Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
I'm a college student in Creative Writing. My professors are well-read, and know their stuff. When I first started in the program, I took what they said but questioned it. Three years later, I know take what they say and don't even think of disputing it. Experience is a wonderful thing. As a writer, you're entitled to write how you want, and use whatever rules you want. That's not true. There are something things that make a story good and other things that will improve a story. When I critique other students, or people, I can do it one of two ways. The "Hi! I love to read!" nice fun way, where I point out some grammer mistakes and give my general impression of the story. The other one is the hardcore "You call this a story? My dog's crap looks better than this." No, I'm not that mean, but I'll look at every word, every sentence, check the prose and narrative flow, the plot and relativity to the characters and setting, and I'll SCOUR the story for things that don't make sense, or could use some tweaking. But most importantly, I give reasons for the changes. If you want me as a beta-reader, you have to be willing to take my suggestions seriously and be willing to argue with me. I like arguing. But seriously, nothing makes me angrier than someone I spend hours trying to help, only to have them completely ignore my suggestions. |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
Like I said, I'm a Creative Writing Major at Purdue University. It has a good program and I really like the faculty. They've taught me alot of things about plot, characters, syntax and style. I still have several sheets of "Do's and Don't's" that I use as referance sometimes. If you need help with a plot oriented problem, I'm your man. If you need help with finding the perfect word, I'm your man. I've also compiled a pretty big list of "questionable" things in stories, so if you ever had one of those questions that was sorta ambigious, I can probably help. |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
I'm not well-read. In fact, I don't do that much reading. I just love to write. Yes, that's actually a big problem for a writer, because reading many many different stories by different authors is important in the well being of a writer's style. So, I'm being honest in saying I'm lacking in that area. Also, I seem to have a really bad idea for grammitcal mistakes. I don't always catch them. What I can do is look at the big picture though. |
Preferred: types of entries I prefer over others
I like sci-fi stories, fantasies, and experimental stories. Mangas will always be my favorite though, because I adore anime, and love it to death. But, I know a few things about history, mythology, science, and nature, so I can bring in a little bit of background knowledge with me. I'll even put my hands in any genre if I like you enough. Oh, and I love to laugh, I prefer comedy/whatever over everything else. |
Would Rather Not: types of entries I do not want to beta for
Ummm, there aren't that many thing I won't read. Yaoi! I won't read Yaoi or Shounen-Ai! I'm sorry, I just can't help myself. It's like if you don't like onions, you just don't like onions. Maybe you can learn to like onions, but still, you just don't like onions. I actually don't like onions. Hah, funny. But, Poetry, strictly romance/drama, and overtly religious works, I shy away from. But, if you ask me, I'll probably think about it and say "Sure, why not." But, you'd have to convince me first. |
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