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1. Grammar/spelling/formatting-basic mechanics. Is everything properly spelled? Are there run on sentences? Do you use commas when you should be using periods? Are you using single quotes when you should be using double quotes? "Its," or "It's"?br /br /br /

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2. Style-refining the writer's personal style. Sophistication, brevity, and clarity are important: I'll help you to say exactly what you mean in exactly as many words as necessary, elegantly or forcefully or sensitively as the context requires. This usually entails heavy work on syntax and diction at the macro and micro levels. We'll cull or revise choppy, redundant, and irrelevant clauses; but we'll also make conscious decisions about elements as small as a single article or conjunction in a sentence. Is a given phrase better served by the use of "an" or "the"? Is the causal force of and chain of events implied in "so" really what you intend to communicate?br /br /br /

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3. Canon-preserving the integrity of the source work's plot, setting, and personalities. If I am familiar with the source game or book, I will help you to fit your arc seamlessly within the canon. We do not own the characters of our fic, any more than we own the universes they inhabit or the stories they were written for; and good fan fiction, for me, finds a plenty of latitude to operate creatively within these restraints. When looking at this element, we will research the laws of the containing universe and analyze characters' motives, pressure points, tics, and unique styles of communication.

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Chalk it up to a professional background in academic and legal copyediting, an academic background in linguistics, and twelve years of Classical Latin. /br /br /

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Style, syntax, diction, and chapter/story structure. I'm a good writer by most accounts, and I am constantly writing-projects include novels, essays, fan fiction, graduate level research papers, and articles for gaming blogs, both cooperative and solo pieces. I'm also a writing coach for high school students and a freelance editor for amateur artists and writers, who have drafted monologues, poems, plays, fan fiction, and short stories with me. /br /br /

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Dialogue. My specialty and favorite pastime in creative writing is banter-believable, fast paced repartee. /br /br /

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Character focalization. Getting into a character's head and writing from that character's point of view in the 3rd person, rather than as the dread omniscient narrator. Useful all the time, but particularly for self-reflection and scenes where the reader should be experiencing the event or dialogue from a specific character's perspective. br /br /br /

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Establishing setting and mood. Passages and clauses written specifically for this purpose-"It was a dark and stormy night," "The room was large and square"-quickly become tedious, and readers tend to skim them. It is more natural and more effective to convey setting and mood by degrees and somewhat impressionistically, revealing details that stand out to the characters as they experience them. /br /br /

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Pointing out plot holes and character inconsistencies. My academic field values close reading and analysis of literature, and I have obsessive tendencies. Altogether that means I approach fan fiction the same way I approach a poem or book-critically. If a line doesn't fit or a plot point doesn't work, I'll notice.

Books I haven't read/games I haven't played. I edit for mechanics, style, and canon, and I'm incapable of evaluating the latter if I haven't spent time with the source work. Those looking only for proofreading and style feedback are free to contact me anyway, but I will feel severely unequipped to provide useful comments past a certain point. br /br /br /

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With respect to ME3, non Garrus/Shepard romance subplots. I have not romanced anyone except Garrus since my first play. That being the case, I can't provide feedback on the believability of any other romantic subplots. br /br /br /

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Flowery, verbose, incredibly descriptive establishing shots. My personal aesthetic rebels against lengthy and intricate descriptive scenes of Tolkien-esque scope, and I tend to be rather bad at editing them without wanting to overhaul them entirely. br /br /br /

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Pathos and angst. While moments of self-reflection and deep, meaningful conversations have their proper place in fic and will be evaluated accordingly, I lack sympathy towards the excessively needy, attention mongering, and broody. br /br /br /

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Fluff. Tender moments are fine. Steamy moments are fine. Saccharine moments are not, and make me laugh-not good for a writer's self confidence.

Give me soldiers and hard-nosed pragmatism any day.

Alternate universes, self-insertion, crossovers, unadulterated smut*, crackfic, sickly sweet fluff, and ME3 stories wherein Shepard dies. /br /br /

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*Clarification: smut is acceptable within a framing story arc. Smut for smut's sake does not interest me.

Book Circle of Magic Game Dragon Age Book Dragonlance

Misc Greek Mythology Book Immortals, Tamora Pierce Game Mass Effect

Book Protector of the Small Quartet Book Song of the Lioness Game Witcher

General Romance Humor

Drama Adventure Angst

Sci-Fi Fantasy Tragedy

Hurt/Comfort Friendship