Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
I've been writing for nearly fifteen years, and my primary focus in terms of writing is both writing style and the formulation of plot. My particular role is not to proofread your story, but gain an idea of it, and offer you input as to what can be improved in terms of plot and theme, providing you with general advice over a variety of areas, and making sure that your story makes sense, and the read is interesting to your readers.
To this extent, I can be rather demanding and high in my expectations; I will expect those who seek out my services to be relatively experienced with the English language and be able to utilize it at their will. You don't have to be perfect; writing style is something I can also help along with as we go. However, as I'm not specifically into correcting your usage of the English language, I, again, will primarily be focused on plot and theme. I am generally able to discern the potential of a story by reading the first chapter (or the prologue) alone, and, no pride meant, I'm generally correct about my suspicions. I am not here to teach you how to write in English. I am here to teach you how to make your story appealing to your readers.
I can be rather high in my standards, and I will only work with those I believe have enough skill at the moment to impress me (and have potential to be polished), but I will, in no way, treat you or your story in a derogative way, unless you deliberately attempted to anger me. I will dissect your story and point out things that you might not necessarily want to hear, but I am doing this for the sake of helping with your writing skills. I have nothing against you or your story. If you believe I am being too demeaning, you are absolutely free to tell me so, and I will rework my method of presenting my views of the story to you, though, again, if you're not ready to accept criticism and input that may not be what you want to hear, you probably shouldn't be looking for a betareader anyways. |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
I am specifically comfortable with convoluted plots (note, though, that they have to make sense in the very end), especially those that are somewhat political. Anything that involves a great amount of intelligence and strategizing utilizing common sense is a welcome read. I am comfortable with ratings of all types, as long as you do not go overboard. Rape, drug use, violence, incest is all okay with me. I work well with fantasy, science fiction, and modern-day military, but you are free to surprise me. My main specialty is guiding you along to make the story turn in the right way and keep your readers interested, not nitpicking your grammar. |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
I'm not all that good with horror fics, considering the number of horror stories and movies I've read or watched can be counted on one hand. I CAN do romance, but considering that my own romance life isn't exactly what you call extensive, I'm not what you would really call a good betareader for fics based on romance. Having it as a side dish is fine; I'd rather not offer my limited experience with fics based primarily on it. I'm not picky in terms of grammar; if you're looking for a betareader to nitpick you about grammar mistakes or misspellings, I can do a bit of it for you, but if you're looking for that specifically, you've got the wrong person. |
Preferred: types of entries I prefer over others
I'm pretty comfortable with political thrillers, high fantasies, adventure dramas, and themes that you would often find in forms of media such as Code Geass, Command & Conquer, Dune, Final Fantasy, Megaman, Metal Gear Solid, Mobile Suit Gundam, and such. I prefer stories with at least some semblance of plot and intelligence, making it a read that would challenge my abilities to calculate and predict your plot. Anything otherwise is meh. If you can make it work out right, fine. A surprise is always neat. |
Would Rather Not: types of entries I do not want to beta for
A word to the wise is that the more popular the form of media the fic is based on, the less likely I am to review it. Stories based on extremely popular games like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy VII? I tend to hold them with a bit of salt; the problem with those fics is that they tend to attract a bad crowd, meaning it's is far easier to find an awful fanboy or fangirl trying to write a fic on it and making my life a nightmare when I get more than I bargained for. The good news is that I can generally tell by the first chapter alone whether or not this one is worth my time just by form and style of writing. I also do not do yaoi; that really freaks me out. I mentioned before that I'm okay with mature themes, but overdoing this, or having your fic pronounce too hard on this in the attempt to mimic an ero-story or a horror flick, however, doesn't sit well with me. |
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