I'm fairly certain I was supposed to do this yesterday.
If you write, you makes misteaks. It might be a type, used the wrong tense, or a misplaced, serial, comma. Might be no subject in the sentence. Or a fragment, maybe?
Regardless of the type of mistakes most common in your own writing, if you are lucky, you have a beta reader who knows exactly what to seek out and help you get it right.
My beta is DK, and she doesn't just fix my mistakes. She pushes me along, tells me when something is crap, and encourages me throughout the entire process. She's not just a pre-reader to help keep the plot from getting off track, and she's not just someone who removes half the commas I put in sentences. She's also become a dear friend.
Believe me, if it weren't for her, you might never see another chapter of UC. :)
Believe me, if it weren't for her, you might never see another chapter of UC. :)
Thanks DK! :)
The more stories I read the more I've come to appreciate betas. While some stories seem to get by okay without them, there are some I've read that are in desperate need. Tipping my hat to the betas who devote as much time to making sure the ff we read is presentable as some of the authors. I've a friend who has betaed before and was never mentioned. Thanks for the reminder of the awesomeness of betas and recognizing yours..
ReplyDeleteThen I really, really love your beta because I really, really love UC and really, really can't wait for another chapter to post!
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that your stories are grammatically correct. As an English teacher I have a hard time reading a story with lots of typos and mistakes (although believe me, I see them every day!) Thank you, DK, for being an excellent beta!
So many errors in this; where to start? What must one's life be like that they actually take the time out of their day to write such nasty remarks to people whom they've never met? Something must have struck a chord quite deeply for you to have so much animosity towards strangers. I get that what Savage writes might not be for everyone, but really? How about not reading it? People are not perfect, why should fictional characters be perfect? It would be one thing if there was no character growth in her stories, but there is always a major metamorphoses within the characters that gives them redemption. If redemption is not your thing for characters with faults, then by all means, go read something else where all the characters are perfect from the start and there is no need for growth, which I'm quite sure my professors taught me is vital for an actual story. Internal conflict: it's quite the force for powerful stories and something I'm sensing you have in spades - because in my personal experiences, people that spread such negativity are not happy with themselves.
ReplyDeleteAww, shucks, you shouldn't have! Although I really must thank you, Savage, for posting this as it is nice to be recognized :) But you know I love beta'ing! And really, you make it easy as you have a pretty good grasp on proper grammar. And I must say the feeling is mutual. I wasn't looking for a friend in you. You probably weren't looking for a friend in me. We met through others, yet here we are. You always thank me for what I do for you, which to me isn't much, but you have no idea what you've given me. When I wasn't looking for one, I found a true friend that offers easy, comfortable, equal friendship. The stories, fanfic and fandom could dissolve tomorrow, and I'd still have my friend. We'd still be the same. As Mastercard would say: priceless.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm not perfect - didn't study English - but the first thing that will turn me off from a story is one where the author obviously has no idea how to use a comma, homonyms are interchangeable for the proper word choice, and they tell rather than show. It is so much easier to convince an audience of devotion if the author shows us what is going on rather than screaming at the reader that Edward and Bella love each other more than any other humans in the universe possibly could! Sorry for my rant. I'm sure there are a lot (notice how that is two words? I know some of you are smiling right now.) of people out there who appreciate a well written fanfic as misplaced commas, unvaried sentence structure, poor vocabulary, and any other repeating error causes us to stumble over each offense. So please, if you know a beta, thank them! And if you are a writer, use one! Even the greatest of writers have editors. If nothing else, they can help you fine tune your skill and solidify your strengths.