[ SECRET POST #3462 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3462 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 45 secrets from Secret Submission Post #495.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Even people who get betas still have bad fics. And sometimes people without betas write perfectly fine.

[herpymcderp]

^ The only comment this secret needs or deserves.

[(Anonymous)]

Frankly, I don't use a beta most of the time. I trust myself with the basic mechanics of English. If I'm writing a PWP, I'm pretty comfortable with the story progression. The only time I use a beta is when I want someone to check for plot holes or canon inconsistencies.

[diet_poison]

Definitely. Betas aren't a guarantee that a fic will be good. I mean first of all, you have to use a good beta, and then you have to be open to criticism, and you still have to be a decent writer...etc.

[(Anonymous)]

Not to mention that betas can be hard to keep. I've worked with probably five or six, at least, who kept swearing they'd get back to me and never did. They're also hard to find sometimes, even if they aren't flaky.

[ninety6tears]

Sure, but I can still give someone the credit for best effort when they bother to get a beta. I do understand sometimes it's hard to find a good one though.

I'm pretty confident with grammar (I couldn't teach it, but I'm not bad) but the other stuff--characterization, pacing, etc.--isn't something you just get perfect at, since it's also relatively subjective.

[ketita]

Finding a beta can be really difficult. It's been years since I've had a steady one, and a while since I've had a beta really rip apart my writing. I got that in a writing workshop, but not from betas.
I think that at some point you just pass a basic level of competence where a certain level of criticism is enough, and you need people who are more expert at it. And to be really honest, a lot of authors in fandom, while decent, aren't stellar. In fandom-writing you can get away with a TON of stuff that you can't elsewhere.

[(Anonymous)]

The other side of that is that as a beta, you need to figure out how much ripping apart you can do with each author. Some people are not clear at ALL on what they want you to do. The communication has to be there to get the work done and because it's all free and people have different reactions to criticism, you have to be ABSOLUTELY CLEAR if you're willing to have stuff ripped the hell apart.

Too many writers say they do and then throw a fit and publicly shit all over their beta when they get what they say they wanted.

[iggy]

This so much.

[(Anonymous)]

+1