A Report From the Real World (and some notes on writing)
I currently spend my days mostly in the libary. Not just any library, mind you, but a specialised, archaeological library that happens to be situated in the city where I live - and a good thing it is, too, 'cause I wouldn't know where to find the literature for the paper I'm working on. The university library doesn't have it, and neither does the
( Read more... )
But the story I just had beta'd - by the wonderful amonitrate - has been finished for a long time; I posted it originally in August 2000. (And I wish I had gotten a good beta back then. Instead, I didn't get any beta at all, for a long time, because it was a Lyric Wheel story, and they're not supposed to be beta'd.)
What I'd been revising recently were mostly small stylistic flaws. The huge flaws of characterisation and logic, however, were invisible to me, and that's the scary thing. I think I'm pretty sensitive to out-of-characterness and logic flaws in other people's writing; arguably, hopefully, also in my own, more recent writing. (I really, really hope so.) But somehow that story - perhaps by virtue of being one of the oldest - always made sense in my head, even where it didn't (like, for example, parts of the characterisation).
Part of the problem is a failure on my part to show the reader enough background in a few instances, and part of it is my old inability - much less severe now, but by no means conquered - of writing *anybody* not sounding/feeling like *me*. Not exactly self-insertion, but rather, perhaps, a failure to 'get out of my own head' while writing... And the latter, in particular, is a scary thing to realise, 'cause if I didn't notice it here, then perhaps I'm not noticing it elsewhere, either?
Eh. Sorry for the angsty rambling non-reply. Yeah, anyway... I agree, getting a beta during the writing process usually doesn't help much. (Unless you're really badly stuck and need a fresh perspective or something. But then, what you need is more like a midwife than a beta.)
Reply
I'm having a similar experience, had someone look at "Last Enemy" and she pointed out a few things that I agree with and that aren't really easily fixable without changing the whole story dynamic. And you know what, sometimes you just have to chalk it up to experience and remember it for next time. Because the piece might be succeed as an organic whole as it is, and if you tinker too much with it trying to fit it to the beta's vision, it will all fall apart.
Thanks for sharing your thought process. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one with these feelings.
PS I don't think you need to give much more background. Some of those questions I had were my curiousity and don't need to be in the story for it to work.
It wasn't the characterization that was off, at the heart. Just doubts about whether I thought a character would express things the way they did in isolated parts. Overall the characterization is spot on. But we all view the characters differently, so you don't have to accept my interpretations...
Reply
Ah, but I'm always speaking as a perfectionist, you know? I *know* the flaws aren't *that* massive. But, *any* flaw is a huge flaw to me. And flaws of characterisation (and speaking in a way that does not fit the character in that situations *is* a flaw of characterisation) are the worst kind of mistakes you can make in fanfic. IMO.
>Plus, the great thing about having a beta reader is that you can ignore whatever you want.
Oh, I'm good at that - I have my own mind, but I weigh a beta's suggestions carefully, and more often than not I agree with them, at least since I found the 'right' betas. It's taken me a long time to find betas I'm *really* happy with (and yes, you're one of them, in case you're wondering, and I'm never going to let you go! Mwaahahahaaa! ;-)) because I felt I needed people whose ideas of writing and of the characters were similar enough to mine for them to spot exactly the kind of thing *I* would find distracting or annoying in a fic.
>That's your right, as the author. And I won't be offended. Beta readers give you their opinion, and you have to take it with a grain of salt.
I know. And I do. And I probably will reject a few of your suggestions. But quite a few of them are spot on, and in some cases it's just a bit scary how I could miss these things for so many years.
>I'm having a similar experience, had someone look at "Last Enemy" and she pointed out a few things that I agree with and that aren't really easily fixable without changing the whole story dynamic.
Eeek. What things, if I may ask? You know, sometimes you need a second opinion, too... (or a third)... ;-)
>And you know what, sometimes you just have to chalk it up to experience and remember it for next time. Because the piece might be succeed as an organic whole as it is, and if you tinker too much with it trying to fit it to the beta's vision, it will all fall apart.
Definitely. But I'm not trying to fit it to the betas vision. I'm trying to fit it to my own. And, this may be different for different writers, but I've never yet reached a point of 'too much tinkering'. I've tinkered with "Endure" for more than two years, and with "Normal" for almost exactly three years, and those are the two stories I'm happiest with out of all my stories. I think I'm a natural tinkerer. ;-)
>Thanks for sharing your thought process. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one with these feelings.
Oh, I'd be willing to bet most writers know these.
>PS I don't think you need to give much more background.
No, not much more. Just a little, in a couple of cases. Maybe just a word here or there. This will take some pondering, before I start tinkering, though. ;-)
Some of those questions I had were my curiousity and don't need to be in the story for it to work.
>It wasn't the characterization that was off, at the heart.
Oh, not at the heart, no. But small things can take a reader right out of the story, at least if that reader is me, and I suspect I'm not the only one. So the small things need to be fixed. And I think I can do it, you know... even if it takes a couple more weeks or months of thinking and... tinkering. ;-)
>Just doubts about whether I thought a character would express things the way they did in isolated parts. Overall the characterization is spot on. But we all view the characters differently, so you don't have to accept my interpretations...
Which reminds me I meant to write a meta post about Methos characterisation... *sigh*
Reply
I'm glad my beta-ing was okay, it was my first time. I was afraid I'd been too picky! Call on me anytime, my life is pretty simple right now.
Reply
Ooh, please do! I'm trying to write Methos right now. No, really, right now this very minute. He scares me, so I ran away to LJ land. I mean, even Adam Pierson is tough to write dialogue for, and then you have all those layers. Plus, writing a character who IMHO views lying as a sort of entertaining competitive sport makes me tear my hair out.
So please, create this meta post so that I can hear everyone else's brilliant ideas.
Reply
Leave a comment