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3. Flaming O |
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Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:44 pm Posts: 104
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New to Beta Pens? Not sure where to find what you need? Start here.
- This thread aims to answer all your questions about how the forum works, what it's here for etc.
- If you can’t find an answer to your question in the FAQ, ask it here. The FAQ will be periodically updated.
- If you’d like to raise issues or problems with the forum, here’s the place to do so.
- If you have a suggestion for the forum, raise it here.
- If you’d like to offer constructive feedback on the forum itself, place it in this thread.
Make sure you've had a look at the main Kitten FAQs. Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with the content guidelines (in the Pens FAQ). Beta Pens is only for discussion of ideas that fall within that rubric. If you're not sure if your idea is suitable, please contact the moderators. - What kind of fiction is this board for?
Beta Pens is for in-development W/T fic. Completed chapters still go in Pens.
Beta Pens was specifically created to encourage new writers and offer support for more experienced writers.
- Why should I try writing?
Writing is an amazing way to find a window into yourself and share wonderful stories with friends and total strangers.
Look around. See how the beta process and the different writing processes work. Everyone is different! Realize that constructive criticism is (relatively) painless and a beta reader’s desire is only to help you put the very best of you on paper. Pick up new writing exercises. Learn to get through writer’s block or find the time to write. Let’s get that pen moving!
- Why should I offer my comments? Why would anyone want to hear what I think?
Offered constructively and sensitively, ALL feedback is valid. Criticism can be one line or a long essay. However much it takes to offer your support. Everyone's insight and perspective is different. It could be your specific perspective that clicks with the author and allows them the spark of inspiration or insight that they need. Just read carefully what's been written and be thoughtful in the way you comment.
- What kind of help can I get here?
Writers (both new and experienced) are working through their respective processes here in this forum. Sometimes you can learn by observation and other times it’s best to ask a question outright. The beta readers are here for you, the writer. They can make specific suggestions in your working fic, give you resources outside the forum (books, websites, etc.) and you may find the right someone or someone’s to beta your work one-on-one.
- I want to write. How do I get started?
Have a look around first. Read through the characterization, plot, grammar, etc. threads.
Then have a look at the Initial Ideas thread. Here writers are batting around ideas with others in the forum for a story they are considering. You’ll find initial discussions on plot, setting, characterization, research that may be necessary and more.
Next, look through at least two Developing threads to get a feel for how the Beta Pens process really works. Chapter rough drafts will be posted and then commented on by any number of betas. Writers and beta readers may debate comments, develop ideas for changes and then post revisions. The flow of post, comment and revision shows the developing life of the story.
The following are examples of Developing stories:
What Hides Beneath the Grey Pandora's Box Through a Glass, Darkly
Now that you think you’ve got the hang of it, it’s time to jump into the water!
If you only have a very rough idea, why not post to the Initial Ideas thread first? Get some feedback and discuss it. When you’ve worked out enough detail then you can move onto starting a Developing Story thread. Do this by opening your own thread titled Developing: … where … is something that will differentiate your thread from all others since you probably won’t have a title yet. For example: “Developing:W/T in Africa”, or “Develpoing:Tara Resurrection”. Then throw your detailed plot idea into the thread for debate. Pose questions, identify areas for research, brainstorm, outline.
Get it to a point where you think you’re ready to start writing, write your first part and post it. Then the beta process really gets going. At this point, you may have a title or working title. Post rough draft chapters, possibly revisions and begin working with the betas.
It’s possible you’ve been working away on your own and already have a rough draft that you’d like to beta. No problem! Just start up a Developing thread and seed it with your work so far.
- So just to be clear then...when do I post in Initial Ideas and when Should I move to a Developing:... thread?
Initial Ideas is for ideas which aren't really thought out in detail. A flash of inspiration that can be caught in a few lines maybe. It's a place to share the initial excitement of the idea, get something written down and garner some first impressions and early feedback. Once your idea matures a little, start up a Developing thread and carry on the discussion there. You may wish to seed your developing thread with a summary of what's been discussed in Initial Ideas.
- I’ve already got a story in progress in Pens, can I start posting beta versions of new chapters here?
Absolutely yes.
Start a Developing thread and post the next piece you want feedback for. You may want to post your outline or some introductory notes to help readers understand where you’re planning to go with the story.
- Why not just have one thread per idea? Won't having lots of ideas in Initial Ideas be confusing?
The difficulty here is that some ideas may not come to fruition or may develop very slowly. It's possible that the number of threads could get high very quickly if everyone started a new thread straight away.
Having Developing threads start with fairly mature ideas or initial chapters means that any reader looking to offer support or feedback can go to a Developing thread knowing there will likely be a lot to comment on.
Initial Ideas will be a cauldron of ideas to debate in quicker fashion. Different ideas may meld together, or relate to each other, combine mutate etc. Initial Ideas (if it's working) should contain shorter running debates on ideas that either lead the author to readiness to start Developing or change their minds and rework their idea.
- I want to offer feedback and beta support. What do I do?
Easy. If you're commenting on an idea in Initial Ideas, read through the author's original idea post, scan through additional feedback. Post your thoughts.
If your responding to a full Developing story, read the story (carefully), scan through additional comments. See if the author is after specific help, then post your thoughts.
Be considerate and sensitive in what you post. An author is putting themselves out there by sharing their idea. Try to be thoughtful and empathise if you can.
- How do I leave detailed feedback?
There is only so much detail that can be easily expressed through this board. It's not very easy to make detailed grammatical or spelling corrections to a long text without a very long winded response. However, you can still cover these areas by pointing out trends and patterns. For example, you could highlight common grammatical errors. You may recommend the author uses a spell checker to pick up spelling issues.
Style, pace, structure, plot, research (and more) issues can more easily be pointed out by just alluding to the issues. If they're recurring issues, you could point out a couple of examples and suggest the author study the text for the rest.
Creative use of quoting will perhaps help.
Should you wish to comment in very great detail you may wish to contact the author directly and request a copy of the text to embed inline comments and return a response in that way.
As this forum evolves we hope to evolve more creative ways of developing feedback. The hope is that the real value is in many constructive comments from a diversity of people.
- As an author, with so many people commenting it sounds like I could get conflicting advice. Who do I listen to?
Anybody who gives comment is offering their opinion in the knowledge that you may take their advice or go a different way.
Having a range of sources of comment allows you to see trends in the reactions to your work. A range of different reactions to your work may help you realise that your work is not generating the uniform reaction you wanted. The diversity alone may be enough to get you started on rework until you get the required consensus. Alternatively, you may get a variety of equally interesting views about how to develop your work. Sometimes the range of comments may be complementary. Other times you may see a range of mutually exclusive but equally interesting ideas that stimulate your thinking to where it needs to get to.
In the end, what goes onto the page is your decision.
- What happens if I don't immediately see feedback?
Depending on how busy this board gets, feedback may not be absolutely immediate. However, it should be emphasised that a premise of Beta Pens is to bring many people capable of comment into a concentrated writing area. Also the board aims to encourage more people to comment and develop their sense of "beta-ness". Beta Pens aims to make diversity of feedback available quickly. Do be patient, but equally consider using your Developing thread (or Initial Ideas) if appropriate to think out loud. You may find this will help stimulate response.
- What are the standing threads on writing?
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Characterization PoV How to Finish a Story Research/Creative Help So you wanna be a Beta? Titles Writer's Block Structure and Plot Having Doubts? Inspiration
- What if my question doesn't fit with any of these topics?
For this to work, the forum needs to be easy to keep organised and importantly, easy to navigate. There’s a reasonable chance there’s a thread that’ll cover the writing question you have. If there doesn’t seem to be a place to ask your question, or you’re not sure where to ask your question, ask it here first.
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