Lostladyknight's Fanfictions

 

 

 

LLK and Racefh’s Guide to Keeping Your Beta Happy!

I. Proof read and spell check everything before you think you’re finished. Do yourself a favor and always take the time to check for punctuation. Many betas such as myself will send something back to you if it’s obvious you don’t care enough about your work to give it a "once over" before sending it to be reviewed.

A. A sentence always starts with a capital letter and ends in some form of punctuation.

B. Writing and conversing are two totally different things. Do not use net-speak, short hand, or write the way you speak in general. The exception may be found when writing dialogue, but please, consider who is speaking.

C. Names should never be written in lower case. A noun is a person, place, or thing. Every proper noun should be capitalized. Do not leave out capitalization because it takes too much time, you’ll look like an idiot.

D. Spell checkers aren't proof readers. Spell checkers come from a computer and do not have the insight that the human mind does. Using them is always a good idea but you must go back over everything you write and make sure that the spell checker didn’t alter or change anything that wasn’t supposed to be changed. Spell checkers also miss things quite a bit of the time. There is no replacement for your good mind, so use it.

E. Do the research. Unless you’ve completely created your own universe as J. R. R. Tolkien did with his Lord of the Rings then you don’t know everything. Do not assume that because something is a law in your state it is in every state. If your character is pregnant and you yourself have never been pregnant then go on a few websites and read about it. If you don’t know the meaning of a word, look it up. If you want your character to have leukemia then do yourself the favor and do a little research about leukemia. Your character is Islamic, great. Do you know what that means? What are the five pillars of Islam? Look it up. Here are some good sites to have on hand:

- Dictionary.com
- Thesaurus.com
- Spell Check.net - Free spell checker online.
- WebMD.org or MedlinePlus.org- These are really good sites that are helpful with medical information, including diseases and medications.

-Wikipedia.org- To be used only as a source for base information. This site is flawed and you shouldn’t rely on it for everything.

 

II. Characterization

A. Consider Sociological and Psychological effects.

1. Ethnic backgrounds will almost always come into play. A white male will almost always speak, act, and feel about things very differently than a black woman, or even a black man. Keep in mind that the minorities have been "crapped on" in many of the situations white people haven’t for most of their lives. A black man will probably react very differently to being pulled over by a white cop than a white man. Also pay attention to your sociology professor, ethnicity sometimes correlates directly to wealth and class, which also correlates to education. An ethnic neighborhood is likely to be higher in crime and in uneducated people than a heavily Caucasian one. A parent would be far less likely to let their six year old daughter walk up the road in these types of neighborhoods than in your average Pleasantville "white" neighborhood. I’m not being racist, just logical.

2. With the character's history and a little psychology, you can write a story in which all your characters are in-character. If your character watches something really horrific happen it’s not logical that in the very next scene they’re going to be "A-Okay" because they’ll still be recovering. Thus if your character suffered because of something as a child, they’re probably going to have an adverse reaction to it even in adulthood. Sara Sidle from CSI freaks out about spousal abuse and this is due to the fact that she watched it go too far in her own home as a child and she was left without parents.

3. A good story has characters that are believable with reactions that make sense for that character. You can’t have an angsty depressed character jumping for joy and dancing without, at the least, explaining why. Are they having a good day? Did they get good news? Are they merely putting on a charade for their friends? This needs to be accounted for. Otherwise, it makes no sense. People don’t switch on a whim.

4. Characters have a past, present, and future, just like everybody else in the world. Their past shapes who they are and where they’re going just as much as yours shaped you. Make sure to keep their past in mind as you write their present and future. It makes a big difference. Trust us.

B. Consider dialect

1. A character from the South will almost definitely speak differently from one that grew up in the north. Please keep in mind a little thing I like to call "dialect" because dialect is almost as important as personality when writing a character. When a person from the south wanted to say "You are all idiots," she would probably say something more like, "Y'all are idiots." However be mindful that you don’t want to go crazy with the dialect, anyone who has been educated at the graduate level begins to speak with a certain level of professionalism.

C. Consider mannerisms and set social norms.

1. Also bear in mind the intended age for your character. A forty year old mother isn’t going to say something along the lines of "like oh my god I totally think he likes you" unless she’s making fun of a chatty teen. That being said, a ten year old isn’t going to say something like "I would be ever so delighted to attend afternoon tea with you." Keep things like this in mind with the actions of your characters too please. You behave a certain way when you’re younger and that does change as you get older. We promise. So unless your character is your age don’t write them as though they are. Keep it appropriate.

 

III. Writing Dialogue

A. Use appropriate formatting when you’re writing. A proper story does not consist of one big paragraph, but several smaller paragraphs. Proper formatting in a story helps the reader move from point to point or character to character. It's very hard for us to understand any story where all the words, ideas, and dialogue are all clumped together. 

An example of a paragraph in the wrong format:

Tiffany walked into her bedroom and threw her jacket onto her chair. Joshua appeared behind her and watched her with a concerned look in his eyes. He knew she had been working incredibly hard lately and he was worried about her. Tiffany noticed that someone was behind her and turned around; she attempted a smile in greeting of Joshua. Hello Joshua she said. How are you. I'm alright said Joshua. Did you get any time off from work next week? No said Tiffany. Joshua smiled and decided to cook her French Toast, her favorite breakfast, for dinner.

Now the same section of story, in the correct format:

Tiffany walked into her bedroom and threw her jacket onto her chair.

Joshua appeared behind her and watched her with a concerned look in his eyes. He knew she had been working incredibly hard lately and was worried about her.

Tiffany noticed that someone was behind her and turned around; she attempted a smile in greeting of Joshua. "Hello, Joshua," she said. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," said Joshua. "Did you get any time off from work next week?"

"No," said Tiffany.

Joshua decided to cook her French Toast, her favorite breakfast, for dinner. 

Notice that a new paragraph is started whenever the point of view changed, or when a new idea was addressed. This is the proper way to denote a conversation between two people.

IV. Basic spelling and grammar.

A. Commonly Misused words:

1. . They’re, Their, and There
- Their is the possessive form of ‘they’. - They’re is a contraction of ‘they are’.
- There is a location.
- Example: The twins invited me to their house for the afternoon. The swimming pool is over there. They’re pretty rich.

2. Your and You’re
- Your is the possessive form of ‘you’.
- You’re is the contraction of ‘you are’.
- Example: You’re crazy. That is your book.

3. Two, Too, and To
- Two is a number.
- Too is a synonym for ‘also’ and an adverb that describes quantity.
- To is a preposition.
- Example: There are two empty boxes in the living room. Fill them and take them to the Salvation Army. Take the box in the garage too. Wear a jacket when you go, it’s too cold to go out without one.

4. No, Know.
- No means no.
- Know means ‘to be aware of’.
- Example: No you can’t have a cookie before dinner. I don’t know why you ask me for one every day, my answer never changes.

5. Who’s and Whose
- Who’s is a contraction of ‘who is’.
- Whose is the possessive form of ‘who’.
- Example: Whose milk is this? Who’s always leaving unlabeled milk in the refrigerator?

6. It’s and Its
- It’s is a contraction of ‘it is’.
- Its is a possessive pronoun. An apostrophe is never used.
- Example: It’s a boy. Its hand was very small.

7. Yours is a word. Your’s is not.

B. Homonyms and other similar words:

1. Accept and Except
- Accept is to receive willingly something given or offered.- Except is to take exception to.

2. Break and Brake
- Break to take a break while working or to break something into pieces.
- Brake is used to slow or stop something.

3. This and These
- This is singular.
- These is plural.

4. Lose and Loose
- Lose to misplace something, or the opposite of win.
- Loose is something that is not secure

5. Chose and Choose
- Chose is past tense.
- Choose is present tense.

6. Than and Then
- Than is used for comparison.
- Then is used to indicate time or used in an "if, then" statement.

7. Isle and Aisle
- Isle is a small island.
- Aisle is a passageway between seating are

8. Site and Sight

- Site is a location or a web address.
- Sight is the property of seeing.

9. Do and Due

- Do is to do something.
- Due means something is owed or is payment into a club.

C. Separation between certain words:

1. No one has a space, learn it, love it, live it.

2. Everyone refers to people. While every one refers to separate objects.

3. A lot is never ‘alot’. Okay? Good.

4. A part and apart are two different things. A part is a piece of something Apart is to be separated.

 

V. Listen to your editor or beta!

A. If someone is betaing for you they are providing you a service. Provide them the respect of proofing your work before you send it to them. They aren’t there to be your brain, but to offer a separate set of eyes. There is absolutely no replacement for your mind and your vision. Do your very best and then send it to the beta for review. They will think you are only as good as what you give them, if you want them to think highly of you and praise you, you have to earn it.

B. You beta is not infallible and you shouldn’t think that he or she is. Nobody in the world knows what you want for your story but you. If your beta tells you that the plot direction you’re going in is wrong, that doesn’t make it so. A suggestion made by a beta isn’t the holy scripture and you don’t have to follow it to the letter.

C. Your beta is only trying to help you. Nobody else is going to be as concerned for your story as your beta, with the exception of yourself. A beta takes pride in the improvement of the person they’re working with and won’t try to steer you wrong. If your beta tells you your research is off, look it up again. Don’t’ dismiss your beta’s suggestions for your plot as wrong, consider them. You don’t have to oblige every suggestion but it’s a really damn good idea to consider them all.

D. Your beta is not your co-author. If you can’t think of what to write next there is no shame in asking for advice but the project is your responsibility. If you ask for advice but don’t like the ideas your beta gives you, deal with it. However, in the end, the story is yours. This means you don’t have to go from their suggestions, but don’t expect them to fix your plot problems. They are your problems. If you can’t think of where to go next then it is highly suggested that you revert to your basic outline for redirection. It is not your beta’s responsibility to address plot. Do not expect him or her to do so.

 

VI. Plot and time lines.

A. Don’t start a story without a direction for it. There’s nothing worse than reading a story that starts out with little to no idea where to go. It’s okay if haven’t chosen an ending yet but you should at least have some fairly concrete ideas before you start writing. Make sure that what they endure in the middle makes sense when compared to the beginning and end. The middle of the story should be a blend between the end and the beginning. If you’re writing a chapter story, an idea that carries over a few chapters is a good place to begin.

B. Introducing plot twists. Twists, curveballs, and unexpected challenges introduced to the reader are good but there can be too much of a good thing. Make sure that curves in your story are well spaced. Introducing too many twists too fast will serve to confuse your readers, which could make them stop reading. Be sure to space out your twists.

C. Stick to an overall time line. Stories fall apart when you start in one time (month, year) and halfway through you switch to another that alters the previous time line. For example, a story that starts in February, but a few chapters later, you’re showing that it’s actually July and always has been. It’s as confusing to the reader as it might sound to you. If you skip time in the middle of your story, that’s okay, but make sure you explain at least a little of what happened in that lost time, especially if it’s a significant period. We mean, if you skip a week or two it might be okay not to explain but if you’re skipping six months you should mention what the characters were up to during the elapsed time.

D. Outlines are your friend. It helps to keep things straight when you have written plan and course of action. Even if you don’t have a written ending an outline can serve as a very useful guide when you get stuck. Another useful tactic is to create a time line for stories that span a large amount of time. For instance if you’re writing about someone’s entire life a time line is useful. Having a graph in front of you so that you know that the person had their first kiss at thirteen, got their drivers license at sixteen, went to college at eighteen, and got married at twenty-seven is great.

E. Keep consistent. Don’t say something early on in your story only to contradict it later on, because that only makes you look bad. To avoid gross contradictions it is very useful to review your story often.

 

VII. Have fun!

A. It shows when you enjoy what you’re writing. Enjoy it. You’re writing this as much for you as you are for the reader.

B. Don’t get discouraged. It takes a little practice and a lot of work to be a great author, so stick with it. Think of comments (even bad ones) as guidance for where you are and where you’re going.