News
Challenge and Recommendations

I apologize for not having been as active recently in posting recommendations and challenges. Real life has made it challenging to do so. The good news (well, I hope!) is that I come bearing recommendations for older fics: Truth or Dare by Pixel (rated MA), which is some very hot Jim/Pam smut, and All New People by missparker85 (rated T), which is a lovely Michael and Pam story.

I know we still have a little while to go before the Holidays are truly here, but I went shopping for Christmas decorations today, and I am in a festive mood. Hence, today's challenge: Home For The Holidays. How do Dunder-Mifflinites celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas? I conceived of this challenge as a great occasion to meet the employees' families and get a bit more insight into their lives outside the office.

As always, questions and comments are welcome at morethanthat1@gmail.com.



--Morning Angel on November 11, 2006 07:56 pm 0 Comments
Important Changes

In an ongoing effort to improve the quality of MTT, site administrators will now have the right to make changes to a story's tags (categorization, rating, warnings, labels, disclaimer, etc.) without notifying the author. Any changes will be made in accordance with MTT's Terms of Service and Submission Rules, which have been updated to reflect this new policy.

Our goals are to give readers the most accurate data possible for story searches, and to ensure that site admins can do this as efficiently as possible.

Be assured that the body of a story will never be altered without an author's permission - only its tags.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to use the Comments feature below or the Contact Us link above.

Thanks!



--nomadshan on November 06, 2006 10:01 am 5 Comments
New Challenge
We have a new challenge courtesy of GirlFriday: Pam in Stamford.  What if Pam was the one who had transferred to Stamford instead of Jim.  There are just tons of possibility for this challenge!  I can't wait to read writers' take on it.

--Morning Angel on October 28, 2006 01:44 pm 0 Comments
Spring Cleaning in the Fall!

Like Michael Scott, we like to do our spring cleaning out of season!  The administrators have noticed that a lot of fics are miscategorized, missing labels, missing disclaimers, and so on.  Thus, to make sure that stories are well classified and easily available to readers, we will be doing a bit of cleaning up in the next few days.

Authors, to make our lives even easier, it would be greatly appreciated if you could take the time to verify that your stories meet the criteria outlined in the submission rules.  We will only be modifying tags and other header information on stories which do not meet those standards.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about this, feel free to email us.

Thank you,

The Cleaning Patrol aka The MTT Administration Team 



--Morning Angel on October 27, 2006 04:38 pm 3 Comments
Five Hundred Stories, Baby!

We have reached tonight (just before the airing of the show on the East Coast, no less!) our 500th story archived.  Lis posted a little five hundred-themed story to mark the occasion. This is a nice milestone for an archive that just started back in July.  Thank you to sicokitty for taking the idea of an archive and making it a reality.  Thank you to all the readers and the writers who have contributed to make this site blossom.  Here's to five hundred more stories!  Cheers!



--Morning Angel on October 26, 2006 05:49 pm 7 Comments
Two Other Recommendations

It is a slow fanfic day, and I am trying to write a story, and it is just going nowhere so I reread a few of my favourite stories and thought I would share... Safety First by veryangrymidget & Camping Trip by unfold.

Safety First was the first multi-chapter Office fanfic I read (and it was one of the first, I believe). If I remember correctly, veryangrymidget took TWoP readers' suggestion about including a shower scene, which made us very happy. I won't say more... ;)

Camping Trip was written for the Confined Spaces challenge, and unfold's writing is brilliant as always. Unfold is so nice; she even wrote a pool story for the TWoP crew because we were clamoring for Wet Jim. That story is not archived here, but you can read it at ff.net. Happy reading!



--Morning Angel on October 21, 2006 03:52 pm 0 Comments
Another Yummy Older Story
I remember there was a lot of squeeing at ff.net when this story was posted: Barrette by ElizabethLynn. I love Pam and Jim trying to act like nothing is going on between them. Cute story! :)


--Morning Angel on October 20, 2006 05:43 pm 2 Comments
A Halloween-Themed Challenge Thursday

Nomadshan gave suggestions for fics at TWoP, and I decided to use one of them for a challenge prompt: Haunted House.  In the spirit of Halloween, Michael organizes an office outing to a haunted house.  I can't wait to read Halloween stories! :)



--Morning Angel on October 18, 2006 08:18 pm 2 Comments
Genre changes

Have added a Poetry genre tag for your use.

Also, the Episode genre tag has been deleted - too confusing.



--nomadshan on October 18, 2006 08:07 am 1 Comments
Old Is New Again

Our "older" fanfic is still pretty recent, I realize, but since there are many new readers and so many stories out there, I bring to you another classic story... from a few months ago ;) : Faking It by nomadshan (Rating MA). We were discussing on TWoP what would be the most uncomfortable discussion Roy and Jim could ever have, and nomadshan brought it to life. She did an awesome job as always!

I shall be back later this week with a new challenge and other recommendations! :)



--Morning Angel on October 14, 2006 03:31 pm 2 Comments
Challenge Thursday!

Thursday is (almost) here so here we go with a new challenge suggested by bonorocks: The British Are Coming. This summer, rumors circulated that the members of the British cast were going to be on the US version. Bonorocks would love to see a fic where the two casts interact. Maybe Tim/Dawn give Jim/Pam advice. Or Gareth and Dwight could be butting heads. How about David Brent vs. Michael Scott?

As always, if you want to suggest other challenges or for questions and comments, you can email me at morethanthat1@gmail.com



--Morning Angel on October 11, 2006 07:56 pm 0 Comments
Old Stories New Again
You may have noticed that I occasionally put up older stories in the featured section. I'm going to try to do it with more regularity, because it is enjoyable to reread good stories that may have slipped our minds otherwise or find new gems we never knew were out there. This week, I have chosen Five Stories Concerning President Halpert by Bright Red Shirt. I love this 5 Things meme. Bright Red Shirt was able to spin 5 great tales from a little sign on Jim's desk! That is just so awesome. Go give her some feedback love. :)

--Morning Angel on October 09, 2006 06:31 am 0 Comments
New Challenge!

It has been a while since I posted a new challenge, so here I am. This week's challenge idea, Prior Meeting, was submitted by McGigi.  Summary: Two employees met before landing their job at Dunder-Mifflin, but they don't remember ever crossing paths.

Have fun! :) As always, if you have questions, comments, or want to submit challenge ideas, you can email me at morethanthat1@gmail.com.



--Morning Angel on October 06, 2006 03:20 am 0 Comments
The Law According to the Rules

Once in a while it becomes necessary to restate the rules.

This is such a time. The general rules of this site are the Terms of Service. Please take a moment to read them.

When the admins put together the Terms of Service, we tried to distill each main idea down to the basics. We hope that they are short and simple and easy to follow.

Today I need to reiterate that stories and reviews posted at MTT should not be continuations of scuffles that happen off-site.

These are good reasons for posting a story:

  • You are a first-time writer, and you've worked up the gumption to post.
  • You are a beginner, and want feedback that will help you improve.
  • You are an established writer, and feel your work might inspire new writers.
  • You crave feedback.
  • You need to get a story idea out of your head, so you can concentrate on your regular, paying job again.
  • You love The Office, Jim/Pam, Kelly/Ryan, Michael/Meredith, Stanley/Todd Packer. It's all good.

In other words, there should be positive (or at least constructive) motivation behind posting your story.

Likewise, all reviews, positive or negative, should be constructive. Good reasons to review might be:

  • You want to tell the author that their story made you smile, cry, laugh, do a little dance, yell at a character, wish you were Pam, wish you were Toby.
  • You want to encourage a new writer to keep posting.
  • You want to point out images, themes, or word choices that you found particularly powerful.
  • You want to encourage the author to quit their regular, paying job to write more fanfic for you.
  • You want to point out something that may need work, and offer a solution to the problem.

Criticisms offered in reviews should always be about the story, never about the author. Period.

Here's to creative writing and helpful reviewing.

Thanks!



--nomadshan on October 05, 2006 12:25 pm 0 Comments
The Five-Element Challenge: Ready, Set, Post!

Ah, the last day of September is upon us... This also means that it is time to unveil those little gems you wrote for The Five-Element Challenge. Just to remind everyone, the five elements that had to be integrated in the story were: 1) a waterfall, 2) leather gloves, 3) salsa, 4) a zebra, and 5) a ten-year reunion. So post away, writers! :)

I would love to continue these long-term challenges wherein authors are given a month (give or take a few days) to write a story and all post the final result at the same time. Let me know what you think of them. If you have any element you'd like to see authors forced to use in a future challenge ;), please email me your ideas at morethanthat1@gmail.com.

--Morning Angel on September 29, 2006 08:34 pm 1 Comments
Fanfic Primer: Day 6

This is the last day of our fanfic primer.   Oh no! ;) I hope you enjoyed this list.  Readers, thanks again for participating!

The last 4 "Other Pairings" stories are as follows:

1) Candy Dish by ElizabethLynn (Pam/Phyllis- Rated K)

2) The Beard by nomadshan (Roy/Angela/Oscar/Jan- Rated M)

3) Five Stories Kelly Kapour Never Told by winterbaby (Kelly- Rated T)

4) The most nominated story: O*F*F*I*C*E by Annakovsky (Ensemble- Rated T)

I'll be back with challenges in the next few days. This weekend, authors will post their responses to this month's Five-Element Challenge. Exciting! :)



--Morning Angel on September 27, 2006 01:15 pm 4 Comments
Fanfic Primer: Day 5!

We have come to the last part of the fanfic primer when it comes to Jim and Pam stories.  So sad.   Here are our 5 stories for today:

1) Unseen by unfold (Rated K+)

2) Beginnings by xoxoxo (Rated T)

3) Laugh This Life With Me by shannanagin (Rated T)

4) Pack Up Your Bags, It's Never Too Late by Annakovsky and  Kyrafic (Rated T) 

5) The most nominated story: Hope by nomadshan (Rated M)

Stay tuned for the remaining "Other Pairings" stories tomorrow!



--Morning Angel on September 26, 2006 04:20 pm 2 Comments
Fanfic Primer: Day 4!

We have a lot of great new fanfic being posted, but in the spirit of celebrating the best we have had so far, here are 4 more favourite "Other Pairings" stories:

1) Eight Days a Week by mazily (Ryan/Michael- Rated M)

2) Awake by shannanagin (Pam/Roy- Rated T)

3) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Arsonists by swestworld (Ryan/Jan- Rated K+)

4) Snowball by ElizabethLynn (Madge/Roy- Rated T)  



--Morning Angel on September 25, 2006 07:15 pm 1 Comments
Fanfic Primer: Jour 3

I'm having a great time rereading stories I love. I hope you are enjoying this as well. Here are today's 5 Jim/Pam picks.

1) Moments by xoxoxo (Rated T)

2) Spring Cleaning by fearlessfan (Not rated, but equivalent to T)

3) Sense by Proudgirl (Rated T)

4) Truth or Dare by Pixel (Rated MA)

5) Away From The Cameras by girl7 (Rated MA)



--Morning Angel on September 24, 2006 09:08 am 1 Comments
Fanfic Primer: Day 2

Today, I am adding 4 of the 12 stories picked for the "Other Pairings" category for the fanfic primer.

1) Things Jim Can't Remember by annakovsky (Jim/Mark- Rated MA)

2) Fringe by ElizabethLynn (Jim/Gil- Rated T)

3) Boy Problems by bonorocks (Kelly/Oscar- Rated T)

4) Substitute by honeywheeler (Angela/Roy- Rated K+)

Happy reading!



--Morning Angel on September 23, 2006 07:18 pm 2 Comments
Fanfic Primer

Two weeks ago, I asked people to submit names of stories that should be required reading for all Office fanfic readers. Thank you to the 15 readers or so who replied. I compiled all the responses I received, and will list all stories that received support from at least 2 different participants. Hence, over the next few days, I will unveil the 15 Jim/Pam and 12 Other (fewer people submitted a list for Other stories) that made the cut. Being the stats freak that I am, I want to note that I realize this survey has a tiny sample size and is probably not representative of the Office fanfic community as a whole. Nevertheless, I can guarantee it will provide plenty of good stories to read or reread! :)

I will start today by revealing 5 Pam/Jim stories, and will alternate between Pam/Jim and Others stories. Without further ado, here are today's picks:

1) Where Would I Be by Abigail Snow (Rated K+)

2) Old Friends by veryangrymidget (Rated T)

3) Believe by nomadshan (Rated T)

4) Crossing The Line by annakovsky (Rated MA)

5) After The Fall by girl7 (Rated MA)

Happy reading!



--Morning Angel on September 22, 2006 07:10 pm 0 Comments
Housekeeping

We have had an incredible influx of new membership over the past couple weeks, so this is a great time to have a few points reiterated.

Authors new and old, please do not forget to categorise your story correctly. Morning Angel posted on this issue a few weeks back, but we are still finding a lot of stories are incorrectly tagged. I have now added the instructions on how to add a category and subcategory to your story on the Submission Rules, so it can be seen as you add a new story. Please take the time to read over it again.

We would love to see all stories properly categorised so that readers can easily search for the kind of story they would like to read.

For new authors. We are loving all the new creativity to the archive, but if you are a first time writer, please try to have your story beta'd before submitting it. We have an awesome pool of beta volunteers, and they can all be contacted by clicking the "Contact" link in their profile. We work hard to make this a supportive environment and encourage new authors, we want to help you be the best author you can be.

With the premiere only a few days away, there are going to be an awful lot of submissions post premiere, so let's make this the best premiere week ever!

Lastly, a small plug, over on the main site, Jenny has finished majority of the Episode Guides- she will be looking after that portion of MTT while I am on vacation and will be updating with Season 3 reviews.



--sicokitty on September 18, 2006 03:51 am 1 Comments
New Genre Available

Hi folks!  Just a quick note to let you know I've added a genre tag for Parody. To clarify,...

...parody can occur when whole elements of one work are lifted out of their context and reused, not necessarily to be ridiculed.

[Thanks, Wikipedia!]

For instance, a parody may retell a well-known story using different characters, different language, or a different setting.

This may well be the case for all of the awesome fics that I'm sure are being written for this week's Star-Crossed Lovers challenge! (hint, hint)

Thanks, Annakovsky, for your discussion on this!



--nomadshan on September 17, 2006 10:36 pm 0 Comments
New Challenge!

My plan was not to post a new challenge this week since the DVD release provided so much fodder for fic. Then, I realized that the new season starts on Thursday, and so many people will be writing episode-related fic so we will start having new sources of inspiration every week. All this to say, I am posting a challenge because they're fun, and I can't stop. ;)

This week's challenge is courtesy of rdhp12, and is called Star-Crossed Lovers. The children of Dwangela and Jam meet and fall in love. Could Jim really stand it if his little girl married Dwight K. Schrute the 4th? Could Angela live with bridemaids wearing green dresses at the wedding? Pure chaos ensues in the houses of Schrute and Halpert. Fun idea, no? :)

Furthermore, may I just remind you that we still have our September challenge going on, if you are looking to do more writing.

Finally, if you haven't yet submitted your list of five favourite Pam/Jim fics and Other fics, you still have until Monday to contribute! :) Please send your lists to morethanthat1@gmail.com.

--Morning Angel on September 16, 2006 07:19 am 0 Comments
Fanfic Primer

In the spirit of helping new readers find must-read fiction, I thought it would be nice to put together a list of those great stories everyone should read. To do so, I need your help. I'd like to ask readers to submit titles and authors for their top 5 Jim/Pam stories and top 5 Other Pairings/Ensemble stories. They can be archived at MTT or elsewhere; it doesn't matter. If you don't read Jim/Pam or Other Pairings stories, just submit in the category where you feel most comfortable. If you don't have 5 favourite stories, you can submit fewer titles. You can also include a line or 2 indicating why you picked a given fic. From all the submissions, I will compile the 15 most often recommended Jim/Pam stories, and the 15 most recommended Other Pairings stories. (The number of fics that will go on the list will be flexible depending on the number of submissions I receive.)

Please email your Top 5 Jim/Pam stories and Top 5 Other Pairings/Ensemble stories to morethanthat1@gmail.com by Monday, September 18th. Please label the email "Favourite Stories" to help me keep track of the submissions.

--Morning Angel on September 10, 2006 05:11 am 0 Comments