Now that I'm more awake, I should specify, I'm looking for beta readers for the resource, because I'm start raving mad determined that I want to submit this as an official guild zone as soon as I meet the requirements.
Mal: Does she understand that? River: She understands. She doesn't comprehend.
'Objects In Space'
Fan Fiction: Writers, Readers, and Enablers
This thread is for fanfic recs, links, and discussion, but not for actual posting of fanfic.
P.M. Marc - Feb 04, 2003 9:19:15 am PST #3308 of 10000
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear
Elena - Feb 04, 2003 5:06:17 pm PST #3309 of 10000
Thanks for all the fish.
I don't know what that would entail, Plei, but I'll be happy to chip in my $0.02 if you think I'd be useful.
Connie Neil - Feb 04, 2003 6:41:17 pm PST #3310 of 10000
brillig
I don't know if I can do good beta, I'm really not very good at taking a scalpel to "finished" work. I really love helping people flesh out plots and character motivations and help with logical flow. Pre-beta? Or is that alpha?
Elena - Feb 04, 2003 6:54:32 pm PST #3311 of 10000
Thanks for all the fish.
That would be a good beta, connie.
P.M. Marc - Feb 04, 2003 6:57:37 pm PST #3312 of 10000
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear
Anything longer than a certain length, I send to beta. Umm. Of course, I've sent out thing of up to about 1500 words with no beta pass, and had them go over well, but I did a read-through first.
A good beta pass can be after the story is finished, or sort of a story doula, helping the story to be birthed.
Grammar/Spelling/Homophone checks, as well as checks for logical flow. All are marks of good betaing.
Rebecca Lizard - Feb 04, 2003 7:47:02 pm PST #3313 of 10000
You sip / say it's your crazy / straw say it's you're crazy / as you bicycle your soul / with beauty in your basket
I'd say yes, for at least spelling & grammar; but I have enough self-knowledge now that I know that I can't beta anything I don't think is good. It becomes a degrading, falsely-cheerful experience; and it's not really *too* possible to say "Oh, I might beta for you. Let me see if first, and then I'll tell you if it's worth my time"-- arrogant, much? So now I'll do it only on personal-volunteer basis.
Elena - Feb 04, 2003 7:48:29 pm PST #3314 of 10000
Thanks for all the fish.
I think I'd have a serious problem betaing for someone who wasn't good... Lots of 'but do you think that Buffy would do that?' or 'is this really how Giles would phrase that?'.
Rebecca Lizard - Feb 04, 2003 7:52:29 pm PST #3315 of 10000
You sip / say it's your crazy / straw say it's you're crazy / as you bicycle your soul / with beauty in your basket
And-- it sounds incredibly... *something* bad... to say it, but I know it's true-- I'm a really hard critic. I'm not nice.
Connie Neil - Feb 04, 2003 7:54:11 pm PST #3316 of 10000
brillig
Oh, yes, the delivering of bad news. "Yes, it was technically good, you used all the right grammar, and the story was even interesting. But the characters were horrible." I suck at that in real life.
P.M. Marc - Feb 04, 2003 7:56:46 pm PST #3317 of 10000
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear
It's a pain, volunteering for Beta Duty and not knowing what you'll get. Sometimes, it's crap. Sometimes, it's good. Sometimes, your head spins, and you wish you'd checked their other stuff first.
Most of what I've beta'd has been at least okay.
I think it's my civic duty (which I'm behind in).