#40 - 08/03/03 01:39 AM
The Method of Beta Reading
[Re: willowfan]
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Frost
$this_title
Registered: 08/02/03
Posts: 57
Loc: Finland, Europe
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I'm wondering, you beta readers out there; what do you do when you get a new text to betaread?
I'm still totally a beta-in-training, but here's what I've done so far, a sort of little checklist/method:
[size:18]1) Reading through the whole thing first [/size]
I read the text just like I was a regular reader. I make mental or physical notes about:
- typoes
- things I like / don't like (underlining is good if one has a printed version)
- the general atmosphere
- reader friendliness
[size:18]2) Analyzing the text [/size]
This is the harder part, I ask myself following types of questions to come up with BOTH positive AND negative (yet constructive!) criticism:
a) Characterisation
- Are the characters behaving like the characters would?
- Are they speaking in a credible way? Are there any words that the character would not use?
- How are the non-BtVS characters portrayed? Are they more than just a name and maybe a description on their looks? Would I like more depth on them, would it serve a purpose?
- Was there some sort of behavior from any of these characters I was missing? Would some reaction have been different?
- If a character is behaving against his/her nature, do I understand the reason for it? Is it clearly a part of the plot, or does it just feel weird?
b) Pacing and structure
- Is the text coherent or does it jump from one thing to another really fast? Did something in the text interrupt my thought, did I have to stop reading and wondering "what the heck is that referring to?"
- Do some things in the text happen too abruptly? Too fast? Or too slow?
- Are there moments that would deserve more attention, more detail? Would I like a slow-motion replay of something?  Did an interesting little moment get totally neglected?
- Does the text feel a bit heavy? Are there sentences or words that are completely unnecessary repetitions of something, or just plain stating the obvious? Would cutting them make the text flow more smoothly?
- Is the balance between dialogue and flowing text okay? Would I like more dialogue? Less dialogue?
- Are there chapters that are too long? Could they be split?
c) Language and punctuation
- Typoslaying, grammar & mispell check, the hunt for the missing commas etc..
- Are there any words that are used very frequently? Are there synonyms for those? Are there some places where the word might be worked around instead?
- Are the sentences too long? Too short? Is there a balance between long or short sentences? Does the balance or lack of it create a specific type of atmosphere?
- Would I use commas, semicolons, hyphens, quotation marks etc differently? Would another approach make the text more reader friendly?
- Choices of words that could be better?
d) Plotline
Depending on how much info on the plotline I get, I also check out for:
- Is there a clear plot in the text? Is it too obvious? Is the pacing of the plot developement good? Is it too slow, too fast?
- If there are any too obvious 'clues' in the plotline, could they be done differently, in a more subtle way?
- Is the plot coherent? What specific things take the plot forward? Are those the best possible mediums of taking the plot forward? Are there inconsistancies, loose ends?
- Are the possible sideplots in balance with the main plot? How are they relevant to the main plot? Does the sideplot make the thing too heavy to read, should it maybe be given a bit less attention?
[size:18]3) Giving the feedback [/size]
I usually use a 'reply' function like in e-mail, so I get the whole text quoted nicely.
- I tell the author my general first impressions on the chapter, not forgetting to mention a few things what I liked in particular. This is very important.
- I report the necessary typoes and small details first, then I use the quoted text to comment on smaller pieces of text, based on the questions I've asked myself above. I tend to use that checklist in the analyzing thing to thoroughly go through each small part of the text, to find something to perhaps comment about. Of course, I only comment when I find it necessary, no need to comment on EVERY single word.
- I remember to say what I like, what I don't necessarily like, along with what I think could be done better even though it's already good as it is.
- I give deserved praise; unnecessary brown-nosing won't help the author to become a better writer. If I have any negative feedback, I make sure I express it in a polite and constructive way, so that the author understands that it's not a personal assault, but more like a friendly piece of advice...
- I keep in mind that betareading is not always a very nice thing to do, but that I am hopefully helping the author to become a better writer.
===========
So... comments, anyone? I'm sure I've left something out here, because I'm writing this formerly just mental list down for the first time.
I realize that this type of checklist is also good for an author... but well, I betaread my own stuff a lot... This checklist is also good to keep in mind when writing a review; you don't need to mention all of this, but personally, if something mentioned in the checklist is done well, I like to tell that in my review.
-Frost
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#41 - 08/03/03 03:00 PM
Re: The Method of Beta Reading
[Re: willowfan]
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wise_ass
$this_title
Registered: 08/03/03
Posts: 23
Loc: um.....somewhere around here
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wow....that pretty much covers it Frost, me method's alot shorter, but i think it somewhat gets the job done.
Characterization
* are the characters in the fanfic doing things that the tv show characters would? Are they reacting the same way?
Grammar
* 'nuff said
Plot Line
* Is it something that's interesting? Can it be more developed? Too simple? Too complicated?
I think one of the most commonly made mistakes is either lack of plot details, or complicated plots that absolutely no one's going to get unless they're inside your head.
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#42 - 08/03/03 03:26 PM
Re: The Method of Beta Reading
[Re: willowfan]
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Frost
$this_title
Registered: 08/02/03
Posts: 57
Loc: Finland, Europe
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I find betaing and reviewing plotlines maybe the hardest thing, 'cause it's so individual what people think about them... Mostly, I can usually only tell when the plotline is totally brilliant. Then again, I don't always need a good plot to enjoy my read, so.. Good language and entertaining dialogue can be as nice..
Anyway, my checklist is sort of an extended version, I don't of necessarily always comb through that thoroughly, it depends.. if the text is already rather solid work and thoroughly edited by the author or other betas, it's just usually the fine-tuning that's left to do... this sort of extensive checklist to figure out if there's something that could be done even better... And that's pretty much the purpose of a beta, if one looks beyond the 'human grammar- and spellchecker' function?
I'm sure that my checklist is far from complete, though, so please comment!
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#43 - 08/03/03 04:36 PM
Re: The Method of Beta Reading
[Re: willowfan]
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wise_ass
$this_title
Registered: 08/03/03
Posts: 23
Loc: um.....somewhere around here
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it is, beta readers do the things that computers can't, they find if the story is plausable and interesting. But i also take into consideration what the author was thinking when they wrote it. it's weird i know, but i found that it really helps when trying to figure out if the characterization is dead on.
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