Odds and Ends

[red_satin_doll]

Good news: The cable guys came today and hooked up our internet service; we only had two days to wait. So now we're connected again, yay! I hope to be on again more often here - I've missed being here and getting to play. I need the release more than ever

Comments

[ext_1451162]

I find it comforting to be able to relate real life experiences, even the bad stuff, with fictional experiences. I think that's part of what stories are for...

And I don't know exactly what you're looking for in a beta, and I see you already have an offer anyway...but if you ever find yourself looking for someone on the critique side of things, and it's not explicit material, I'd be willing to take a stab at it.

[red_satin_doll]

Thank you and I accept your offer as well! I've noticed some of the best writers in the fandom have more than one beta so I'd be more than happy to take you up on it. I myself am horrible at judging grammar as I told Gillo; constructive critique has always been my strength and I'm definitely wanting that as well. I'm a horrible judge of my own stuff when I'm in the process.

[ext_1451162]

Cool! This will be my first time betaing, but I have attended writers workshops and done that style of critique before, so that's where I'm coming from.

Re: grammar, I have to admit, I pay a lot more attention to whether something sounds awkward than to grammar per se (everything I know about grammar, I learned from the process of learning French...and from reading Language Log for a while, where all the linguists are generally on the non-prescriptivist side of things and talk a lot about language as it is used rather than language as it is ruled...)

[red_satin_doll]

Everything I know about constructive criticism came from one of my college professors. The man had an ego the size of Nevada but his explanation of what criticism is and is not was one of the best lessons I've ever had in my life.

Re: grammar, I have to admit, I pay a lot more attention to whether something sounds awkward than to grammar per se

I'm entirely the same way - which makes explaining to the author why I think something sounds wrong awkward. ("It just does, you need to trust me" only flies with the people who trust me implicitly.)

Is Language Log something available to read online? It sounds interesting.

[ext_1451162]

Err, I just tried to reply to your comment above but it got marked as spam, so I'm trying again as a reply to the post instead of that particular comment, just in case that helps.

I generally trust anyone who says something sounds awkward or doesn't flow. Because if it sounds awkward to one person, it will probably sound awkward to other people, even if it doesn't sound awkward to me. And sometimes things are awkward because of being read a certain way -- it might not be the way I want or expected it to be read, but I'd rather clean it up so that it can't be read awkwardly.

Oh, yes, Language Log is a linguistics blog: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/

[red_satin_doll]

The only was to turn this into an unsuspicious comment is to reply and so - I reply! *lol* There.

Your most recent comment needed no such fixes so perhaps my journal is recognizing you finallly?

[snogged]

*hugs*

[red_satin_doll]

*Hugs back with interest* :)