How Do I Beta Thee? Let Me Count the Ways...

Meta
Title:	How Do I Beta Thee? Let Me Count the Ways...
Creator:	Lysandra and cofax
Date(s):	June 2001
Medium:	online
Fandom:	The X-Files focused, but applicable to many fandoms
Topic:
External Links:	How Do I Beta Thee? Let Me Count the Ways...
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How Do I Beta Thee? Let Me Count the Ways... is a 2001 essay by Lysandra and cofax.

It was posted to the X-Files website Working Stiffs.

Introduction

Hi, this is Cofax. Lysandra and I have teamed up to talk about how we do beta, and maybe show a little bit about how the results can differ depending on who you ask to beta a story for you. Lysandra and I are friends, but we're not much alike -- about the only things we have in common are our fondness for XF, our age, and the fact that we dye our hair. Our differences extend to our writing and editing habits. I'm going to start with a description of how I edit, and then Lysandra is going to talk about how she goes about it. What we hope you'll learn is that it can be a real advantage having two or more editors on a project, depending on what you hope to gain from the beta-process.

Some Topics Discussed

• The X-Files
• fic writing
• betas
• each writer wrote a section of this essay
• there are specific examples of betaed fic

The Essay

Usually I don't take on a new writer for beta unless I know them pretty well. It's not that I don't want to help, but I'm pressed for time between my job, my own writing, and my other beta obligations. Sometimes, however, someone will ask whom I just can't refuse -- a friend or a completely fabulous writer for whom it would be an honor to beta. Then I will do my best to squeeze the story in.

At any rate, first I sit down and read the whole story start to finish. This does a couple of things for me. First, it keeps me from getting so wrapped up in the story that I forget to edit. Second, it helps me keep the story flow in mind when I look for plotting problems or characterization oddities. As you might expect, this makes editing a WIP a bit of a problem for me: I haven't done one yet. So I read the whole story, and occasionally I'll make a note, but really I'm just reading for fun.

When I start actually editing, if I can, I'll print out the story and use a red pen. Reading it on paper makes it easier to concentrate on large sections of text, and I can flip back and forth more easily. (Also, I can bring the story on the bus or to the gym to read on the StairMaster.) What I comment on might depend on what the writer has asked for, how much time I have, what stage the story is in, and who else is on the beta-list. Someone who is pretty secure with where the story is going might ask just for a check on the Scully characterization, for instance. If a story is really rough, in its first draft, I may skip the detailed line-by-line beta in order to focus on plotting and logic. If one of the other betas is someone I can trust to catch the "its/it's," the dangling antecedents, and the comma splices (like Lysandra), then I won't focus on grammar and syntax, which aren't my strong points anyway. I'm an intuitive writer and although I can usually spot gross errors, I never took a grammar class so I might miss the little problems.

Generally, I watch for awkward or confusing language, characterization, plot logic, emotional weight, and sentimentality. I don't think XF is a particularly sentimental show, and neither are the characters, most of the time. Things on the show tend to be understated, and I like my fic that way, so I'm one of the de-shmoopers.

I'm also a "show-don't-tell" junkie. I live for the telling detail, where you find out that the suspect longs for better things when it's revealed that he glued a Jaguar hood ornament on the hood of his 1993 Civic. If a writer doesn't give me any detail about what's going on or what the environment is or what Mulder's shirt feels like when Scully crumples it in her fists, well, I'm going to comment on that. I think fanfic is particularly susceptible to lazy story-telling because we all *know* what Mulder's apartment looks like, we all have an image or a sense of what Scully's hair smells like, and that means a lot of writers don't bother with the details. I've seen a lot of stories that were just story-skeletons, because the writers felt no need to flesh them out, to ground them in the moment. And that's one of my pet peeves.

Getting back to the beta: I'm also going to comment on point of view. I'm a bit too hung up on point of view at the moment, but I think it's a fascinating tool to use for story-telling if used with discipline. A story told within limited points of view allows the writer to control the amount of information she feeds to the audience, which in turn allows her to control the reader's reaction to the story. If I catch a sentence that is clearly not within the POV of the rest of the scene, I will comment on it. If I find too much of that, I start getting cranky. Bouncing POVs give me a headache. There are a number of excellent articles about POV and technique here at Working Stiffs, and I recommend them to you.

I'm hung up on story-logic too. The show takes leaps of logic that no fanfic writer I beta for would be allowed <g>. Coincidences and complete scientific impossibilities make me squirm. This is one reason why I like to read the whole story first, in order to make sure that the end is adequately set up by the beginning and the middle. (I read the bulk of "Arizona Highways" three times, I think.) Pulling an ending out of a hat is guaranteed to make me grumble. It's the writer's decision to do that, of course, but I will let her know when something like that bothers me.

On a completely practical level, what a writer I beta for gets back is something that looks like this:

OK, WriterX. I liked it, I did. It's creative and you have a very unusual take on the Ship. I really like some of your language use, as well -- you have a nice eye for detail. But I have some concerns about Langly's reaction to the Mulder/Byers/Fowley triangle in the third section. I don't think I can see him running off to join the circus after seeing what he saw. Also, the first section is all in present tense, first person, while the last two sections are in 3rd person past. Do you want that big a difference, given that it's all Langly POV anyway?

This isLysandra:

I stumbled into beta reading when a stranger on Scullyfic said she had a story that needed beta. I'd just been on the receiving end of some very good beta, and thought it sounded like fun. I've always had a facility for grammar and spelling, and figured I might as well put it to use. I hit it lucky that time; the person asking for beta was a very good writer, and took criticism well. I'm not always the most tactful person, and I worry that some of my comments might hurt writers' feelings if they don't already know me. So these days I pretty much only do beta for friends. My friends happen to be a talented and prolific bunch, and I'm kept plenty busy.

Cofax has described her plan of attack on a story -- she reads it through, start to finish, before beginning her beta. I do the opposite, for a few reasons. First, I tend to beta in my head whenever I read, so it's difficult for me to read without mentally adding commentary and fixing mistakes. Second, I like to just blurt out my comments willy-nilly as to the plot and the way the story's written, so the author knows what I'm thinking while I'm reading it for the first time. If there's a big surprise at the end of the story and I see it ahead of time, or if I don't see it coming at all, the author will still get my comments as they come to me, and they'll know where a person of average intelligence 'gets' the big turning point of the story. I also tend to have the memory of a gnat, and ask questions to make sure I'm not missing some big plot point. When doing beta for Fialka's fabulous "Arizona Highways," I wouldn't go back to check if a plot point confused me; instead, I'd simply ask if I was mistaken or if I'd merely forgotten something that had happened previously in the story. This method helps the author (I hope) figure out if a plot point is too vague or if it gets lost somehow in a complicated story with many facts and plotlines.

I'm a bit of an "every reader." I have friends who see plot twists coming, and can guess the killer's identity after the first few chapters of a novel. I, however, am not one of those people, as far as plot is concerned. I'm an absolute whiz with spelling, grammar, and word usage, but a complicated plot will send me spinning. (This is why, if you have a twisty plot, it's good to have more than one beta, and make sure at least one of them is like Cofax; she understands plot and is an avid reader of mysteries.)

The authors who get beta from me know my strong points and generally trust me with their words, which is quite an honor. I try not to abuse the privilege, but I do tend to rewrite sentences that are awkward or overly long. This brings up another important point: when I beta for someone, especially for the first time, I tell them that all my suggestions are just that -- suggestions -- and that the writer is free to take or leave anything that I say in the beta. I might get a little pissy, however, if the author doesn't take my suggestions on spelling and/or grammar. I check spelling carefully and I'm pretty confident when I make a grammar correction. Other than those things, however, it's the author's story to tell, and she is free to discard any of my suggestions. I try to explain *why* I'm asking for a specific change; it might be a Britishism, a problem with an antecedent, a confusing point of view, a comma splice, or simply that a sentence or phrase "seems kinda weird to me."

I'm also big on telling an author when Scully or Mulder seems out of character, either in dialogue or actions within the story. Characterization is tricky in fanfic, since we all see the characters through our own eyes, and many people write stories precisely to "fix" an episode or put forth their own version of the characters. There's not much in the show that specifically supports the idea that either Mulder or Scully is gay, for instance, but there is plenty of fanfic that says otherwise. I'll give quite a bit of leeway regarding a character's actions in fanfic, as long as they fit the universe the author has set forth. If the universe is miles off from what we see on the show, I'd want the author to set it up thoroughly. I'm a little less tolerant of dialogue that seems to be out of character. I love getting into discussions with an author about the characters' motivations, the author's reason for writing the story, the author's hopes as to what a reader might get out of the story, and that kind of thing. One of the best things about beta reading is not only getting to read a story before everyone else does, but also getting some insight into the writer's mind. Sure, these discussions often get off track and I'll just end up gabbing with an author, but that's half the fun.