Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
As a beta-reader, I am willing to go as in-depth or as light as you require, and also open to focusing on a variety of different things whilst beta-reading someone's work. If you would like me to look out for or help with something specific, then please let me know, and that is something which I can focus on when I work with you. I can also do a quick, 'is this ready for upload' proof-read too. However, as a beta I will generally pick up on spelling and grammatical errors, continuity and logic errors, characterisation, and sentence structure and wording. The latter of these is what I tend to normally focus on, from suggesting lines which might benefit from a light alteration in wording, to lines and sentences which just don't work or do not read correctly/ are misleading, and work with you to suggest new versions of these which would work better or sound more effective. I try NEVER to be blunt or insulting; I strive to have a good working relationship with the authors I work with, and make sure that all of my editorial comments are friendly and helpful. All my input in text is with red ink, so you can pinpoint easily where it is, and I also use the Word 'comments' system to explain certain things where I have made alterations, or to highlight easily missed alterations like grammar. I use a system involving brackets to indicate suggestions or alterations within text in an clean, and easy-to-understand manor. If I beta for you, I'll explain this fully. |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
I was Creative Writing Single Honours student at university, and do-led the Creative Writing club during the last year there.I am very good with working on whole story plots, especially when they involve intricacies and twists, and also looking out for flaws and issues in complex ones. I try and make my own stories logically sound and plausible, and don’t have any flaws. I will always try and find a plausible reason for anything which might not tie in neatly or what needs to go in a certain direction. I am happy to talk over the mechanics of your plot or specific events with you if you want, to make sure the fic won’t fall apart on you or seem unrealistic. I have a great passion for realism within a story- realism of characterisations, realism of general character reactions to a given event, and realism of situations. I also LOVE writing and working with emotionally-charged scenes, coincidentally maintaining the realism there so they dont take a turn for the operatic or melodramatic. The written behaviour in my works are (hopefully) bitterly realistic. I therefore am very good at angsty/angry/powerfully emotive writing, but also am good at keeping such reactions from becoming excessive or unrealistic. My imagination is very active, if you run into some creative problems or writers block, I’m a good person to talk to about finding a way to progress a story. I can make my own suggestions, based on what you have written, but I also find that talking something through (going over the facts, what you want things to do, where they should go, etc) also works remarkably well. |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
I am notorious for taking AGES to update my own fics. This is not true of pieces I beta read- I always return them quickly, in a few days. And I generally try to always keep you updated of progress, and give frequent updates as to when they should be back if for some reason, I am unable to complete them within a couple of days. I ALWAYS keep my authors in the loop.I am a perfectionist, so when I beta a piece of work, I do spend an inordinate amount of time on it, making sure that I have highlighted anything which needs to be, and on making sure that my feedback to you is both constructive and not unfriendly. This may result sometimes in slightly longer return times, but as mentioned, I will always keep you up-to-date with progress. This tendency to do a full job does generate a LOT of input across the text, which may at first glance appear daunting. It may also highlight or bring up issues/areas which you hadn't anticipated needed altering or correcting. Let me stress at this point that I NEVER expect for all- or even a majority- of my text inputs to be taken aboard on your next draft, so for anything you don't agree with or would rather leave alone, I will never force the issue or expect you to work unduly on that. |
Preferred: types of stories I prefer over others
I love heightened-emotions, either as a result of a situation or personal/relationship conflict. Hurt/Comfort (including emotional H/C), and angst are among my favourite genres. I also like working on non-con / rape stories and slavery stories, for this reason. Unlike other authors, I am both comfortable and happy to work on incredibly dark and possibly disturbing works, as long as there is an intent to keep things (situations, characterisations and reactions) realistic. I am also willing to look over: Slash, femslash, smut (descriptive sexual scenes), rape, torture, abuse, etc. If I am deeply uncomfortable with something you’d like me to look over, I will let you know and advice a (temporary) change of beta for that section, but for the most part, I am willing to look over very dark fics.I also like werewolf and were-creature fics- but please let me know details if it features a pregnancy. Please note, that in addition to the categories of stories I have previously written and am willing to beta, I also have a very strong passion for Adam Lambert (real-person) fanfiction, my works of which are hosted on another site (Archive Of Our Own). Please note that I am also very willing to beta for fics of that category. |
Would Rather Not: I do not beta for these stories
Parody, or intentional non-realism of characters or situation. Self-harm or cutting. This is a personal preference, however, if this features in your story IN A VERY MINOR WAY, I may still consider working on it- so please keep me informed, explain where and the circumstances, and I will let you know whether or not I am comfortable. MPreg, or male-pregnancy. This is mainly because this type of story tends to lend itself to lose characterisations and character interaction. If the mechanics of this MPreg is due to werewolves, were-creatures (ie, a pregnant Beta-character), then I may be open to working on this, so please give me a message and explain as fully as you can. Any pro-homophobic/racist/sexist writing. That is, writing which itself PROMOTES homophobia, sexist or racist behaviour or attitudes. I have no objections whatsoever to such themes being present as a device for propelling the narrative or generating angst or emotion (ie, where these negative themes belong to an antagonist or other such character), but where the story itself is not designed as homophobic, racist or sexist. (Eg, I would have no problems working with a story where a gay character is subjected to homophobic taunts or is attacked by homophobic people. But I will NOT stand for a story which features this behaviour in a positive light- ie, suggesting that it is 'okay' or 'right') I WILL beta read a lot of high-rated adult material, which others may turn away. If in doubt, ask me. |
