fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2033 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2033 ⌋

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

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[Mortal Kombat]

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05.

[The Young and the Restless]

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07.

[Firefly, Joss Whedon; Sherlock BBC, Steven Moffat]

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08. http://i.imgur.com/Je2qV.png
[not really porny but implied underage sexual stuff; photomanip; snape/hermione]

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[ ----- SPOILERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

13. [SPOILER WARNING for Pokemon Black/White]

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14. [SPOILER WARNING for Kurau: Phantom Memory]

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[ ----- TRIGGERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

15. [WARNING for rape]

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16. [WARNING for suicide]

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17. [WARNING for incest]

[Kono Naka ni Hikari, Imouto ga Iru!]

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18. [WARNING for animal death/abuse?]

[Eden Lake]

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #290.
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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Where do you go to find a beta for fanfiction? I have a friend in RL who is willing to read my writing, but she's not even involved in fandom and, you know, she's my friend & she's probably not going to be honest all of the time. It would be really nice to find one on the net.

I would sign up for one on ff.net, but there are so many, and most of them seem most interested in finding grammatical errors. My grammar isn't the best when I'm writing on f!S, but in general writing my SPAG is very good. It would just be really nice to find one who's interested in discussing stylistic changes, word usage, and other big picture things.

And since this is a thread already, tell me fandom secrets: do you have betas for your fic? Why or why not?

I would volunteer but English isn't my native language and the things you're interested in (stylistic changes, word usage, etc.) are the things I'm just starting to notice, let alone understand. Sorry. :(

I'm kinda good at finding inconsistencies within a work or within a chapter, like, the characterization changed here and here, and the pacing was a bit too rushed here, but I can't get more specific than that.

I've never had a beta because I haven't finished anything and I often find a myriad of problems myself once I let the work rest and read it again time later.

Oh, don't feel bad! I wasn't specifically asking for one from on here! I was more trying to ask if there were maybe any critique comms I could find. I'll put that in an edit up there.

I also have a problem with over editing by myself, so you're not alone!

Oh, okay!

:)

There are these livejournal communities:

http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=beta

But to be honest? I have no idea how people actually find their betas, since those communities don't strike me as very successful, and the impression I've gotten from author's notes and such is that the beta and the writers somehow find each other.

This is all very vOv ??? to me.

Maybe I just need to get a genie and wish for a beta to arrive xD

Note on original comment: not looking for volunteers (although if you were willing, that would be fantastic), but more wondering if there's just some sort of beta comm or something. I have no clue where everyone seems to find these mysterious creatures called betas, but a lot of people seem to have them.

What fandoms do you write it? If we share a fandom, I wouldn't mind doing some beta-ing.

Well. . .

I haven't actually written much, but I assume most of my writing will be for Sherlock (although I had a really great idea for a Wall*E fic today that I really want to write & I'm not even in that fandom. . .). I also am sometimes a part of the Harry Potter fandom, so writing for that is not out of the question.

The things I write (& the ideas I have) are kind of. . .unconventional though. Stories-from-the-perspective-of-a-rabbit kind of unconventional.

Likewise, if you need a beta I would be willing to beta for you :D I'm a better fiction reader than I am a fiction writer (I'm skilled at essays and other academic writing but I'm VERY new to fiction) and I read a lot of fiction and I'm willing to read just about anything. . .in a few weeks I'll definitely be more strapped for time when college starts up again, but I'll still need a hobby to keep me occupied!

I am completely unfamiliar with Sherlock except for watching the two RDJ movies, so I might not be the best person for Sherlock fics. But feel free to send any Harry Potter my way. :)

I'll just drop this link here http://tzikeh.tumblr.com/tagged/Notes-from-a-Beta
I hope it helps :)

I've always gotten mine from within the fandom, and usually within the pairing that I'm writing. When I first got into fandom, one of my first fandm friends (we fangirled like crazy over the same pairing) agreed to look over my first fic, and she turned out to be a great beta. After that, people would strike up convos with me in comments on fics (mine or theirs) and the requests/offers to beta would arise from (and often deepen) our friendships. I still beta for one of my friends even tho we're not in the same fandoms any longer.

If you don't have any possibilities right now, ask some of the writers you like if they'd be willing to look over your story. Be specific about what kind of critique you're looking for, like continuity, pacing, characterization, etc. and let them know what level of thoroughness you want. I tend to be a very thorough beta, which is exactly what some writers want, but which others might consider nit-picky. I appreciate knowing if someone just wants me to point out the most glaring errors (which takes a lot less time.)

tl:dr version is: it's rare to just find a good beta like a lucky penny. The best ones are relationships that you develop. Fortunately, they can develop pretty fast.

Imx the best bet is to ask for a beta on the comm you intend to post your fic to when it's done (you might need to check with the mods if this is okay). Unfortunately finding someone who does what you need them to do is a bit of a crapshoot.

I've used betas sometimes, but I've not done so in the last year or so because I'm very much on a writing-solely-for-me kick. (this is due to one of those serious semi-traumatic upheaval things last year, and the FUCK YOU ALL I'M GONNA HIDE UNDER A ROCK AND WRITE TERRIBLE IDFICS hasn't worn off yet.) As I found when I line-edited all the fic contributions to a fanbook a couple of months ago, some people are much better at self-betaing than others. I've been doing beta reading for other people longer than I've been writing so I believe that I am one of them. I certainly can't guarantee that if I did take up a beta on a crapshoot request like I just suggested you do, they'd be better at it than I am myself. Mostly, I just run things past people I know and trust if I want a second opinion before posting. Fic is not a very high-stakes activity so I don't feel too bad about just going over my own work and trusting my own judgement.

There's a couple find-a-beta communities on LJ but not sure about mirrors or similar stuff on DW.

Here's the LJ ones I know of:
http://beta-search.livejournal.com/profile
http://find-me-a-beta.livejournal.com/profile

[ SECRET POST #2033 ]

Beta for Fanfiction

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