Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
Editing (aka beta-reading in new-internet-speak) is in my blood. I grew up in a house with two United Press wire editors teaching me the fundamentals of spelling, vocabulary, and grammar--things that I really could have cared less about until the last five years when I have found myself surrounded by a new shift in literacy where our language has been perverted by internet, chat, and text messaging uses. This is not to say that I don't appreciate creative contractions _in the proper forum_; however, when writing for the sake of conveying emotions, ideas, dialogue, and plot I absolutely abhor the use of chat-isms. I entered the writing world in my second year of college when I really started to enjoy watching anime, and finding myself unfulfilled by slow fansub and slower dub (ewww) releases I turned to fanfiction. I had several great ideas (most of which reside in a text file on my desktop) and I even started to write a few, but frankly I'm more of a reader than a writer. I love to read and I can read for hours upon hours if left to my own devices (my wife is starting to think it's more than a little unhealthy, so I try to balance it with a few extreme sports and my job as an Engineer Lieutenant in the Army). So, loving to read I have offered to beta read for a few authors on this site, but sadly have been too slow in most cases and get beaten to the job by another loyal reader. I so far have only one true beta-reading accomplishment to speak of, and that is Chapter 9 of Hinata's Story by KlosetAuthor (I am still hoping to beta-read the following chapter and am waiting to hear from the author). Even though I have a lack of experience here on fanfiction.net I feel that I have a rich background and a passion for good writing. I am eager to help you with your story if you feel that you could benefit from another perspective. |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
In spite of my shortcomings as an author I feel that I am a strong editor/beta-reader because I look very hard at the details. My basic philosophy and Modus Operandi for beta-reading are as follows: First, the Author is the boss--no exceptions. The Author is the creative director and the story belongs to them 100%. In no way will I try to bend an Author's story to my own will or vision (after all, I can write my own stories if I really want to). If the Author wants to bounce ideas off of me, or even have a joint brainstorming session I am perfectly fine with that, but the story belongs to the Author, and I am just hired help. Second, my job, first and foremost, is to help boost and maintain the author's credibility. No author who uses bad grammar or bad spelling can truly be taken seriously. This is not to say that people who have bad grammar and can't spell shouldn't be allowed to write (everybody is allowed to have an imagination, after all), but speaking for myself and no doubt a few others at least, I am turned off by a story that has bad flow because of poor spelling and grammar. For every story I edit I always make at least one (and usually more) pass just to look for spelling and grammar issues--I don't like electronic spelling and grammar checkers, I use the AP style book and turn off the stupid software. Third, I feel that as a beta-reader it is good to check stories for consistency and flow; to make sure that the story makes sense and is not confusing for readers. I know that sometimes when I write I have a tendency to say things that make sense to me, but then when others read them they are a little confused as to my meaning (usually because I'm trying to be clever and it just doesn't work). Knowing this weakness in my own writing I try to help others avoid this as well. |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
Because of my military career I cannot always commit to a regular deadline, though I will try mightily. If you have posting deadlines please let me know in advance and I will try to meet them as best I can. I promise that if I have any known conflicts I will inform you as soon as I can and hopefully we can work around them. |
Preferred: types of entries I prefer over others
I really enjoy most types of stories--romance, action, adventure, drama, mystery, and even a little angst (as long as there is a satisfying ending). I am a huge fan of happy endings, but I also enjoy tragedies when they are well written and purposeful. Life is full of tragedy, some of which I have already experienced as a soldier leading other soldiers. I should really say that I am a sucker for romance and adventure stories. Action is good too, but usually I have trouble reading stories that are heavy on action but with very little plot. |
Would Rather Not: types of entries I do not want to beta for
I dislike stories dealing with mature sexual themes (aka limes and lemons), whether it be shounen-ai, shoujo-ai, yaoi, or yuri, I would really prefer not to read it. I have no problems dealing with heterosexual non-explicit romance (kissing and even maybe a little fondling is okay, but once the clothes start coming off I'm not really interested), but please leave me out of the NC-17 rated fantasies (I consider them all to be self-insertion mary-sues for the most part anyway...please forgive the terribly unintended pun in that sentence). |
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