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In praise of brutal beta
May. 12th, 2006 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
china_shopThis has probably been written a thousand times before, possibly even once or twice by me, but it bears repeating: good betas are an incredible gift.
When I try to explain to non-fen why I write fanfiction instead of original fiction, the answer comes down to a) I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS! and b) with fanfic, I'm writing within the context of a community.
In my experience, writing original fiction is almost always done in a vaccum. Relatively, anyway. You might have a writing group or do a course, or you might have a friend or two with whom you can discuss technical issues, plot snags, or whatever, but you will rarely find people who care about your characters as much as you do, who have a deep understanding of them, who will invest time and energy into helping you make your story work. Original fic is, by and large, lonely. Sort of the opposite of fanfiction.
In fandom, people read, comment, write fic and meta, chat, inspire, make icons and vids, post picspam, and beta. And the greatest of these is beta.
( Read more... )
When I try to explain to non-fen why I write fanfiction instead of original fiction, the answer comes down to a) I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS! and b) with fanfic, I'm writing within the context of a community.
In my experience, writing original fiction is almost always done in a vaccum. Relatively, anyway. You might have a writing group or do a course, or you might have a friend or two with whom you can discuss technical issues, plot snags, or whatever, but you will rarely find people who care about your characters as much as you do, who have a deep understanding of them, who will invest time and energy into helping you make your story work. Original fic is, by and large, lonely. Sort of the opposite of fanfiction.
In fandom, people read, comment, write fic and meta, chat, inspire, make icons and vids, post picspam, and beta. And the greatest of these is beta.
( Read more... )
