Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
I am a long-time user of this site, and I do take honors and AP english classes, so I have experience with words, phrases, and the English language in general. I am usually very laid-back about things, and I am told I have infinite patience. I guarantee you'll never have to worry about annoying me with lots of emails and/or questions. I put other people's stories before my own, and I am never away from the computer for more than two days if I can help it. Getting in touch with me will not be a problem.
I can also be used as someone to bounce ideas off of. If you have an idea, you can email or PM me and we can work out whether or not a certain kind of plot strikes you as The One.
However, I do ask that before sending a chapter or piece of work to me, you read over it at least once to eliminate any easy to fix spelling mistakes or missed words. Not only will it take me less time to help you out, it will also help you get better at catching mistakes so you can become a better writer yourself.
Even if I make some wording suggestions and/or other suggestions that you feel is not your style, let me know why you think it's not a good idea, and we can work through it until you find something that you're both comfortable with and something the reader will enjoy. You do not, I repeat, DO NOT have to take every little correction I make and change it directly. This is your story, and it's all about helping you get what you want.
One final thing: I'd like to warn you all that unless you'd like me to just go over it for spelling and grammar mistakes, expect to pass the chapter back and forth at least twice. I do it this way because it not only helps get things in good order, but this way you will end up being happy with your chapter, and I will be happy with the way it looks on the page, with no mistakes and no discontinuities.
Don't let all my big words scare you off, I'm a big softie under this smart-sounding shell! :D |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
I happen to be rather good at sentence structure and spelling, if I may say so, and I look at the details to make sure that if your character is limping on the right leg in one paragraph, he is not limping on the left leg later on. I can also spot plot holes and offer different words or phrases to make the story flow better. Punctuation, capitalization, such and such.
I am also good at writing in different styles, so if you want the story to have a modern, humourous, or olde-time feel, I can help you with that. I'm also pretty good with omnescient and regualar third person POV.
I also do lots of research for things I'm not sure about, particularly canon details and injuries. I like things to be as correct as possible in that regard: not only do we get to learn something new, someone who is an expert on the subject won't come along and point out errors, which can bring down our fragile self-esteem! |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
Now, I'm not the best at grammar, meaning that although I can tell when a sentence is put together wrong, I can't tell you exactly why, especially using words like preposition and proper predicate. We are however, working on these in class, so I should hopefully get a little better with this in time.
I am not the best at first person POV. I know the basics, but I do not use it enough to feel totally comfortable around it.
As for myself as a writer, I often hit writers block, and end up with a black eye. It's not the most pleasant of experiences, but I can try and help you get through yours.
I am also not the best at writing romance stories, just a warning there. Not My Cup Of Tea should expound on that. |
Preferred: types of entries I prefer over others
Since I am not a picky-picky person when it comes to reading, I can help with almost anything. However, I do like Angst, Humour, Action/Adventure, Tragedy, and Drama the best as genres.
Due to a number of questions, I'm going to put this in here: if your story is slash, I doubt we will have problems, as long as I know it's coming. I also like to know the intended pairings, so be sure to let me know right off so that we don't run into things later.
Most of what I read outside of fanfiction deals with fantasy elements, so I do like stories with those, although a good modern tale will get me going just as much.
I also usually like stories that stay canon: however, if you've got a good reason for things being different, I'll roll with it. |
Would Rather Not: types of entries I do not want to beta for
I am not really into writing graphic sexual content (GCS), be it slash or no. If your story is rated as an M for GCS, chances are I am not going to be your girl.
I'm also not a fan of stories where a new character gets inserted into the plotline, therefore changing how everything comes out. I believe this is called Mary-Sue... Well I don't like Mary-Sue, so unless it really is an original character, we may have issues.
The third and last thing I probably will not do (only three things! See, I AM an easy person to get along with! Lol!) is work on something that has already been done in every single incarnation. For example, if one was to approach me with the ever-popular 'stick-two-enemies-in-a-broom-closet-and-they-come-out-as-best-friends' thing, you'd better have a way to make it original. One writer wanted to write a Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger fic, and needed a way to make the idea her own. She wrote the entire story from the point of view of the owl who delivered their letters. That's original. Having them 'change' over the summer and falling in love with each other is not only unrealistic, it's also very overdone.
In other words, lol, Originality is key with me. If I've seen it done before, issues may arise! |
FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination
