, new headaches, and even new bunnies.

I’ve laughed, cried, screamed, laughed & cried at the same time, and at times y’all have encouraged me, made me smirk, made me eyeroll, but most of all I found myself smiling at the computer screen thinking – this is why I do this.

---

We’ve had an active 2018

There was Nico weekend, though he’s still bitching about why he only got a weekend!  Though Warrick points out he got one day and had to share it!

There was McFassi Fortnight (the bastards) with an introduction of a whole Dynasty of families and their storylines.

There there was: Spring Fling.  Seven Days of Summer.  Sylum Advent.

All amazing events that showcased new art, fanmix, videos and variety of fics.   This year alone the writers at Sylum put out:

• Art: 11 Pieces
• Aesthetics: 59 different character, story, and themes!
• Fanmix: 3
• Videos: 1 (Graphic Gecko has plans for 2019)
• Stories: 52 … read that again 52 (stories and teasers)

And a special note to Taibhrigh for their accomplishments this year:

• Event/Story Banners: 30 event and individual story banners
• New Archive Banners: 5 banners for the Archive & plus new story banners for older stories
• Wiki Images: 130 – that’s 65 Wiki Bios updated

The biggest story to come out this year was The Russian Spy – which was an accumulation of major storyline, and is a pivoting point in the Sylum Universe.

---

Now we move onto 2019!  We have a lot to live up to this year!

First off, there will be no Special Events this year.  Last year with the added events, upgrade to the New Sylum Archive, which came editing older stories, plus working on ‘The Secret Service Agent’ a lot of major storyline for Sylum didn’t get worked on.

So this year we’re focusing on main Sylum Storyline.

Yes. This means Clan War!

Plus a rework of the Mac/Danny storyline as it got shifted do to changes in Clan War.

Now speaking of reworks, changes etc … we have a special surprise for you.

Through the year you’ll be seeing random Sylum Snippets.  What is this … you ask?  It’s those moments in story that either don’t fit into storyline or just random idea that may never go anywhere, but had to be written out.

These will likely not be made into larger stories, likely won’t go into the archive – so they are fun tidbits of sylum information or story.  They will be tagged Sylum Snippets so can find them later.

You may see these as individual posts or part of holiday/national day posts. (For ex: Dragon Appreciation Day … psst – look for an upcoming post of one of these snippets!)

While we’re working on Sylum Storyline, we will continue with our normal yearly events:

Spring Fling: Sign Ups will begin in February – Event starts April 21st
7 Days of Summer: Sign Ups will begin in May – Event starts July 1st
Sylum Advent: Sign Ups will begin in September – Event starts December 1st

---

Now for the big announcement concerning Sylum Advent: 2019!

This will be our 10th Anniversary of Sylum Advent.

*sips tea while letting that sink in for a moment*

Yes – we’ve been doing Sylum Advent for 10 Years!  10 Years of fic, art, music and video.  10 Years of me flailing behind the scenes trying to get stuff done and prepped in time.

10 Fucking Years.

So this year we want to make this Advent extra special.

How?

*waves hands at everyone who follows and reads this blog*

First off!  I’m asking all y’alls to SIGN UP.  There are over a 800 characters available in the wiki to work with.  You don’t have to do a major story, you can do a small character study, poetry, fanmix, video, aesthetic, artwork – the opportunities are endless … just sign up and join this years festivities!!

Second off!  Participate during Advent (or for that matter all the events) – comment or like a post, be more involved so the writers and artists can know their work is being appreciated. We get an average of 250 hits a day during Advent, and maybe two comments, and about 10 likes … we’re not asking for a 10 pg book review on each post, but a comment or like goes a long way.

And this just isn’t for Advent, but ALL the events!  And let’s not forget the Archive!! Make sure to leave comments and likes on all the stories!  It doesn’t take much to click the like button, and it’s heartwarming to see comments – even if it’s an “OMG”.

For those of you who have been going through the Archive and leaving likes on each story – you have no idea how much we appreciate that!

Speaking of the Archive.  We’re still working on moving some of the oldest stories over, these obviously need major work, so it’s taking longer.  You should ‘subscribe’ to the archive to get notifications when new stories are posted, some of these could be older stories, along with ones that were just showcased for Advent or 7 Days of Summer.

---

So now for a few odds & ends.

Social Media:

• We’ve decided that we will not be posting or building any type of groups on Facebook.  There’s just too much going on there and we really don’t want anything to do with it.
• Tumblr is holding on by a thread.  After they made their big announcement to cut out the porn (though I won’t mention the three porn sites that started following me after the 17th) it’s obvious Tumblr is on it’s way out.  I’m keeping mine alive mainly for those who do get the posts that way, but if it starts to get worse – I will be closing it, so be prepared.
• Twitter is still the best option available to follow us for posts and updates.  If the site goes down for too long or there’s maintenance issues we do posts updates to Twitter.  Plus you get the added bonus of seeing new jewelry pieces from Sylum Vault!

Afternoon Fics:

• Yes, I’ll keep doing those throughout the year.  It’s a nice palate cleanser when working on a variety of Sylum materials.
• What will be this years Afternoon Fics? I’ve already posted the start of Dragon Rescue from the Dragons of Interest series.  Also likely to do Part Three of the X-Men AU I started with A Single Shot & Save the Mutant Save the World

Nicholas J. Finch: 

• Thank you to those who have bought the book!
• If you haven’t bought it you can find it on a variety of Online Bookstores: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes/iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords
• Please leave a Review on the online bookstore you bought it from!!
• If you are on Goodreads, please leave a review there!  Speaking of … I now have an Author’s Page on Goodreads and taking questions on ‘The Secret Service Agent’ through the month of February!
• Reviews really helps get the book into more viewable circulation – so please leave feedback even if it’s just a star rating!
• For more information on Behind the Scenes of ‘The Secret Service Agent’ and upcoming books – Follow me either on my website: Nicholas J. Finch or Friend me on Facebook: NJF Facebook

Sylum Posts:

• We will be working to keep with a post a day!
• Inspiration Block: will be a character from the wiki that we’re showcasing with a new image and updates on the bio (This will be in leu of the Calendars)
• National & International Holidays along with ‘Fun Days’
• Throwback Thursday
• Coffee House Friday
• Random Posts of just Random things
• Sylum Trivia

---

Supporting Sylum Clan

I’ve made this statement more than once.  Sylum is a 2nd job, a lot of work goes into it, just not on setting up the blog posts, but behind the scene upgrades, security and maintenance.

My kitchen cabinets have post-it-notes all over them for notes and info needed for storylines, a world map is up on the wall with lots of string and pins for plotting out a major storyline, there are online cloud servers filled with images and notes.

So yes this is a major part of my life.

And at times I need help with it, not just in the inner workings, or event participation, but help with costs.  I don’t ask for much, but I do ask that if you can donate money to our Hosting Server.  All donations for the website go directly to Dreamhost – we don’t see any of it.  Donate Here.  This keeps the Blog, Wiki and Archive fully functional and available.

To help me personally with expenses – please stop by Sylum Vault.  There’s something for everyone: jewelry, cards, trinkets and so much more.  The Etsy shop supplements part of my income, which helps me keep Sylum going.

Follow Sylum Vault on Facebook and Pinterest!

If you don’t want any jewelry – buy my books!

And lastly!

Did I mention leaving feedback and clicking the like button on stories not just here on the blog, but also the Archive?  Well it’s important.  It doesn’t take a lot to click the button.  Let the writers know your paying attention.

---

Final Thoughts

Sylum Blog is a Safe Place.

I know there are still many of you who are worried about what’s going on, not just here in the US, but around the world, and need a place to be … well … just be.  Sylum is a place where you can leave the world behind.  There will be no talk about politics, and we will not tolerate bigotry in any form.

Sylum is about one thing: Love your Neighbor.

Which means our doors are open and everyone is welcome.

In conclusion.

Be kind.

Be courteous.

Be good to each other.

Sincerely,

The General

---

Final Acknowledgements!

Thank you to those who do help me keep this madhouse a float!

To Miss Paula, Gil, Taibhrigh for the hard work and support you give me.

But mostly to my Partner in crime, my creative consultant – my everything.

To Speed – I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your support.  We’ve survived all these years because we’re better together!