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loftyloftyloftyloftylofty · 5 years ago

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Another Glimpse: Cat Story’s World Map Design Philosophy

Hey friends,

Taking an opportunity today while I am on vacation from work to provide some long-overdue updates on progress!

I started working on Cat Story on Halloween of 2014. We’re rapidly approaching the five year anniversary of starting this project.

For five years of working on this game, I’ve certainly got a lot to show for it! With that said, it’s still very easy to think about the ways I spend my time and feel like I’m not working hard enough.

I’d like to share some spoilery stuff today to help put into perspective where I’m at, what I’ve got left to do, and what the plan is going forward to complete this project, with a focus on the world map and how different segments of it represent different milestones, and why those segments are arranged the way they are.

Adding a ‘Keep reading’ link here just in case folks want to avoid spoilers!

Let’s start with the world map’s layout:

Tumblr isn’t good for displaying large images so here’s a direct link.

The game begins in Tilmi, which is the small square in the mid-left region of the map. The first chapter of the story takes the player through Digsite 56, into the Aquifer, through Blue Caverns and the Thoroughfare to the ALIAS complex.

As the scope of Cat Story has changed over time, the map has definitely evolved. Originally the entire game was going to take place on a single island!

Ever since I decided on an underground setting though, a few core concepts have persisted in the map’s design iterations that I feel are very important to the genre of game I’m making, and I think it’s useful to explain what those are and why I think they’ll be good for Cat Story. The first concept I want to talk about that’s stuck with the map for awhile is the Thoroughfare, but to explain why it exists, I need to explain some stuff about what I look for in video games and where I’ve drawn some of these ideas from.

I like going back to experience games again after awhile. I use wallpaper engine to set up wallpaper videos from my favorite games to ‘keep an eye’ on the game worlds I enjoyed. It’s like a security camera system that averts my feelings of homesickness for the places that made strong impressions on me. Call me crazy if you like, but it’s really, really hard for me to ‘leave’ these worlds behind.

(I still occasionally open up OneShot to check on Niko despite the fact that nothing happens.)

One of the games that I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from (especially for finding a good pace to increase difficulty) is Axiom Verge. AV’s map is designed in a way that getting from point A to point B can be really rough and tedious - part of the game’s challenge is navigating the rough terrain and the uncompromising, unforgivng atmosphere that broods over that challenge adds a lot of charm to the environment. The downside to this though is that it takes a lot of willpower to backtrack through each area and collect hidden stuff, and as much as I adore Axiom Verge, I have a really hard time picking it up again because I know that going back to explore and re-immerse isn’t going to be a casual stroll- the mazelike tunnels and hazards keep you on your toes the whole time.

In similar vein, Hyper Light Drifter has an absolutely breathtaking environment that I adore, but going back to re-immerse and take it all back in is a journey.

In contrast, anyone can jump back into a game like FEZ after several years’ break without fear of meeting heavy resistance - the downside to this is that FEZ’ design is definitely about getting that 100% completion and once you’ve accomplished that, there’s not much to find or do on your current save, so that re-immersion is easy but feels incomplete unless you start a new playthrough.

Ori hit a pretty solid stride between these two extremes, offering a variety of areas with different levels of difficulty and fast travel options to get you to where you want to be, which means that going back to appreciate Ori’s super-beautiful art and scenery is readily accessible. What I don’t like about this though is that any form of teleportation or fast travel results in making a huge world feel small, and despite having teleports available, every time I go back to Ori, I make a point of walking from point A to point B because I feel that it would be doing the game world an injustice to just scoot directly to my destination instead of actually experiencing the environment.

I’d like to also take a brief moment to mention Hollow Knight, which designed a map that has fast travel and still feels exquisitely huge. I learned so much from playing that game and every time I revisit it, it’s an excellent time. HK has also been a huge inspiration for me in the way I design stuff and I hope that learning from each of these games will help me make an awesome game, too.

So, with all of this in mind, I’ve tried to design Cat Story’s map around the idea of having a common artery that connects most of the game’s main areas - so that when someone jumps back into the game after having not played for awhile, they can get to that area they wanted to revisit quickly; and that has manifested itself in the form of an abandoned service tunnel linking a bunch of the different themed spaces together.

As the player progresses through the game, they unlock new sections of the Thoroughfare which allow them to explore new areas (or in some cases, revisit old ones). Some (not all) sections of the Thoroughfare also have the ability to get the player quickly from one end to the other (similar to Hollow Knight’s tram). My hope is that by balancing the design of the areas in relation to each other against the effort required to actually navigate each space, I can create a map that’s easy to come back to if I decide to, for example, add DLC later down the road.

I don’t plan on implementing a fast travel system in this game, and I understand that what that means for the map design is that the map must allow the player to move quickly - I want to try to hit a balance between scenic route and speedrun-friendly. I’ve been making a point to include shortcuts to skip gaps or run-arounds for savvy players, and I’ve taken several tips from the book of Guacamelee in terms of unlocking those shortcuts after completing small sections of each area.

Still with me? Rad. Let’s talk about how each section of the map relates to project progress.

A quick glance at the map overview for Cat Story makes it pretty clear that the scope of this game’s world map is enormous.

To help put that statement in perspective, I’ve made one of the arrows red on that map overview. See it? The red one?

That’s this. (Warning: Image is ~12000 x ~3000 lol)

Now, to be fair, I built this world map knowing that it would be a ton of work. I signed up for this and not only have I committed to the idea, but I’ve embraced it as what will be - so far in my life - my greatest creative achievement.

It’s hard to put a percent value on each map in terms of how it relates to the completion of the game. Taking into account the nuances of scripting events, writing story dialog, refining art styles, iterating on terrain, adding collectibles, finding the right enemies to make a map challenging, playtesting, and a host of other tasks associated with each segment of the game, it begins to become apparent that we need a better way to measure progress.

So, where are we at?

A lot of these maps have been loosely-concepted. That means I have a general idea of what the theme will be for each space and what challenge I want to be thematic in navigating it.

As an example, the Blue Caverns will have a heavy focus on waterfalls, large bodies of water, and jumping on suspended blocks. Trestletop will have a heavy focus on mushroom caps hanging from the ceiling - a concept which earlier beta maps have already explored with great success.

The next step in the workflow for each of these maps is nailing down the aesthetic and tying it in with the navigation involved in the area.

I can not stress enough that the way you move through an area in a game like this is the prime factor that I am considering when designing the aesthetic for it. Movement is critical in Cat Story and I am doing my best to design every enemy, jump, tunnel, and theme around the central idea of how you navigate through or around.

My current focus is the stretch of the game’s first chapter from Digsite 56 to Blue Caverns. I’m very happy with 56′s look so far and expect to have the transition maps between Tilmi and 56 hermetically sealed before September’s Patreon demo releases.

In the meantime, I’m gonna’ get back to work.

This post went on a lot longer than I thought it would! I’ll probably add to this later in a followup post because there’s an awful lot that I’d like to talk about, but if I spend all day blablabla’ing on Tumblr instead of working, nothing will get done.

Cheers everybody, thanks for reading

#Gamedev #Game Development #Game Design #Video Games #C++#Programming #Cat Story #Progress #World Design #2D #Platformer #Metroidvania #Indie #IndieDev

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anonymousdandelion · 1 year ago

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I would recommend exploring @hkblack's excellent Beta-Reading Tips & Tricks!

How to be beta reader

Hey anonamantha!

As far as I am aware (in my personal non-OTW!Vol experience), becoming a beta reader is mostly about finding the right author and the right story at the right time. Someone, somewhere, is writing a story and wishing they had a beta reader.

THEREFORE

Dear followers -

How do you become a beta reader? Are any of you looking for beta readers? Do you have insights on how best to find authors who would love a beta reader?

Lets fill up the notes/replies on this post with tips and tricks and maybe even calls for beta readers.

#dandelion recs #hkblack #beta reading #beta readers

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jacobhinkley · 6 years ago

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This Week in Bitcoin: Islamic Exchange, Self-Regulation, Social Trading

In this week’s daily editions of Bitcoin in Brief we reported about a new Islamic trading platform, a couple of steps towards self regulation of the industry and a new app for matching buyers and sellers off-exchange. The most commented-on article during the week covered the claims by Ripple that its coin is more decentralized than Bitcoin.

Also Read: Bitcoin Journalist Pioneer: Jamie Redman Has Over 2,000 Articles Published

Islamic Exchange

On Monday, we reported that a company based in the United Arab Emirates has created a Shariah-compliant cryptocurrency trading platform named First Islamic Crypto Exchange (FICE). The company has also gathered an in-house Shariah Advisory Board in order to “ensure that Islam is finally included in the global cryptocurrency market.” And it will take advice from internationally recognized Shariah experts to make sure everything is Halal, according to the Arabian Business Community. The company hopes that the new exchange will support the inclusion of Muslim crypto enthusiasts and traders into the space.

Self-Regulation

A couple of stories showing how the cryptocurrency industry is trying to police itself were featured on Tuesday. A number of companies have jointly formed a Working Group to try and establish an industry-sponsored, self-regulatory organization (SRO) for cryptocurrency marketplaces operating in the USA. Initial participants in the Virtual Commodity Association (VCA) Working Group include: Bitstamp, Bitflyer USA, Bittrex, and Gemini Trust. Another group of actors in the industry (including Ecoinmerce, ICO Alert, GZH, Step VC, and New Economies) has created the Crypto Community Watch, a program which provides an anonymous tip line to report wrongdoing, with a total of 100 BTC to be used as a reward pool for whistleblowers.

Congresswoman Buys Crypto

An interesting discovery we reported on Wednesday is that a lefty American politician has invested in crypto during the 2017 mania. Tulsi Gabbard, the American congresswoman from the Democratic Party serving as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district, bought both ETH and LTC in December, 2017 according to her latest Financial Disclosure Report to the Clerk of the House of the Representatives. The disclosure doesn’t reveal her current cryptfolio but the initial investment, at least, was somewhere between $2,000 and $30,000 USD.

Tinder for Trading

On Thursday, we reported about the Dominican Republic-based Crypto Matchup, a new app to encourage social cryptocurrency trading. It aims to help cryptocurrency fans around the world arrange informal meet-ups to make trades in-person. In addition to BCH, it supports coins such as BTC, LTC, and DASH, a desktop portal and beta Android app are available. We also provided an update on the story of the 19-year old alleged simjacker: he apparently used his ill-gotten crypto to buy a McLaren sports car.

Bitmex Living Large

On Friday, it was reported that leveraged crypto exchange Bitmex has rented some of the most expensive office space in the world. The trading platform has leased the 45th floor of the Cheung Kong Center skyscraper, according to the Hong Kong Economic Times which cited unidentified sources. The building hosts some big names in the finance world, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Barclays Plc, and Bank of America Corp. According to the newspaper, rents in the Cheung Kong Center reach HK$225 ($28 USD) per square foot for the space of about 20,000 square feet.

Chinese Crackdown

A developing story throughout the week, the latest attempts by the Chinese government to curb the local industry have been featured on Saturday. A regulatory body responsible for monitoring online financial risks wants to investigate transactions to 124 trading platforms, many of which are Chinese-run businesses that moved abroad following the ban imposed in September, 2017. According to Xinhua, the agency noted that domains and IP addresses of websites located outside of the People’s Republic could be banned in order to decrease the number of people using them. The next step would be to apply control measures in regards to China-based companies providing transaction services to local residents.

XRP Is More Decentralized Than Bitcoin?

The most commented-on article during the week covered the claims by Ripple that its coin is more decentralized than the category leaders. Ripple Labs Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, wrote a piece about “The Inherently Decentralized Nature of XRP Ledger”. In it he stated that “While Bitcoin and Ethereum are becoming more centralized over time, the XRP Ledger is getting more decentralized.” Commenters were a bit skeptical, join the discussion to have your say.

This Week in Bitcoin Podcast

Catch the rest of this week’s news in the This Week in Bitcoin podcast with host Matt Aaron.

What other stories in the Bitcoin world caught your attention this week? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com.

The post This Week in Bitcoin: Islamic Exchange, Self-Regulation, Social Trading appeared first on Bitcoin News.

This Week in Bitcoin: Islamic Exchange, Self-Regulation, Social Trading published first on https://medium.com/@smartoptions

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bowsetter · 6 years ago

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This Week in Bitcoin: Islamic Exchange, Self-Regulation, Social Trading

Also Read: Bitcoin Journalist Pioneer: Jamie Redman Has Over 2,000 Articles Published

Islamic Exchange

Self-Regulation

Congresswoman Buys Crypto

Tinder for Trading

Bitmex Living Large

Chinese Crackdown

XRP Is More Decentralized Than Bitcoin?

This Week in Bitcoin Podcast

Catch the rest of this week’s news in the This Week in Bitcoin podcast with host Matt Aaron.

What other stories in the Bitcoin world caught your attention this week? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post This Week in Bitcoin: Islamic Exchange, Self-Regulation, Social Trading appeared first on Bitcoin News.

READ MORE http://bit.ly/2obyEcI

#cryptocurrency #cryptocurrency news #bitcoin #cryptocurrency market #crypto #blockchain #best cryptocurren

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hkblack · 3 years ago

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Where to Find a Beta Reader

Happy Sunday! A few people reached out about this topic, and happily it was already on my list! Here's my list of resources on where to go to find a beta-reader

Fandom Discord Servers

This is my favorite. Almost every fandom discord server I am currently in has a beta readers role that folks can opt into, or a channel specifically meant for finding beta readers. I only beta read fandoms I am in, because for me it’s part of the hobby/joy. So, I tend to only take requests from these servers. This also helps me cheat in a way, because if there’s any kind of WIP sharing channel, I can peek to see what kind of style of writing a person has before committing to their fic (remember how I said I’m bad about asking before volunteering? Sneaking a peek at works in other channels is usually why I skip that part). I lurk in the majority of servers I’m in, but when a beta request goes out, I’ve got my notifications set up so that I see those fast. If you’re in a server—use that built in community of people who already have said they like doing beta-reading! And if you have opted-in to that beta-reading role in your server—start responding! Even if someone else has already volunteered, offer a second look. Beta-readers are like therapists—not every match is made in Heaven, and it can take a few tries to find the right reader for you/your fic. Even if the writer says “no, I’m actually good with this person, thanks though!” you’ve just let everyone else know that there is more than one person available, so that if they also need a beta-reader, they can speak up and snag you.

On Tumblr

@needabeta has an excellent giant searchable Google Sheet. If you are a reader you can fill out their form and get added to the sheet (and I encourage you all to do so!)

As a test for this post I searched Tumblr for "beta reader" and a variety of fandoms. Most of the posts that populated were folks looking for beta readers, some posts were people praising their beta readers (and oh does that make my heart happy), but a few of those posts were folks who had free time opening up and were actively looking for things to beta. So it might be worth a shot if you're out of other options.

I was recommending @betareaderwanted for a while, but it appears their last post was in October 2020, so if anyone knows what's going on with that resource send a line! There's no such thing as too many beta-reading resources.

Off Tumblr

Tumblr seems to be the better place to go if you're looking for fandom-specific beta readers. Twitter and other sites tend to skew more towards original writing, which if that's your thing, go forth! I only do fandom-beta-reading, so for now that's what this post will focus on. (but if you've got good resources, send them along)

That said, I also really recommend r/FanFiction on Reddit. They have a weekly Beta-Reader bartering thread. Fun fact, when I was getting my toes back into fandom, my first few beta-readers were from this bartering thread, and they were both excellent. Because of them I was able to take my time in exploring what fandom looks like in this, the year 2022, compared to what I left back in—well. A while ago. 😉 I think only one of the beta-readers had any knowledge of the fandom I was writing in, so it will be hit or miss on what they are able to help you with outside of SPAG, but it helped me take my time exploring the right fandom Discord servers and other fandom spaces for me.

Finally, and this is on Tumblr, but I’m pulling this out in its own special section:

The 2022 Fandom Trumps Hate fanworks auction is coming up.

Creator signups run from Jan. 31 to Feb 13, and Bidding beginnings Feb 23 and runs through Feb 27th. This auction supports some really amazing charities and I have to admit, I got unreasonably excited when I found out about it.

One of the categories is “fan labor” which includes beta-ing, region-picking, and other experts offering advice. Personally, I will be signing up this year in that fan labor category for beta-reading.

You can learn more about @fandomtrumpshate by visiting their tumblr, and/or this FAQ post for the 2022 Auction.

If you’re looking for a beta-reader, especially for that really big giant work you forgot to grab someone to start reading before it grew into a beast (excuse me while I hide my shame), it might be worth checking out who else signs up and what services they’re offering! You should also consider signing up in a category you feel comfortable in to help support some organizations that need it!

If you have more resources to add to this list, or topics/questions you'd like to see answered on this blog, the ask box is always open!!

#fanfiction #fanfic #beta reader #beta reading #editing #HK's Beta Reading Tips #fandom trumps hate #fandom auction #fth 2022

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hkblack · 2 years ago

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Identifying & Asking for the Type of Beta-Reading Your Story Needs

Hi folks! Had a bit of a break last week, but we’re back. This week we’re continuing with our theme of the different types of Beta-Reading. Last time we discussed the specific types of editing Beta-Readers. This time we’re talking about knowing what type of Editing Beta-Reader your story needs and how to ask for it.

Two disclaimers. One, a lot of this post is compiling threads from previous posts and putting it all together. If it sounds repetitive for those of you who have been reading along—sorry ‘bout it.

Two, this was hard for me to write! I kept asking myself “How do you know what kind of beta-reading do you need?” and I kept saying “Well you just read through the descriptions of the types and go ‘yeah that one, I want that one.’ Or even ‘all those, I want all those.’” And then I got stuck in the “identifying” part of the exercise and lost track of the “asking” part of the exercise. All that said, there’s several false starts in the doc where I draft these posts.

So how do you identify what you need? I mean, go back to the last post and read through the descriptions. If you find yourself going “yeah that one! I’d like that.” that’s what you need. If you find yourself going “all these” that’s also valid! If you start going “eh, I don’t know… maybe?” that’s when you should pause and consider what you want out of the beta-reading experience.

I’ve talked before about how in fanfiction spaces especially there are some people who don’t care for beta-readers at all. As in, they don’t use them because they don’t want to. This usually stems from ideas like “This is free fiction I’m publishing online, who cares if there’s a typo?” and it’s a completely valid train of thought! I have written many a tiny-fic where I’ve gone “oh honestly, I just needed this out of my brain, it doesn’t need to be perfect, just post it,” and haven’t gotten a beta-reader.

Like most things I think a desire for a beta-reader falls along a non-linear spectrum. There’s those who don’t care, there’s those who think their story is fine, but they would rather be saved from weird typos/SpAG errors. There’s those who want a little more help with making sure their story can be followed. There are folks who need a brainstorming buddy or a cheer-reader to help them keep going when they get stuck. There are all sorts of writers. So at the end of the day it’s up to you to ask yourself what you want out of the experience, and what you actually think is necessary and nice to have.

Once you’ve figured it out, you then go back to our how to ask guidelines remembering this:

For All Requests Fandom (if not obvious) Major Relationships Quick Summary What I need a Beta-Reader for

For Completed Pieces / Single Section Requests Rating Word Count Archive Warnings/ Content Warnings / Relevant Tags Deadline

For In Progress Pieces / Long Term Requests Expected Rating Current Word & Chapter Count AND Expected Chapter Count All Possible Archive Warnings/ Content Warnings / Relevant Tags Timeline / Deadline Expectations

Let’s pull out What I need a Beta-Reader for. When you’re filling this section out, the more details you can give, the better. Here’s some examples of what you might say, and what you’re actually asking for:

I’m currently in the early process of writing, and want a cheer-reader who can ask me questions about the big beats and help me figure the plot out. (Cheer-Reader and Plot Block beta)

I feel like I’ve been in the same scene forever, and I don’t know how to get out (Flow & Pacing Beta)

What comes next?!? How do I continue?! (Plot Block)

There is a complicated thing happening in my story, and I need to make sure it makes sense (Flow & Pacing)

My characters have run off and now I don’t know what they want me to do (Characterization)

Story is good, I want to post by [deadline] and just want to make sure everything makes sense and there’s no major errors (Bit of SpAG, Final Polish, and some light Flow & Pacing here)

Content warnings?! (Final Polish)

Just need a SpAG! (…SpAG!)

I’ve been staring at this for so long the words are running together (Final Polish if you’re ready to post otherwise, Flow & Pacing and light SpAG if you’re not).

“So should I just put: I need a Flow & Pacing beta reader?” you ask. I mean, it doesn’t hurt. A lot of times when I hear stories about horrible beta-reading experiences, it comes down to a miscommunication on what the writer wanted and what the beta-reader thought they wanted. I think a sentence like:

I’m looking for a Final Polish (SpAG please!) read from someone who is also comfortable with picking up on odd Characterization quirks, and Flow & Pacing issues, just to make sure I’m consistent throughout the story.

is a great way to ask. As is:

I have no idea what is happening in this story anymore. Send help. (and someone to help me get out of this Plot Block and regain my Flow)

However you ask, if there’s certain things you don’t want your reader to comment on, be up front with that.

This story is done. I only want SpAG. Is anyone available?

Or in the DMs, be clear:

I only want thoughts on these two chapters, please do not read anything past this big red line.

I’m really not going back to rewrite anything unless the sentence sounds like I just stopped in the middle.

What I would make sure you avoid is: “I need a characterization beta reader, thank you, goodbye” Give details as to why you think you need something (“I need help with flow and pacing, it’s a fight scene and I don’t know how to fight.”) to help folks figure out if they can actually help you. But also, remember not everyone reads this blog (share with your friends!) and I’m making up words as I go along sometimes. So while these are pretty universal ideas, they may not be universal terms. So give the thing you are struggling with/the why you are looking for, and the term for further clarity.

Remember that second disclaimer? I actually asked the lovely @ambrasuee to read over this before I posted it because sometimes you need a beta reader for your beta blog, I guess. And we know the rules for giving credit to our beta readers. So major props to Ambra for being the person who goes “get out of your head and post it. It’s good” when I need that kick. But we’re going to end here for today and next time we’re going to talk about how to respond to a call as a beta reader.

#HK's Beta Reading Tips #beta reader #fanfiction #writing tools #fanfic #editing #beta reading

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hkblack · 2 years ago

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Breaking a Beta-Reading Relationship Part 1

I say this a lot: finding the right beta-reader for you is like finding the right therapist. It takes time, work, and communication. For some people, lightning strikes and they find the right person straight away. It’s lovely when it happens, but it doesn’t always happen. And even when it does, there’s lots of reasons why you might not always be able to use that one person for your fic.

This is going to be a two parter. This first post is for beta readers looking to walk away from a read or a writer. Next week will be for writers looking to take their piece away from a reader. Both of these are pretty big/sensitive topics, so be prepared for some long posts.

I want to stress something before we begin. I only beta-read fanfiction. One of the hard parts about being in a fandom, any fandom, is how small it actually is. This was true forever years ago when I started joining fandoms in online spaces, and it’s true now.

It can be terrifying, therefore, to not get along with someone in fandom spaces. This comes up a lot in beta-reading. People are afraid of volunteering and giving honest opinions because they don’t want to tell someone they don’t know very well that their writing needs work, in case it comes off as a personal slight. People are afraid of asking for a beta-reader because they are afraid that someone “more popular” than them will see their first draft and go “this sucks” and tell all their friends not to read it before giving them a fair shake. I hear all the time “Oh, I don’t use beta-readers because I had this terrible experience” or “I don’t beta-read because I had that terrible experience”

Shit happens. And there’s no easy way to protect you from a bad experience, but there are ways to get you out of an experience before it goes from bad to worse. So that’s what these posts are going to be about.

Let’s start with why a beta-reader would want to walk away from a project.

Reasons I have walked away from an individual writing project:

It contained one of my boundaries/no-gos

I couldn’t meet the deadline

Life exploded and I couldn’t finish it (even if there was no deadline)

The scope of the project turned into something bigger than I signed up for

Reasons I have walked away from individual writing projects and also put the writer on my “do not read for” list:

Repeated violations of my boundaries/no-gos, or things going out of scope, or no warning about changes in the plot to include no-gos

Personality conflicts

So, let’s talk about this from the individual work level first—because these tend to be the easiest to handle.

Boundaries and No Gos – Ideally these are discussed beforehand. But if you’re working on a WIP with someone and the plot goes where the plot goes and they realize “I’m going to write a scene with one of your no-gos” the author should warn you. And then you need to have a conversation: can you continue this piece while skipping that scene? Does the presence of that scene make it impossible for you to keep going? This should be an easy “Ah, that’s on my no-go list. I’m going to stop reading now, but good luck!” With any reasonable human they will go “Yes, of course! I’m sorry!” and they’ll find a new beta-reader. Something important here: do not apologize in this instance. It is not your fault for having clearly set and communicated boundaries. Any writer who argues with you about your no-gos should go on your ”do not read for” list, which we’ll cover below.

Deadlines – Again, this should be discussed beforehand. I find these conversations usually happen because someone asked in a public space and forgot to mention their deadline. In DMs the deadline comes out and I go “Oh, no, actually, I won’t be able to finish in time,” which sends them back to the public space to ask again—this time hopefully with their deadline. However, sometimes something comes up where halfway through a process something happens and I can’t meet that deadline. The first thing to do is apologize and be honest. A lot of deadlines are actually pretty flexible and the writer can work around a conflict. If not, I find going into the channels/arenas they have to go back to find a new beta reader and hyping the story for them helps. Something like:

Writer: Hey folks, looking for another beta-reader to finish this by [deadline] anyone available?

You: Someone please read this fic for [writer]!! I’m halfway through but my dog got detention and now I can’t meet the deadline. The story is so good though!!

Life Explosions – These happen. Again, apologize and be honest. Some writers will be really flexible and say, “come back to it when you can!” Others will go hunting for a new beta-reader (in which case you should do the same thing as demonstrated above). If they are willing to wait but you need the sword of beta-reading removed from over your head, you are allowed to go, “No, I’m actually not going to be able to come back to this read. I’ve enjoyed the story, and I’ll miss it. But it would be helpful for me if you find someone else. Happy to help cheerlead your post looking for a replacement.”

In all of these, the important bit is communication. Friends, “No.” is a complete sentence. “I can’t finish this” is absolutely allowed. This is me, throwing strength through computer screens to you to say, “I’m out.”

Now let’s talk about the stickier situations. How to not just walk away from a read, but to stop reading for a writer completely.

Why would you want to walk away from a writer completely? Repeated violations of your no-gos (or arguing against them) is the most obvious. Someone who doesn’t communicate a deadline until last minute consistently is another reason. Personality conflicts is the biggest.

For boundary violators I use something like: “You know, I enjoy your writing, but I’m not really comfortable beta-reading for you. I have a list of no-gos that I’ve shared with you, and it seems every time we work together, one of those no-gos comes up. I don’t think I’m the right beta-reader for you. I can’t beta-read for you going forward.”

For Deadline violators I might say: “When we’ve worked together in the past, a deadline has always unexpectedly cropped up. I’m uncomfortable beta-reading for you without a clear understanding of the deadline and am going to pass this time.” Sometimes this opens a conversation where the writer changes their bad habits, and if that’s the only issue I’ve had with them, I’ll give them a second chance.

But what do I mean when I say personality conflicts? Here’s some examples:

The writer is combative to every change suggestion (Pro-tip: if you don’t want change suggestions, don’t use a beta-reader).

The writer is extra negative about their writing. I leave a lot of comments when I beta read, usually a healthy mix of change suggestions/edits and squees. If someone goes on a negativity spiral of, “Oh, there’s so many comments. I’m the worst writer ever. Woe is me. How can you forgive me for being so terrible?” or starts berating themselves for simple mistakes they’ve made, I will grin through the rest of that read and then never read for them again. Ever. I find that kind of negativity highly performative and I’m not interested in playing the game that writer is trying to play. It’s too draining. I once published a story on AO3 with a pretty glaring spelling mistake. My tumblr is all about editing and not having spelling mistakes. That’s embarrassing. But guess what? Shit happens. There’s no need for the dramatics.

I just don’t like the writer. You know how you are friends with some people and not with others? And it’s not that one particular other is a terrible person or has done something wrong. You’re just not friend material for each other. Same thing with writers and beta-readers. There are some folks who, and I can’t tell you why, I just don’t vibe with. Something about them rubs me the wrong way. And the problem is that I know, if I keep reading for them, I’m going to figure out what our misaligned character traits are, and I’m going to have a miserable time. Maybe they’re sneaky negative. Maybe they tell jokes that make me uncomfortable for reasons I don’t understand, and then later they make one that’s super offensive to me. Maybe they’re an undercover TERF. Maybe they aren’t extra negative about their writing but are extra negative about other things. Maybe we just have nothing in common other than a fandom and even then--we are in different spheres of that fandom. Whatever it is, I just don’t feel like I get along with them.

I beta-read fanfiction for fun. If I don’t like a person, I’m not having fun while beta-reading for them. Even if their story is pretty good. So, I don’t beta-read for them.

But communicating this is hard because you don’t want to be a total jerkface. I have two steps for walking away from a writer completely if we’re not actively in a read together:

Step 1: I’m always too busy when they need a beta-reader. This is the most non-confrontational, sneaky way to get out of it. When they ask, I say I’m not available. I defer and deflect. “Thank you for thinking of me, but I’m unavailable to beta-read this right now.” This is the art of telling a little white lie. Usually after several instances of this, people get the hint and stop asking me.

But sometimes I am obviously taking on Beta-Reads for other people, or this person is a boundary violator, or I’ve already said “can’t, too busy!” several times and it’s starting to look weird, or I'm just tired of deflecting.

Step 2: “I enjoyed [specific thing] from reading [last story] from you, but I don’t think I’m the right beta-reader for you. Have you tried [place to find a beta-reader] to find someone else?” Now you’re reading that and going “Oh HK, that’s too scary to say.” Yup! Beta-reading is all about honest and open communication. It’s scary af to turn someone down, but you will be happier if you do it.

But what happens if you’re in the middle of a read and you just can’t handle this person anymore and need to get out. Here’s what you need to copy and paste:

“Hi [writer]. I know we’ve been working on [fic] together and we’ve made some progress! I’m going to have to step away from this project, unfortunately, for my own reasons. I know its frustrating to have a beta reader leave before the end, but I can’t complete this read for you. If you try to find another beta-reader, let me know where you post the call to, and I can help cheerlead the post.”

And then you go back to the two steps listed above. Remember, you don’t actually owe anyone an explanation for walking away from their read. If a writer was rude to you, if a writer grated on your every last nerve, if you just don’t vibe—you don’t have to tell them that! “I’m not the right beta-reader for you” is a complete sentence and if that’s not enough for them—that’s on them. We went over the separate spiel for boundary violators, but if I think someone is going to get rude about my boundaries—I will just say “I don’t think I’m the right beta-reader for you” and not bring up the boundary violations because I don’t want to get into that fight.

Also, when dealing with people on the internet: you can block them. If they push back in a way that makes you uncomfortable you can block them and never hear from them again. And I hope you do that.

If you get nothing else from this post, I hope you hear this: It is really hard to say no to someone when you’ve volunteered your help to start. “I said I would do it, so now I have to” is an easy trap to fall into. But if you’re volunteering and aren’t having fun, and are, in fact, having a miserable time, you are allowed to walk away. In fact, I need you to promise me you’ll walk away. If you find yourself in a situation where you just can’t go on in a beta-read, please message me! I will totally hold your hand as you say, “I’m not the right beta-reader for this project” and then give you all the high fives when it’s done, and we don’t have to let anyone else know why or who or anything.

I’m sure I’ve missed some things here, or there’s other questions, so hit up the ask box with your thoughts. Next week we’ll talk about walking away from a beta-reader as a writer.

#HK's Beta Reading Tips #editing #beta reading #beta reader #fanfiction #fanfic #writing tools #long post

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hkblack · 2 years ago

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Breaking a Beta-Reading Relationship Part 2

Last time we talked about beta-readers walking away from stories and writers. This time we’re talking about writers taking their stories away from beta-readers.

Let’s start with the why you would want to do this.

The story has taken a new direction and you know this new direction includes a no-go for your beta-reader

You have a deadline approaching and the beta-reader has not done anything yet

Beta-reader stopped responding to you

The notes the beta-reader gave you are not what you were looking for

The notes feel like they are trying to change the story

Which is often because the reader doesn’t understand the intent of the story

But also, this might feel like they are trying to co-write instead of edit

The notes the beta-reader gave you made you feel like a terrible no good very bad writer and person

Personality Conflicts

Long post is long underneath the cut!

In general, any time you have to end a relationship with someone, communication is key. So, when we look at things like 1 & 2 (Knowing your beta-readers no-gos have now been added to the story or having an approaching deadline) talk with them about it. Offer your reader an out of the project if they need, thank them for the work they’ve done or the offer to volunteer. But the key here is communication. Feelings are less likely to get hurt on all sides if you just say something. Sometimes folks will message me with something like “I’m sorry, I don’t want to be a nag but there’s a deadline coming up and—” Don’t apologize!! I’m a very busy person with a lot of beta-reading projects and while I now have a spreadsheet (which is working great, btw, 10/10 do recommend) to help me not lose sight of things—things still happen.

And communication even works when the beta-reader ghosts you. It’s an unfortunate thing when it happens, and I wish it didn’t, but alas. It’s one of the drawbacks of online communities and asking for free labor from folks. I have some rules for establishing whether or not I’ve been ghosted. I like to reach out and make sure they just haven’t been swamped and forgotten. But if someone stops replying to the pings after the 5th ignored ping, I move on. How often do I ping them? Depends on the project and the timeline that we’ve discussed tbh. This mostly only happens on longer projects without strict deadlines, so if you have a looming deadline hopefully you’ve already moved on. But also, if they reply but they keep saying the same thing (think: “yes, doing it this weekend!”) three times in a row and don’t respond to the fourth ping…that’s a sign. If you’d like to send a “Thanks for the work you’ve done/volunteering! I think I’m going to find someone else to read this for me” message, that’s totally allowed, but if they ghost you with no message, you’re allowed to ghost back.

Where communication alone is not enough is when we start getting into the types of notes people are giving. This is where setting boundaries as a writer comes into play.

When you first ask for a beta-reader, you should be clear about what you are looking for from the beta-read, and when someone volunteers, you should start with a conversation before handing off your story where you clarify and confirm what kind of notes you are looking for.

Just like writers, beta-readers have different level of skill in the work they do. So even with this conversation, you may find a beta-reader giving you notes that aren’t quite what you were hoping for. Beyond skill, in the last post I talked about how there’s a lot of fear in beta-reading sometimes. You don’t want to offend someone you don’t know well, beta-readers aren’t always confident in giving good constructive feedback, and some writers aren’t great at receiving constructive feedback. So, you might get a lot of “no this is great! No changes needed!” notes when you know you’ve got some misplaced commas.

There’s also a line that beta-readers have to balance where they offer suggestions and fixes from their brain, without changing your story. And some readers are better than this than others. I’ve also had very green beta-readers jump into a story of mine and start off with giving their AU-ideas to my AU, and then offer suggestions not for the story in front of them, but the story they want to be reading instead. Sometimes readers might miss the point of the story and their suggestions are in good faith, and sometimes it feels like they are trying to hi-jack your story.

In both these cases you’ve got two options: First you can thank them politely for the work they’ve done, let them know you’re going to keep working on the story “with their notes in mind,” and that you might find another beta reader to get “more fresh insight!” Then you can restrict their access to your story by changing the link sharing permissions, or removing them from your Google Doc, etc. and move on. Your other choice is to do the same as above, but also be more explicit in why you’re moving on. I would only recommend doing this if you know that you’re good at letting people down, positive you can be “professional” and kind, and not afraid of consequences that may come regardless of how well you handle the situation. Here’s some example scripts.

Start with:

“Hi there! Thank you so much for your work on [fic]. I’m going to keep working on the story with your notes in mind, but I also think I’m going to find another beta-reader to take a look.”

Then say either:

“I am looking for more notes about [specific issue]/Less squeeing, and more constructive feedback on things that need change, and I think getting a second pair of eyes for that kind of thing will be helpful for me.”

“I think we’ve got a disconnect on what this story is about, and I want to make sure that this isn’t because I wrote my idea poorly, but because we’re on different wavelengths.”

And finish with

“Thanks again!”

The above scripts can also be used and adapted for the final two issues you may encounter in which a beta-reader leaves notes that are, quite frankly, mean and dispirited, or if you have other personality conflicts or disagreements outside of the fic. But just like I said to beta-readers who might have conflicts with their writers, you do not owe an explanation to someone who has harmed or offended you, and “Thank you for the work you’ve done, I think I’m going to find someone else to also take a look” and then walking away from the conversation is a totally valid way to handle the situation—even if it is terrifying. And if they fight back, block them. It’s the internet. You can do that.

“Should I credit them if I had to block them?”

Ugh. Great question. Did you use any of their suggestions? If not—don’t bother. If you did—bleh. I work in the entertainment industry, so I am a big proponent of credit given where credit is due. And in this case, they did do some work for you, presumably for free, for a fanfiction. You should at least say their name. But if someone seriously got gross at you (and I have never heard of this happening and hope I never do), set those boundaries and move on with your life. Especially if it’s free fanfiction. I won’t be upset with you.

As far as taking your fic actually away from them—in writing this I realized it may be helpful to do a primer about Google Docs but change your sharing settings on the doc! Or delete that doc and start a new if it’s possible with a fresh link. If you didn’t just send them a file, there’s ways to make sure they can’t get into your fic again without your permission or until it’s posted. So, take those steps.

Breaking up with a beta reader or a writer can be pretty complicated, so feel free to reach out with your questions if you have them!

#HK's Beta Reading Tips #editing #beta reading #beta reader #writing advice #writing tools #long post #fanfiction #fanfic

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hkblack · 3 years ago

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Beta-Reading Pro-Tips: Active vs Passive Voice

This week we’re going to talk about Active and Passive voices, how to recognize it in other people’s writing and the best way to go about helping correct your writer!

This is probably one of the things that I struggled with as a writer the most, which means as a beta-reader I’m hyper-sensitive to picking it out of other people’s writing and circling it in red pen. It is also something that I find tends to be a bigger problem for writers whose native language is not English.

So, what is active voice and passive voice?

Merriam-Webster defines them as such:

“The active voice asserts that the person or thing represented by the grammatical subject performs the action represented by the verb.

The passive voice makes the subject the person or thing acted on or affected by the action represented by the verb.”

Here’s a demonstration:

Active voice: Crowley pushed the bookshop door open.

Passive voice: The bookshop door was pushed open by Crowley.

In the Active example, Crowley is doing a thing to the Door. In the Passive example, the Door is having something done to it.

There’s lots of reasons as to why you would want to use passive voice in certain kinds of writing, and Merriam-Webster has some excellent demonstrations why you see passive voice in news media a lot. The University of Wisconsin-Madison also has demonstrations on why passive voice is great for research writing, government topics, etc.

But in this blog we’re going to talk about why passive voice is your enemy when writing fiction.

Here’s two paragraphs:

Paragraph A:

Crowley hesitated before pushing the bookshop door open. A quick snap of the fingers silenced the bell above the door. He crept into the space, illuminated only by the large dome window in the ceiling above. The door closed with a quiet snick as he looked around.

Paragraph B:

Crowley was hesitating. He pushed the book shop door open. The bell above the door was silenced by a quick snap of his fingers. He was sneaking into the space, trying to avoid detection. The bookshop was illuminated by the large dome window in the ceiling above. The door had closed with a quiet snick while Crowley was looking around.

Paragraph A is written with as much Active voice as I could possibly manage. Paragraph B is written instead with a Passive tone. Word count wise there’s a difference of 11 words. Paragraph A is a tight 48, where Paragraph B is 59 total words.

Writing the same paragraph twice with two different voices was actually very hard and ate my brain, so I tapped my beloved @ambrasue to help me describe the differences between the two.

Her first response was that Paragraph B made her fingers itch. She mentioned that it felt like the paragraph was stacking and the pacing was slow. She pointed out that Paragraph A has a better a flow in which we can feel the activity as we move along with Crowley.

Now, let’s have a quick aside about “stacking.” This is an Ambra & HK term, so don’t go googling it. It probably has a real term—and if you know that please share—but we call it stacking. Stacking can happen regardless of active and passive voice, and in fact the first version of Paragraph A that Ambra got also had some stacking.

The best way to think of stacking is taking your paragraph and turning it into a grocery list. Here’s Paragraph B:

Crowley was hesitating He pushes The door is silenced He was sneaking and trying The door had closed Crowley was looking.

That’s a lot of actions (7 total), and a lot of them are Crowley actions (5).

With Paragraph A, this is our grocery list:

Crowley hesitates before pushing A snap silences He creeps The door closes He looks around

We’ve reduced the grocery list down to 5, and only 3 of them are Crowley actions. Notice the difference between and in the first list which separates “sneaking” and “trying” into two grocery list action items, and before in the second list which combines “hesitates” and “pushing” into one list item.

Again, stacking can happen regardless of voice, but it’s harder to avoid when you’re using passive voice instead of active.

Why does this matter?

Ultimately what passive voice does to a story is it adds unnecessary words and increases the amount of stacking in the narrative.

This bogs the pacing and flow of a story down considerably. It also gives a writer more room to write fantastically long and convoluted sentences with all those “He was feeling this while doing this while this and this were also happening.”

For a reader if there’s a lot of passive voice it can make it harder for them to follow the story. Whether they are consciously aware of it or not, they are having to decode the sentence’s syntax: who is the subject, what are they doing, who or what are they doing it to, what is the result? When we ask our readers to do this decoding it can pull them out of the story. Even the most exciting of plotlines becomes a chore to slog through.

As a beta-reader I have a few tricks to quickly identify passive voice. First, I look for “was” and “had.”

“He was doing” // “He had done” // “He had been doing”

These are easy sentences to fix.

Instead of “He was sneaking” change it to “He snuck”

Instead of “He had done the washing and now was” change it to “He finished the washing before moving on to”

Instead of “He had been eating but looked up at the interruption” to “He stopped eating, looking up at the interruption”

Again, this is an easy fix. When you can just use a verb, then just use the verb!

The other thing I do is flag any sentence I have to read twice. Sometimes it’s not passive voice that makes me have to revisit the sentence. Sometimes it’s a missing word, or I just need to take a break from reading and have a snack. But usually, it is the sneaky passive voice. If I can rewrite a sentence with fewer words just by reordering the sentence, there’s probably some passive voice hiding in the original sentence.

I mentioned that I see passive voice happening the most with non-native English speakers writing in English (these people, by the way, are my superheroes) and I can’t really blame them. Let’s talk about eating:

Let’s eat! She is eating. She was eating. She has eaten. She had eaten. She ate that. She wanted to eat. She wanted to be eating. She ate. She shouldn’t have eaten that. We want to eat. We already ate. We were eating. We haven’t eaten yet.

Can you blame a person for just sticking with “was doing action” when there’s so many possibilities? With so many verb options, it’s a wonder any of us can write in English.

So, once I’ve identified this issue, how do I tell my writer and help them move past it?

First off, I’ll define Active vs Passive voice for them. I’ll tell them the sentence they have as is passive and give them at least one version of the sentence rewritten in an active voice. Then the next time I see another passive sentence, I’ll give them another rewrite suggestion in an active voice. The third time I’ll just flag “Voice check!” or some other phrase I’ve already established in earlier comments for them to know the sentence needs to be given a second look. If it’s a very sneaky passive voice, or the sentence is extra convoluted because of other factors, I will probably give one or two rewrite suggestions and tell my writer to choose one or play with the options to find something they like in their voice. I generally am not shy about rewriting sentences for my writers and letting them steal it completely, which is something you can read more about in this post about trust.

If someone struggles a lot with the active vs passive voice, to the point where every other sentence is going to be flagged. I will define Active and Passive voices in a DM thread and talk them through it, pulling the obvious examples from their writing out and showing them different ways of rewriting. Then I help them come up with a game plan. Sometimes this is rewriting a lot. Sometimes this is letting this piece be what it is (this is especially true for anything with a deadline) and taking the note to the next story instead. Ultimately, I let the writer decide how they want to proceed, and I make sure to support their choice.

#HK's Beta Reading Tips #beta reading #editing #fanfic #fanfiction #beta reader #writing tools #writing advice #active vs passive

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hkblack · 3 years ago

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Keeping One Fic Version in both Word & Google

A question was posed in a Discord Server I am in about what file format folks send their fics to Beta Readers in. Do you send it as a Microsoft .docx file? A Google Doc you are also writing in? A separate Google Doc?

A large part of the answer to this question depends on what tools and resources you as the writer have and are using, and what tools and resources your beta-reader has. Not everyone has a PC, and not everyone has Microsoft Word. Ten years ago, I didn’t blink at people sending Word Documents back and forth with fics, but these days—I don’t want that many downloads on my computer.

As a Beta Reader, I prefer to work in Google Docs. Some of this is because of the downloading thing, and not having to worry about system compatibility. (Shockingly I do know someone who is still using a very old version of Microsoft and Word Docs from them get a fun warning because they were written in such an old version of Word) I also find Google’s commenting & suggestion functionalities a lot better than Word. I also like that the one Google Doc can be used for multiple readers. A Story Flow reader can work along side an expertise picker and a SPAG beta and they can all see when things get changed, why they were changed, and help follow any of those notes forward through out the rest of the story.

Right now, I think all active beta projects I’m working on are in Google Docs. I have a free gmail account that’s got my fandom name. Some of the Google Docs are imports from Word, some are from Scrivener, and some are the same doc that the writer is actively writing in, where others are Google docs that are copies of other Google docs. Whether you have an editor in the same document that you are writing in is up to you. I personally find it distracting as a writer to see the beta notes in there. I’ll get distracted with editing and won’t write unless I have a separate writing file. Some of the people I am reading for are actively typing away a few pages below me as I edit the most complete section. When that’s happening, I generally tell people to make a clear break that says “HK – don’t touch past this line!” I might go skim and read over it to see where we’re going, but I won’t leave any comments until my reader tells me they’re ready. To each their own! Find what makes you most comfortable.

For me as a Writer, I write in Microsoft Word and then import my fic into Google docs. This does mean I always have at least two versions of any fic going at the same time. The one I am writing in in Word, and the one I am editing with my Beta-Reader in Google Docs. This isn’t an issue for complete one-shots. I finish writing, toss it into Google, and then when I’m done editing, I’ll post it from that version. But if it’s an incomplete long story, things can get odd.

Thankfully, there’s several ways to work around that and make life easier, and that’s what we’re going to look at today. This is a long post with lots of screenshots. So buckle up!

The fic you’re going to see in screenshots is a WIP that you may have heard me refer to as my Good Omens “Goats” fic. It’s a Human AU in which Crowley owns a Goat Scaping company and Aziraphale is a professor at the University that employed such Goat Scaping services. It was supposed to be a short and sweet one-shot meet-cute, so naturally I’m currently writing Chapter 11 and am up to almost 50k words. (help)

I write in Microsoft Word and as each chapter or major section is complete, I copy and paste that section into a Google Doc for the excellent @ambrasue to beta read.

Let’s get into the mechanics of this. First, I’m going to go to my Google Drive and click the “New” button. “Yes HK,” you’re saying, “and you’re going to create a new Google Doc and copy paste”

No.

I am going to select “File Upload” and select my Microsoft Word .docx file into the Drive. This is very important for the rest of the steps to work. You cannot just open a new Google Doc and copy and paste for this to work. You have to leave the file as a .docx.

You’ve uploaded the .docx into Google Drive, and you’ve shared it with your Beta Reader. You and your beta have made changes and left comments, and the editing is at a point where you’d like to bring the two files together and have them aligned as you’re still writing.

Copying and pasting will get the changes you’ve made—but not the comments left, and maybe you want to keep those comments because, as above, there’s a comment on a sentence you want to go back to but haven’t gotten to yet. So instead you’re going to go to File, Download, and you’re going to download the doc as a .docx.

Once you’ve done that, you can open your newly downloaded file in Word and viola! You have the comments and edits!

But now you have two .docx files in Microsoft Word that are different. Do you now have to move into this new file? What if the new file doesn’t have the latest chapter in it? Do you just copy and paste from the original .docx and add that to the new .docx? What if you did make changes in the original .docx that you didn’t put in the Google Doc though?

This is where we start to fall in love with the “Review” menu in Word.

I love this tab. It has all my favorite tools and is why I write in Word. That Thesaurus button is my bestie. The Read Aloud? Why waste my voice when the computer can do it for me? And most importantly for this: the “Compare” button.

Now I usually use the “Combine” function of the Compare button. Ultimately I want this file I’ve downloaded from my Google Drive and the Original Word Doc to be one single file. If you’d like to just compare and contrast the changes, you can do that as well, but I think Combine is more helpful.

So I’ll put the .docx and give it a label in the Original Document Slot, and then the Google Doc Download in the Revised Document Slot.

Word thinks for a moment and then gives me one big file. On the left it shows me all the revisions I need to accept or deny, on the right it shows me the original .docx and the downloaded Google doc as they are in the same position I’m looking at in the new “Combined Doc.”

Now for Goats, I haven’t given Ambra Chapter 11 yet, it’s only in the Word version of the document. So to Word it looks like the “revised” document has had Chapter 11 cut. This is when we start to use the rest of the buttons in the review pane. The “Accept” button in the review tab will delete that Chapter 11, because Word thinks I’m accepting the revision of not having a Chapter 11. The “Reject” Button will keep Chapter 11, because it is "rejecting" the "deletion". I’ll go through the whole document and use the Accept/Reject Changes buttons to pick and choose the differences between the two documents that I’m keeping, knowing that Word thinks that the “Revised” Document (The one from Google that my Beta Reader has touched) is the most “Correct” Version

Look at that! We kept Chapter 11. When I’m done consolidating all of this, I will then save this new consolidated document under the same name as the original Word Document on my computer, thereby replacing the old one with the new, deleting the download from Google Docs, and getting me back down to just two versions of my story. One in Microsoft word, and one in Google Docs.

We have one last thing for me to do before calling this complete. I now want to take this version and put it back into Google Docs, and again, I want to keep the comments relatively intact.

I’m going into the Google Drive folder and right click the file in it’s folder. And then I’m going to select “Manage Versions”

Remember when I said “do not just open a blank Google Doc?” This is where it comes into play. If you start with a Google Doc, you do not get the ability to “Manage Versions” like this. The file has to be a file that does not have a Google Root. A PDF, a .docx, a .xlsx, etc. You only get to manage versions if it was not originally a Google file.

Here I’ll select “Upload a New Version” and import that new document. When I do this, it replaces the current document with the new one—but the cool things is, I can always download the last version if needed.

When you import a document from word back into Google Docs, you keep all the changes, and those comments. The one thing with the comments is that it does lose the tie back to your beta-readers email address. Their name will still display the same, but you’ll need to tag their email back in for them to get updates on that comment if you use comment threads as conversations like Ambra and I do. These were all comments left before I took the file out, but if I needed to add a "better" or if I realized she hadn't responded to one yet, I'd have to tag her.

Finally when you do this, if your beta reader has the file just hanging out in a tab on their browser, you’ll want to ping them and let them know you’ve done this so they can refresh the page to get everything correct. But! That’s it! You’re now down to two matching versions of your story. One for you on Word to write in, and one in Google Docs for you to edit in with your Beta Reader.

Now if you excuse me, I’ve got some revisions to make!!

#HK's Beta Reading Tips #beta reader #fanfiction #fanfic #good omens #good omens fanfiction #beta reading #editing #yet another excuse to praise ambrasue #she deserves it #long post

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hkblack · 3 years ago

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Why YOU Should Be a Beta-Reader

Happy Sunday! It was a long week for me, and I did not plan appropriately, so please excuse any errors as I slap-dash this post together.

Let’s start with context. When I first started thinking of doing these kinds of posts, a large part of it was because I was knee deep in beta-reading for a Gift Exchange and a few people had mentioned, in response to the calls for Beta-Readers that they wanted to Beta-Read, but they didn’t know how. Or didn’t trust themselves to do that. “I’m no good with SPAG!” “English is not my first language” “I can’t write, how could I edit?” “What do I even do?” are some really common refrains from people who are afraid of Beta-Reading.

And what I wanted to do, still want to do, is de-mystify the beta-reading process, show the easy things anyone can do, and encourage more people to be beta-readers.

There’s a lot of advice out there on why writers should use a beta-reader, on how writers can find a beta-reader, and how beta-readers can navigate their relationship with their authors, but there’s not a lot of advice on why you should be a beta-reader.

And if you’re reading this, I do mean you. Yes, even if you’re terrible at spelling and grammar, even if your native language is not common on AO3 and you’d have to beta-read in English, even if you don’t know what to do, even if you’ve never written anything, and especially if you’ve never beta-read anything.

Let me tell you a secret: I’m terrible at spelling and grammar. Absolutely awful. English is my native language, and I’m dull enough to not speak anything else fluently, but I grew up in an area where poor grammar is part of the dialect. And while I do write fanfiction, I don’t actually use any of my writer skills when I’m beta-reading.

I use my reading skills.

In fact, depending on what a writer needs during their process, I would argue that if all you do is consume endless books and stories and fanfiction, you’re probably the perfect beta-reader. When finding a beta-reader, I will sometimes try intentionally to find one who writes very little and reads a lot. The more my beta-reader reads, the happier I am to take their notes.

You don’t need to be a good writer in order to recognize good writing.

Go back, read that last sentence again, because it’s super important. You don’t need to be a good writer in order to recognize good writing.

Part of my de-stressing ritual this weekend involved consuming a giant story whose word count I really should’ve paid more attention to before delving into (2am is a world I had forgotten). It was nearly 100k words of just excellent world building and storytelling. I loved every minute of it, and it was very well written—but there were a few chapters where I paused in the middle of the story, jumped to the top Author Notes and saw something like “Sorry it’s been a long week! Enjoy this chapter!” that tipped the author’s hand into telling me some of the writing process was rushed, and editing wasn’t on the table. It wasn’t anything massive, but it was a sudden uptick in typos (not even spelling errors, just typos), or a slightly weird sentence fragment not typical of the rest of the author’s writing.

I don’t need to be a good writer to see how those little, tiny things interrupt the flow of the story.

I don’t need to be a good writer to know that underneath those errors everything was still magnificent, and the world building was mind-blowingly good.

I just need to be a good reader.

If you love to read, and you love to read good fics, fics that tug your heart strings and pull you in and bring you into another world, where your favorite characters fall in love, face challenges, and all that good stuff over and over again, and you crave more fics that are well written and fill your heart with joy—this is your call to action to start beta-reading.

Not every writer uses a beta-reader. It’s a weirdly personal choice when we’re writing fanfiction, and you know, not every writer necessarily needs a beta-reader. I will still revisit that story I mentioned earlier, typos and all, without hesitation. Even writers who do use beta-readers don’t use them always. But imagine a world in which any writer who does want to use a beta-reader doesn’t have to hunt and dig and fuss and nervously tug at their waistcoat wondering if they’re being a bother by asking someone to check for typos and make sure the flow works.

That’s a world in which more amazing fics get posted for you to enjoy. Fics that don’t have a weird sentence that pull you out of the world for a moment, or a silly typo that makes you crinkle your nose until you go “oh got it” before continuing on.

This is why I beta-read. I love reading fanfiction. I love rolling around in a world where I know the ending and the characters and get to play somewhere safe. Fanfiction is the ultimate comfort food for me. I especially love when it’s well written fanfiction. When the world-building is solid, and the flow is smooth, and I can just lose myself in whatever whump, fluff, and happy ending I’ve chosen for myself that day.

I beta-read because I enjoy reading fanfiction, and I’m greedy, and want to read more fanfiction. More good fanfiction. One way I can ensure that there’s more for me to consume, is to help edit it.

To a small extent as a writer, I do find beta-reading for other people helps me with my writing. I encourage this outlook as well if you also enjoy writing and want to get better. Beta-reading helps me see the in process for someone else. It helps reassure me that I’m not the only one whose first drafts are…rough. And it helps me see common things I fall into (if I’ve ever beta-read for you and fussed about Active vs Passive voice… you may insert finger guns and “same hat!” here)

As I’ve mentioned that the amazingly stunning @ambrasue beta-read the work I’m currently posting, Beyond Grace (Good Omens, T). We’ve developed a great friendship (which also: another reason for you to beta-read, build awesome friendships in fandom!), and have been tossing bits and pieces of some of our other WIPS back and forth to tease each other with. I sent her a snippet and we had this exchange:

Ambra_Sue — I loooooooove it! Gah, your stuff flows so well!! It’s like you have this ability to keep the same tone, and I’m soooo jealous! HKBlack — ... do... Wait. I guess I have to reread all those excerpts [you sent] again because... Why are you jealous? Ambra_Sue — Because I probably don’t see all the work you put in yours, and you don’t see the way I’ve been agonizing over mine 😉 As in “Of course HK writes like that just the first time around, she’s so amazing” and I go “This is my fifth rewrite, this might be somewhat okay now” HKBlack — Hahahahahahahahaahahaha the second [snippet] was nailed in one. Don't talk to me about that first [snippet]. I almost chucked the whole story out it took so many attempts to get right. And I'm still not convinced by it. Ambra_Sue — Sometimes it just works, and sometimes you want to give up writing forever

Have I mentioned recently how smart and brilliant Ambra is because...??? That last line is SUCH a mood.

Beta-reading is the best balm to the feeling like you’re a terrible writer. Because you see someone else making the same blessed mistakes and instead of going “oh they are also a terrible writer” you go “no but this is still really good” and then… well if their story is good but has the same mistakes as your story—doesn’t it follow logically that your story is also actually good? Yeah, we're doing some shady psychology on ourselves. Deal with it.

So that’s it. That’s why I beta-read. I beta-read because I’m greedy and want to read more good fanfiction, and I beta-read because I need the reminder sometimes that my writing can’t be all that bad if I’m making the same mistakes as people whose works I really enjoy.

“But I’m still bad at SPAG” “My grasp on the English language is still…eh”

Okay! So then when you see someone ask for a beta-reader, ask them what they need. You don’t have to be good at SPAG or the English language to know if a story feels rushed or drags on. You don’t have to be good at SPAG or the English language to know if a character says something out of character. You don’t have to be good at those things to know if something just doesn’t quite work or is missing from the story.

And then remember what I said earlier? I’m real bad at SPAG y’all. So, remember the first post I made? Where I talked about the software tools I use for SPAG?

No one is good at SPAG. If humans were actually good at SPAG there’d be less books with typos in them, and you know you’ve read a published book with a typo in it.

You use those tools enough and you start to figure out the patterns and then you start to make corrections without those tools (but you still use the tools because they’re faster).

Look, practice makes perfect, so this is my offer: if you’ve always wanted but have been too afraid to volunteer, this is my blanket permission to take any of my completed fics on AO3 and beta-read them. Even the ones that have been beta-read, not because I don’t trust my beta-readers but because I was re-reading a chapter of Beyond Grace the other day and realized ambra and I both managed to miss a fun typo because we’re human and that’s what humans do. Send me a link to your edits in a Google Doc here (messages and Ask Box are open), and I will go through them and let you know which edits I’m taking and which ones I won’t and why. If you volunteer to beta-read someone else's work and don’t know how to tell the writer a specific passage isn’t all that great, send me a message! I won’t look at the passage without the writer’s permission, but I will help you find words other than “this sentence is bad" by walking you through the steps I do when I read a sentence and go "ooff that's not good."

I’ve got more topics planned for this blog. We’re going to talk about how to set boundaries as a beta-reader to protect yourself (I’mma happy endings only kinda girl right now), I’m going to pull together every resource I have about active vs passive voice because it is my Achilles heel and therefore it’s what I point out in everyone else’s writing, we’ll talk about how to tell someone something doesn’t work without being a jerk, and how to balance being honest and being helpful, how to negotiate timelines and processes, and whatever else comes to mind.

If you’re new to beta-reading and have any fears, any hesitation, any questions, send them in! Or if you're not new and just want to talk about why you enjoy beta-reading, I want to hear it!

But most of all, I hope the next time you see some one asking for a beta-reader, you question whatever hesitations have kept you from beta-reading in the past, put them aside, and try. Remember, ask them what they need, and don’t forget, if you can talk about why you did or didn’t like a story, that’s half the beta-reading process right there.

Happy reading folks!

#fanfiction #beta reader #fanfic #editing #beta reading #HK's Beta Reading Tips

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hkblack · 3 years ago

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Thoughts on Beta-Reading and Squeeing

So yesterday I answered an ask from @anonymousdandelion, and I mentioned at the end there was something I was going to pull out and make a separate post out of. Here's what we're talking about today:

"And, when betaing for someone new, I also often ask if they’d like non-constructive reaction comments ("AAAAA THEY’RE TOO CUTE”) as well as actual suggestions."

I'm glad you ask before doing this, and maybe some people will decide that I am the wrong beta-reader for them after I say this but I don't ask permission to gush or squee. I just do it.

This is because I do not consider these types of comments to be "non-constructive" at all. In fact, I would actually argue the places where I leave positive/gushing comments are some of the strongest pieces of constructive criticism I can offer.

I think we, and I'm speaking very broadly here, think that con-crit needs to be about what you've done wrong and how you can make it right. But the whole point behind con-crit is to give feedback, rooted in specific examples, to help the other person improve. If you only focus on what someone does poorly you are missing the opportunity to tell them what they are doing really well.

There are a lot of of things that I, as a writer, am pretty bad at. No one is perfect. Some of my favorite fics are full of gorgeous imagery, written in a way that feels like poetry, that I do not think I will every be able to emulate. But if I focused on that, I'd stop writing pretty darn fast.

One of the things I think I'm good at is dialogue. I have a document of just dialogue snippets that pop into my head, devoid of any other context. Little conversations between characters, that maybe one day will grow into something more.

"HK, if you're already good at it, why improve it?" Because perfection is a myth, and I write fanfiction as a hobby. My hobbies should make me feel good, not bad. And every time I level up my dialogue game, I saunter like a demon headed vaguely downwards to Hell.

Part of the reason I think my dialogue is so good is because I had someone tell me when I was a younger writer that it was. In fact I have their comment saved on my computer forever. They told me:

When your characters speak to each other, I feel like I'm listening to a movie. You're so good at finding their voices and making them jump off the page and into my brain.

LIKE I EVEN PRINTED IT OUT. I did! I shoved it in a box of memorabilia that I have. WHAT KIND OF AMAZING COMMENT IS THAT?! Pardon my language but that's some fucking peak shit right there. Were they exaggerating? Yeah, probably. Or like, they were also pretty young and perhaps they just hadn't experienced better writing yet. I went and dug out the old fic they gave me this comment in regards to and sure the dialogue is pretty solid but the fic as a whole is a dumpster fire. Does it matter? Absolutely not because that comment just made me so confident for so many years about my dialogue writing that I definitely got better just by doing it more.

Now, I'm currently working with a beta-reader on one of my own WIPs. My reader flagged a certain character's dialogue a few days ago saying "You don't necessarily need to change this, but this tone of voice is just a tad bit more Character C than Character R."

Does that sound like a bad note to you? Not when I have the strength of "I feel like I'm listening to a movie" bolstering me. When I read that comment I don't see "Oh no, I did a bad!" I see "I've done such a great job of establishing distinct tones for these characters, readers can tell who is talking before the /said so-and-so"

I see it as my job as a beta-reader to gush about the moments that make me feel feelings, the places where the writing is good, or where someone did something particularly skillful with their writing. Because those are the moments that they are already good at. And they can use the knowledge of what they do well to help fix the things they don't do so well.

In writing, as in life, we cannot be great at everything. What we can do is know our strengths and play to them.

Additionally, I think comments like "Oooohhh, whatcha doing Character W? Where you going?" provide helpful insights to the writer about what their readers are getting out of a particular moment. The same Beta-Reader left a comment of "I sense some foreshadowing!" during their first read through at a moment that was not, actually, foreshadowing, and more just me trying to roll around in imagery. Which clearly I did not do very well if they think it's foreshadowing and I was just like "ha, cause it's the same picture as this, get it?" Because they left that comment, I had been sitting on that section for a while, so that when they went back for the deep dive read and went "wait, HK, what is this supposed to be about? Because...It isn't foreshadowing" I was better able to communicate what I wanted the moment to be, and we were able to have a more productive conversation about solutions. The fix, by the way, not only fixed that specific moment, but created a stronger thread for another theme and it gave me goosebumps once I realized what I had done. All that from an enthusiastic comment that wasn't necessarily a "productive" comment.

Plus, let's be real, sometimes we go into beta'd fics and see just a laundry list of things our beta-reader left going "wrong its/it's" and "delete this space" and "this sentence doesn't make sense" and "whoops! I think you got x wrong here!" and even if it's all for the sake of getting our writing to a better place, it can be demoralizing even when it's all said tactfully and from a place of good intentions. Comments that just gush can make even the most stone-hearted writer feel better about themselves and their writing.

Anyway. Summary of all this is, do not undersell the constructiveness or import of "AAAAH THIS IS SO CUTE" comments from Beta-Readers. Those comments are often the most valuable comments you can give.

#from the ask box #fanfiction #beta reader #fanfic #editing #beta reading #HK's Beta Reading Tips

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hkblack · 2 years ago

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Identifying whether or not you are the right Beta-Reader for a Job.

We’re finishing up our four-part series on the types of Beta-Readers with knowing whether or not you’re the right Beta-Reader for the job. Before we dive in, let’s recap:

Beta-Reading often covers five main categories of Fan-Labor including: Editing Beta-Readers, Sensitivity Readers, Culture Pickers, Translators, and Specialist Experts.

Editing Beta-Readers is a category that covers even more categories that include: SPAG, Final Polish, Cheerleading, Characterization, Plot Block, and Flow & Pacing readers.

When a writer is looking for a beta-reader, they should be as explicit as possible about what kind of notes they are looking for and the why behind their ask to help potential Beta-Readers know if they can help.

So now we’re jumping into, how do you know if you can answer the call?

First off, check the request to see if there’s anything that would cross your Beta-Reading Boundaries. Angst/No Comfort? No thanks. Sad ending? I’ll see myself out. Major Archive warnings? Probably not.

Then, go over the request that’s been posted and see if you can pick out what the writer is looking for. Do they want a quick SPAG before posting? Someone to help them tear things apart and stitch it back together to conquer a major plot block obstacle? What is the writer asking for?

Sometimes folks aren’t very clear in their initial asks, and I encourage everyone to ask more questions publicly. From my teaching days: If you’ve got a question, chances are you aren’t the only one in the room who does. So, ask questions!

Them: I’m looking for a beta-reader for a 1k G rated fic!

You: What kind of beta-reading do you need? Do you have a deadline?

Not only are you clarifying before committing, but you’re also encouraging better requesting habits in the writers who are watching the conversation.

If it’s something you think you could reasonably do, ask the writer to DM you to discuss more details. This is where you can get into bigger conversations about specifics before officially agreeing, or, if they were very detailed to begin with, you can just ask for the link and get to work! (though remember, I would always confirm what they’re asking for before diving in)

But here’s some caveats:

If you aren’t comfortable with doing the type of work the writer is asking for: Do. Not. Respond.

There is nothing more frustrating as a writer to ask, “I need a beta reader for this specific thing” only to have five people go “I can’t do that, but I can do this!” If the writer doesn’t ask for specifics and you ask questions and find out they’re looking for something you can’t provide, obviously you can say something to the effect of, “Ah, I’m no good with ____ but the story sounds really cool, and I can’t wait to read it later!”

It might look a little rough and scary to have someone submit a request and then only crickets respond. And as a writer who has had that happen before, it does suck. But, there are lots of places people can go to find a beta-reader. And if a request has been hanging out with no responses for a long time, you can absolutely feel free to go “I can’t do this, but I’m rooting for you and hope you find someone!”

But beyond the writer’s feelings here, as a fellow beta-reader if I see a bunch of responses to a request—I probably won’t actually back read all those responses and assume someone has said “Oh yeah, I can do that.” So, if you’re responding with “I’m bad at [the specific type of beta-reading asked for] but can do [a type not being asked for]” I might actually miss that and miss that this person is still looking for a beta-reader. So don’t be the person who buries the request!

If a writer is looking for multiple types of beta-readers, and you fit one of them, then be explicit about that. This is really great for SPAG requests.

Them: I’m looking for a beta-reader, need flow & pacing and plot block advice, and eventually SPAG

You: Hey! If you find someone else for the flow/pacing/plot block, keep me in mind for when you’re ready to post for SPAG.

You: Ooof, I can’t do the SPAG, but I’m happy to do the other stuff with you before helping you find someone to do a final SPAG pass!

They key here is that you are still offering to do what they’ve asked for.

After that, it really does come down to asking a lot of questions to make sure none of your no-gos are in the story, that the deadline is not too tight for you to handle, and to make sure you know what type of comments the writer is looking for. Make sure you and your writer have the same definition for what “pacing” looks like, and you understand if they are worried about things dragging or going too fast.

That really ends this four-part series of identifying beta-read stuff. But this is a great segue for something I keep saying I’m going to blog about—before promptly losing spoons to do so. But this time I promise—next week we’re talking about walking away from a beta-read.

#HK's Beta Reading Tips #beta reading #editing #fanfic #writing tools #fanfiction #beta reader

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hkblack · 2 years ago

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Finding and Working with a "Long Term" Beta reader

An ask came up in the DIWS Discord about how people got long term betas, coupled with a fear of pinging the beta-reading role in the server “too often.”

I wrote a rough version that I shared in the server, with the promise to clean it up, and put it on Tumblr for posterity.

Below is that post.

First off, never ever, ever feel bad about "constantly" pinging for Beta-Readers in Discord servers that have that role. Beta-Readers are, first and foremost, fellow fans. If they did not want more content, they wouldn't be in these kinds of spaces period. I've yelled about it before, one large reason I love beta reading is that I am a voracious reader on AO3 and am always looking for new content. So, if I say no to beta-reading, or don't answer a call, it is almost always a timing issue and sometimes a content issue (I say this as someone with rather lax content boundaries and harder timing boundaries). I won't speak for all beta readers by saying we all just want more content and enjoy beta reading because we get that content sooner than ye average reader but like...the desire for more is a factor for most of us.

Now of course, beta reading is work, and to think "ah well, the joy of reading my amazing work is thanks enough" makes you a jerkface. Credit. Your. Beta. Reader. But also, "is my work good enough to be Beta-Read?" should never be a barrier for entry. We are usually people who want more fan-content, enjoy helping others create more fan-content, and would only opt into the role if we have the time for it (which means we'll opt out too if we don't!). Your work is always good enough to be beta-read because a good beta-reader is interested in helping you grow and elevate your writing for the interest of the common fandom.

Now. As to how to get a long-term beta reader. It's no secret that @ambrasuembra and I have become long terms for each other so I'm going to talk about her specifically. Interestingly enough, we didn't start as beta readers for each other. She needed help with musical terms for Striking Chords and I had answers. And then I fell in love with her story and made her a playlist. (Two actually) And then we became friends via a transatlantic love of country music (specifically queer country music) and then started beta'ing for each other all the time.

All that to say, most long-term beta reading relationships have a mutual friendship built underneath because, my favorite mantra, beta reading is all about trust. Now these friendships are varying levels. Ambra is one of my closer fandom-friends, but is not my only fandom friend. And some of those friendships started because I was beta reading a longer fic, or multiple fics, or a series, and we just were talking all the time. Which, outside of "be friends then beta read for each other", is probably the most usual way to get a long-term beta reader. Find a beta reader who you vibe with...and then ask them again. And then become friends through that.

It should also be noted that I have serial offenders on my list that I beta read for that like... Maybe don't fall in the "friend-friend" bucket. I don't talk to them outside of public spaces about anything really other than their work, but I like their work and we vibe well together. So, we're like... Work friends. With fanfiction. Beta friends? That sounds weird.

Also, I think it's important to note that while long term betas are amazing--sometimes you gotta be polyamorous with your beta-readers. I've got a WIP that isn't Ambra's cuppa that when I sit down to seriously write as opposed to muse on, I'm gonna need someone new to work with on. Dash @ineffableomenshusbands beta-read for me recently because I was doing a big surprise for Ambra. I participated in another server's GTA and had ArcticRose beta read for me because Ambra was also participating. HolRose did a polish read on an upcoming WIP for me (Goats Part the First) after Ambra and I couldn't look at it anymore. And I gotta say--all three of those folks flagged things about my writing that Ambra never picked up on, and all three of them had very valid points and all three of them have contributed to my growth as a writer. Long term betas are great, but you'll still need to go a'beta-reader huntin' from time to time.

Anyway, this is how you get a long-term beta reader. You find someone you work well with and keep asking until it gets to the point where they go "why'd you ping the beta role, dingus, I'm right here." (If that kind of playful banter is your style).

If it's always no, then they might be too busy (often the case), they don't think they can fit what you're currently looking for/handle the content you're working on (also pretty often), or maybe they don't feel the vibe as well as you do (sometimes the case). Don't take it personally!

After all, a long-term beta reader is like a therapist. If you don't vibe... It's just not gonna work. No matter what. So, if you don't vibe with a beta reader, that's okay! There's another out there that's perfect for you. You'll find them by:

being clear in your asks about what type of beta read you need

communicating clearly about when your beta reader does something that doesn't work for you

and remembering that above all else, they are a fellow fan, as ready to go feral about stupid fandom stuff as you are, and happy to consume and create more free content.

So never, ever, feel bad about pinging the beta role and asking.

#fanfiction #beta reader #fanfic #editing #beta reading #HK's Beta Reading Tips #writing tools

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