My goal is to help others become better writers. To teach authors to read and edit their own work first. Writing is a craft that’s learned with practice. The more practice one gets at it; the easier it comes. Writers should expect to read and edit content and ideas. It may take multiple rewrites to get one’s intended point across. Any writer that’s not afraid of that process; I’d be a good beta-reader for. br /br /
I’ve done at least three edits on every single chapter of Jangette Diaries and that was even after the chapters were published. Prior to that, I’d gone through each chapter at least twice for grammatical, homonym, punctuation and redundancy editing. A good story is never the first shot on a piece of paper. Writing takes time, energy and /
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Trick of the Trade - Read the story out-loud. Something about hearing what you’ve written in the spoken word; helps you pick up grammatical, redundancies and spelling/word errors the spell checker won’t catch. Ex: “A had to get my coat.” - should be “I had to get my coat."br /
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Services Include: Proof-reading for grammar, sentence structure, and word usage. Eliminating redundancies of phrasing and extraneous words. Things to think of in opening story, story line, plot, closing story and tying up loose ends of sub plots within. Things to think of in the purpose of the story. Is it meant to send a message, or convey some learned lesson in the life of the writer? Is it meant to strictly entertain, convey a certain sense of humor or satire. Does the story serve more than one purpose? br /
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Content - I know Star Wars fairly well, but am in no means fluent on every aspect of that universe. For writers looking to add canon flavor and knowledge to their writing; that’s what Wookipedia is for! I use it frequently myself. If there is some detail in a writer’s story that they want to be canon accurate, but is not; I may not catch it. br /
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I have a good deal of medical and anatomical knowledge. Authors writing stories with content containing conventional healing processes; and who want their works to accurately portray that - I would be of help. I also have experience with mental health treatment and knowledge of psychiatric illnesses. Writers looking to portray subject matter such as war, Post Traumatic Stress, and other sorts of trauma; I’m a good Beta to bounce ideas off of. I would also be a good for aiding authors who are trying to write an accurate portrayal of people with disabilities. I know the field of developmental disabilities very well and I myself am mobility impaired. br /
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That being said - Mary Sues! Now anyone who’s been around fan fiction writing has heard of the “dreaded” Mary Sue. There’s even “Mary Sue” tests on the Internet one could take to determine how “sueish” their characters are. In my opinion all Mary Sues are relative. All authors write through the lens of their perspective on this world. Even in stories using established canon characters; the thoughts, mind-set and issues driving the author can be picked up in the story. br /
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What could be considered “sueish” doesn’t necessarily make a story a bad story. It’s the author’s relationship to that character that can make or break the tale. Not everyone’s going to like our stories, not everyone is going to like our characters. That’s OK. Don’t be afraid to write out of your own experiences and feelings. I do it all the time. The thoughts and fears, nightmares and even some of the things that happen to my OC clones are lifted right out of my own dealings in Desert Storm.
