Beta Advice: Getting Better
Jan. 26th, 2008 11:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miss_ingnoYou’ve tried your hand at beta-reading, and you know what to expect now. You want to get better. Here’s a couple tips that might help!
Re-familiarize yourself with grammar rules. School might’ve been a while, and some things are hard to grasp. There’s plenty of advice out there regarding how to use punctuation in dialogue, when to use commas, who vs whom, who’s vs whose, etc.
Writing advice. Applying writing advice to the story covers almost all of an editor-type beta’s duties. Pacing? Word choice? Character? Dialogue? These are all questions an author struggles with while writing, and a beta is there to provide a second perspective. Consume all writing advice that you can find, but remember that as with most advice, some things might work for some people but not for others. You can make suggestions, but it’s up to the author to decide whether to use them or not.
(Also, Thesaurus.com is your friend when looking for synonyms. Don’t use the same word three times in a row, find alternatives.)
Practice. It might not make perfect, but it definitely hones your skills. The more stories you beta-read, the better a grasp you get on the assorted areas. Working with various authors might be helpful, too, to get diverse kind of experiences. Like I’ve said before, every author has different expectations and needs help with other areas.
Analytical reading. I know I’ve said it before, but I cannot stress it enough. This is basically beta reading without writing the critique down. Analyse the fuck out of every story you come across, figure out why things work and why they don’t.
IMPORTANT. Analysis gives you a lot of fodder for comments. Positive things you can easily shower the author with, but unless they’ve specifically asked for constructive criticism in the A/N, do not offer unsolicited advice. If they do ask for feedback, make sure to use the Positive-Negative-Positive cushioning method when bringing up something that didn’t work - you’re not there to rip them or their story apart, after all.
(Beta Advice 101)
Re-familiarize yourself with grammar rules. School might’ve been a while, and some things are hard to grasp. There’s plenty of advice out there regarding how to use punctuation in dialogue, when to use commas, who vs whom, who’s vs whose, etc.
Writing advice. Applying writing advice to the story covers almost all of an editor-type beta’s duties. Pacing? Word choice? Character? Dialogue? These are all questions an author struggles with while writing, and a beta is there to provide a second perspective. Consume all writing advice that you can find, but remember that as with most advice, some things might work for some people but not for others. You can make suggestions, but it’s up to the author to decide whether to use them or not.
(Also, Thesaurus.com is your friend when looking for synonyms. Don’t use the same word three times in a row, find alternatives.)
Practice. It might not make perfect, but it definitely hones your skills. The more stories you beta-read, the better a grasp you get on the assorted areas. Working with various authors might be helpful, too, to get diverse kind of experiences. Like I’ve said before, every author has different expectations and needs help with other areas.
Analytical reading. I know I’ve said it before, but I cannot stress it enough. This is basically beta reading without writing the critique down. Analyse the fuck out of every story you come across, figure out why things work and why they don’t.
IMPORTANT. Analysis gives you a lot of fodder for comments. Positive things you can easily shower the author with, but unless they’ve specifically asked for constructive criticism in the A/N, do not offer unsolicited advice. If they do ask for feedback, make sure to use the Positive-Negative-Positive cushioning method when bringing up something that didn’t work - you’re not there to rip them or their story apart, after all.
(Beta Advice 101)