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Jul. 16th, 2011 01:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
turpsHaven came back last night! I've missed that show and its threesome of awesome. Sadly the copy I downloaded wouldn't unzip so I still haven't actually seen it. But soon.
Its been raining all morning, but I've already been out to the shops and the clothes are drying in the tumbler so I can kick back and just chill now, or you know, frantically write being as wave 2 deadline is less than a week away.
On tumblr someone was asking if this version of Na Na Na was different, and watching it I got hit by a wave of happiness as I remembered the glee when, after so long with nothing, the teaser video hit, and then the squee when the actual video itself arrived. So much has happened since then, but one thing hasn't, I still love this band and this fandom so much.
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
I'm really lucky because I've had a core group of betas who've been there for me through both popslash and bandom. I will post ficlets without using a beta, but for bigger stories I'll always get them beta read, and then checked again for Briticisms as my main bandom beta is English too. And in fact, most of my main popslash betas were English, so it's become habit to get that last check over as there's always something I miss.
Okay, stories. Let's start with the tree story. I wrote When Day Is Night Alone fast, it pretty much took over my life for a while and by the time I'd finished I wanted that story done and posted.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
arsenicjade had been a star and was reading along in Gdocs, and I remember in email she brought up trees. In one of the scenes Spencer and Ryan had jumped from a moving truck and rolled into a forest at the bottom of the bank. Arsenic pointed out that the location they were in had no trees. And I remember sitting there being boggled by that idea, because everywhere has trees. So I re-wrote, and made it less of a forest and more just some trees at the side of the road where they could hide out. Again, I got the comment no trees. It's totally flat there, so I had to re-write again turning trees into a corn field. Which shows why I do always have a beta because it had never crossed my mind that some places could be treeless.
Another time I had to re-write multiple times was in Sound Tracking.nopseud was a beta on that, and she's one of the best, the kind that lets you get away with nothing. It was the scene where Ray and Matt were being saved from the slave planet, and I just couldn't get that scene written well, it was a high action scene followed by a bit of hallucination and the action part was killing me. I lost count of how many times I re-wrote and got it sent back saying it still didn't work. It's one time I've been close to cutting something out completely, and I was having malicious thoughts of just leaving Ray on that planet.
But as frustrating as it was, I ended up with something I love, and that's because I had someone willing to push until I got there. Those kind of betas are the best.
And I'll add this one even though the people that know this story tend to laugh at me.themoononastick is an incredible beta, supportive always but won't let me get away with being lazy. The main thing we have issues with is that I'm horrible at writing endings, which lead to her telling me something I'll always remember, that something I'd written wasn't h/c but h/lesser hurt. And she was right, because I get to the end of a story, know someone is going to be okay and think it's okay to end it there. Then themoononastick comes along with her flashing, big text 'needs more comfort' comment, and I end up writing thousands more words.
The worst was probably in The Trails that I Follow where I had Bob be rescued in the med helicopter and be sent on his way to hospital, even though he had a collapsed lung and other such stuff. In my mind he was safe and that was in the end, I was told in no uncertain terms that my thinking was wrong *g*
A good beta is something that's very hard to find, and I treasure the ones that I have/had. They'll support, point out your mistakes without making you feel like an idiot, and will read stuff that isn't to their taste ( I've scarred poor Sperrywink many times I'm sure ) They do a lot of work and get very little credit which is why I'm sending a ♥ to every person who's beta read for me in any way. &betas;
Its been raining all morning, but I've already been out to the shops and the clothes are drying in the tumbler so I can kick back and just chill now, or you know, frantically write being as wave 2 deadline is less than a week away.
On tumblr someone was asking if this version of Na Na Na was different, and watching it I got hit by a wave of happiness as I remembered the glee when, after so long with nothing, the teaser video hit, and then the squee when the actual video itself arrived. So much has happened since then, but one thing hasn't, I still love this band and this fandom so much.
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
I'm really lucky because I've had a core group of betas who've been there for me through both popslash and bandom. I will post ficlets without using a beta, but for bigger stories I'll always get them beta read, and then checked again for Briticisms as my main bandom beta is English too. And in fact, most of my main popslash betas were English, so it's become habit to get that last check over as there's always something I miss.
Okay, stories. Let's start with the tree story. I wrote When Day Is Night Alone fast, it pretty much took over my life for a while and by the time I'd finished I wanted that story done and posted.
arsenicjade had been a star and was reading along in Gdocs, and I remember in email she brought up trees. In one of the scenes Spencer and Ryan had jumped from a moving truck and rolled into a forest at the bottom of the bank. Arsenic pointed out that the location they were in had no trees. And I remember sitting there being boggled by that idea, because everywhere has trees. So I re-wrote, and made it less of a forest and more just some trees at the side of the road where they could hide out. Again, I got the comment no trees. It's totally flat there, so I had to re-write again turning trees into a corn field. Which shows why I do always have a beta because it had never crossed my mind that some places could be treeless.Another time I had to re-write multiple times was in Sound Tracking.
nopseud was a beta on that, and she's one of the best, the kind that lets you get away with nothing. It was the scene where Ray and Matt were being saved from the slave planet, and I just couldn't get that scene written well, it was a high action scene followed by a bit of hallucination and the action part was killing me. I lost count of how many times I re-wrote and got it sent back saying it still didn't work. It's one time I've been close to cutting something out completely, and I was having malicious thoughts of just leaving Ray on that planet.But as frustrating as it was, I ended up with something I love, and that's because I had someone willing to push until I got there. Those kind of betas are the best.
And I'll add this one even though the people that know this story tend to laugh at me.
themoononastick is an incredible beta, supportive always but won't let me get away with being lazy. The main thing we have issues with is that I'm horrible at writing endings, which lead to her telling me something I'll always remember, that something I'd written wasn't h/c but h/lesser hurt. And she was right, because I get to the end of a story, know someone is going to be okay and think it's okay to end it there. Then themoononastick comes along with her flashing, big text 'needs more comfort' comment, and I end up writing thousands more words.The worst was probably in The Trails that I Follow where I had Bob be rescued in the med helicopter and be sent on his way to hospital, even though he had a collapsed lung and other such stuff. In my mind he was safe and that was in the end, I was told in no uncertain terms that my thinking was wrong *g*
A good beta is something that's very hard to find, and I treasure the ones that I have/had. They'll support, point out your mistakes without making you feel like an idiot, and will read stuff that isn't to their taste ( I've scarred poor Sperrywink many times I'm sure ) They do a lot of work and get very little credit which is why I'm sending a ♥ to every person who's beta read for me in any way. &betas;
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-07-16 12:41 pm (UTC)Betas do tell you the harsh truth. They are worth their weight in gold.
♥ right back at you.
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Date: 2011-07-16 12:49 pm (UTC)They really are and finding a good one is really hard. Where someone walks that line between giving crit but in a way that's not discouraging.
You're one of the best. Damn your job for taking you away from my long fic.
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Date: 2011-07-16 12:54 pm (UTC)Exactly! Especially when they are telling you to write more and you are like, but... I'm done! *g* I hate that.
Aww, thank you. But it is really my inability to sustain my beta concentration for stories longer than 20-30k. I just start rushing and can't give the second half of the story the attention I gave to the beginning.
I really do like short to mid-range stories best.
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Date: 2011-07-16 01:02 pm (UTC)I always get told that. I celebrate each time I get told the end is okay. It doesn't happen often *g*
Well I have a F/M that will be under 20k just there for the reading.... ;)
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Date: 2011-07-16 01:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-16 01:19 pm (UTC)I suspect the first draft will be sent unbeta read at all. I've just finished the scene where Frank first kisses Mikey and there's still a lot of miscommunication and crossed wires to go. Also, lots of masturbation scenes.
Thankfully there's not much actual plot to this one, so it's a pretty clean version.
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Date: 2011-07-16 01:24 pm (UTC)*g*
Yeah, plot is always harder to manage than romance.
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Date: 2011-07-16 02:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-16 02:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-16 02:46 pm (UTC)But yeah, batas are amazing, putting in a lot of work and don't even get comments afterwards.
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Date: 2011-07-16 05:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-16 05:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-16 06:02 pm (UTC)Awesome photos! (I managed to find several more here.)
*giggles* Your beta stories are always hilarious. Particularly the MOAR COMFORT!! one :-) But you're really lucky to have such dedicated betas. Too abrupt endings particularly are a bane of longer fanfic I've noticed.
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Date: 2011-07-16 06:06 pm (UTC)Also, hey! We share a fandom again! Life is good.
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Date: 2011-07-16 06:15 pm (UTC)It's amazing how fans drift around and reconnect over new shiny things.
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Date: 2011-07-16 06:20 pm (UTC)I love those other photos. Especially the one of Gerard's little smile/smirk.
Lynn always tells me I need MOAR COMFORT! Sometimes it is because I get to the end of a long story and want it done, but others I do genuinely think where I stop is okay.
I have the best betas. Especially because they won't let me get away with lazy writing.
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Date: 2011-07-16 06:24 pm (UTC)Gerard's got the best smirk ;-)
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Date: 2011-07-28 03:08 am (UTC)In short, \betas!/
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Date: 2011-07-30 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-16 03:46 pm (UTC)Mistakes like you mention about the trees are the main reason I don't really write fanfic for US shows, or RPF. I just find it insanely hard as I don't know even the basics of the way our lives and culture differs, i.e. kettles, radiators etc and it stumps me in trying to come up with ideas or writing. Maybe one of the reasons I love aus so much!
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Date: 2011-07-16 03:59 pm (UTC)I've found that I've mostly got a handle on word swaps, like trunk/boot, braces/suspenders etc, but phrasing is much harder, and I always get told new things, like my BBB had a mention of a pram in it, and I had to change that.
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Date: 2011-07-16 06:43 pm (UTC)Actually, at this point in our writer/beta relationship I am pretty sure you send me things with not!endings just so I have an excuse to capslock at you *g*
Also? ♥
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Date: 2011-07-16 06:50 pm (UTC)As soon as I saw your icon choice I knew I'd be getting some capslock in the comment *g*
Hmmmm, I should try that for the next angsty story. Ryan dying in a cage, and then Gerard finds him and it could end there \o/
*mwah*
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Date: 2011-07-16 07:05 pm (UTC)*g* I have no idea why you would possibly have though that.
>:( Firsly, NEEDS MORE COMFORT. Secondly, why is it Gerard finding him? Surely it should be Mikey.
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Date: 2011-07-16 07:15 pm (UTC)BLAH BLAH BLAH, INJURIES, WOE, ANGST IF YOU TOO HAVE A COLLAPSED LUNG CONSIDER BUYING CLEAR STRIPS FROM JOHNSON AND JOHNSON, IT'S THE SMART CHOICE
BACK TO WOE, ANGST ETC.
I got the Bob look of judgement, omg!
Well obviously because Mikey is half dead in a cage too. They would have thought they were dying, and are lying in filthy straw wet with their blood and are tenderly stroking each other's faces and keep whispering -- because their throats are wrecked with screaming -- that they'll be found, that Gerard and Jon will be coming and then Mikey would tell Ryan he's tired and he's sorry and Ryan would shake him and say he's not allowed to go to sleep and Mikey needs to wake up already.
And then Gerard would turn up. The end \o/
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Date: 2011-07-16 08:03 pm (UTC)Bob carefully applied Germolene to each of Mikey's wounds and then covered them with Elastoplast silver healing fabric strips. The wounds looked infected but Bob knew that Germolene's antiseptic properties would fix that and the silver in the Elastoplast strips would speed the healing process.
The Bob look of judgement is a serious thing. Maybe I should just make all my beta comments in the form of icons and/or gifs from now on.
Oh well, as long as Mikey is half dead in the cage as well then it's all good. Except you missed out the part where Jon storms off in a passive/aggressive huff when he finds out that Ryan has been nearly dying without him. But other than that, Gerard turning up and standing outside the cage with no obvious way to open it, transport Mikey and Ryan to safety, and no medical supplies or training is a perfectly acceptable ending and would not cause me to write a 1000 word essay on the need for both comfort and closure, followed by a lengthy explanation of why exactly you need to write, at the very least, an epilogue at all. Honest.
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Date: 2011-07-16 09:18 pm (UTC)You should do that, just be prepared for me getting distracted when I stare at your pretty icons.
But this is when people should know that Gerard picks the lock with one of Lindsey's hair pins and slings Mikey and Ryan over his shoulders and carries them to safety.
I told you that I started that Jon the passive aggressive roomie story, yeah? It got shoved to the side for the M/F but I do want to finish it.
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Date: 2011-07-16 09:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-17 05:01 am (UTC)You know I'm there for you as a beta any time, bb girl.
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Date: 2011-07-17 05:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-17 05:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-31 08:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-08 10:57 pm (UTC)And this was the person who wasn't into h/c when I first met her *g*
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Date: 2011-08-08 10:58 pm (UTC)I do remember that! And what lovely fic ideas we all had *g*
But he should say prostitute the back row. It would be so much better!
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Date: 2011-08-08 10:59 pm (UTC)You're an amazing beta, and no lie if I didn't know how busy and snowed you get I'd be asking every time.
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Date: 2011-08-09 04:42 am (UTC)