Hello

hello

Hope you are doing well, (if not, heres a hug🫂)

Im a bit curious, and i dunno if it was ever asked but:

What do you look for in a beta reader?

Hello my lovely, thanks for the ask!

I am in recovery after TIC5 (I knew it would be hard on me physically, but didn't anticipate how hard it would be emotionally, and the combination has hit me like a sledgehammer) but otherwise am doing quite well, thank you.

Now. So.

I don't actually have a beta reader.

(Gasp, shock, horror, yes yes I know)

I did, for a bit (a very small window in the middle of DFAFM and the first chapter of TIALAINGO) and honestly was so traumatised by that experience that I'm very wary about ever allowing anyone that amount of access to me again.

So here's some advice I think would be worth thinking about. My number one piece of advice is:

You as a writer need to know exactly what you want in terms of feedback, and be honest about that with yourself as much as to any potential beta readers.

So many times beta relationships crumble because writers have not correctly identified their limits in terms of what they want to hear about their work. Are they looking for guidance on tone, character, speech, spice level, or just a spelling and grammar check?

If you struggle to handle criticism (and most of us do, there's no shame in it), then it's essential to communicate to your beta how you are best able to handle this information. Would you prefer them to make suggested alternatives rather than just a criticism? Would you prefer a "shit sandwich" (the criticism sandwiched between two things your beta loves)? Would you prefer that they just tell you bluntly what they feel needs improvement but give you space to work out what's wrong with it?

Additionally, make it clear that you need and want positive feedback, too. Lots of fledgeling betas will assume that their role is limited to finding faults, so make sure they know you need to hear enthusastic cheering, too!

Secondly, although your relationship needs to be a trusting one, I advise not choosing someone who is a huge fan of your work. Sometimes losing your biggest fan to have them see your messy unfinished pieces can be demoralising for both parties. Also, don't pick someone you hardly know. Go for somewhere in the middle, someone you know and trust (ideally they enjoy fics similar to yours) and make sure to establish parameters (as above) before sharing your work.

Thirdly, it should be a fun process. It will feel weird and anxiety-inducing, but the right beta will put you at ease and be enthusiastic enough to keep you motivated, but give you little tips to polish off what is already pretty darn fabulous. If it doesn't feel fun, if it doesn't feel collaborative, if it makes you stressed and anxious or, Someone forbid, upset - they probably aren't the beta for you.

I hope any of this helps.

And maybe someday I'll take some of my own darn advice.

<3<3<3

Happy season 2 anniversary!

Happy Good Omens series two anniversary to those who celebrate!

- Mod D

well written.

With truly all the love and empathy in my heart: crying daily over the sexual assault allegations again at Gaiman isn’t healthy. I’ve seen multiple people –especially fans of GO – saying this since they came out, and it’s really fucking concerning me.

I wonder if it has to do with the insidious ideas that 1) people are either Bad or Good, 2) Bad people can only do Bad things, and 3) liking Bad things or Bad people makes you Bad.

None of these things are true.

People are mixed up and incredibly complicated. Someone can be an incredible artist/chef/ally against racism/drag queen and still be predatory/homophobic/antisemitic/never tips their wait staff. People do things that harm others in big and small ways all the time. You do too. I promise.

(Also the idea of dehumanizing anyone, even people who do genuinely insurmountable harm, as somehow less than human is an inherently fascist ideology)

The fact that you (yes, you!!) do harmful things doesn’t immediately make you Bad. There are certainly things that someone might do that causes more harm (say, assault) versus less, but, perhaps unfortunately, that doesn’t somehow infect all the things they’ve done in the past with their Badness. Gaiman helped write Good Omens. There’s no way now to say “I was wrong and this book was Bad all along” or even “oh, all the parts I like were written by Pratchett, the Bad parts must have been Gaiman.” You didn’t miss an inherent evil by liking the book in the past. It doesn’t make you Bad for liking it now.

(It also doesn’t mean that people associated with Gaiman, like David Tennant, are also Tainted by Badness. This is also a slippery slope argument into dehumanization and fascist ideas)

By all means: stop giving Gaiman your money. Stop tagging him in your Azi/Crowley fanart. But do this as a way to disentangle yourself from parasocial relationships that are actively causing you grief and to vote with your wallet, not because unlinking yourself from Bad Art and Bad People will somehow absolve you and make you Good again. If you already have a copy of Good Omens or Sandman, whether you reread it is between you and your gods. Interacting with a text you find important doesn’t make you Bad or Good. It’s just reading. What you do with the stories is what matters (ironically, that’s the message of a lot of both Gaiman and Pratchett’s work).

Maybe take a peek at Good Omens and re familiarize yourself with its other core message: People are not Bad or Good. People do bad and good things.

Then maybe drink a cup of tea. You need to rehydrate.

ducks! that's what water slides off!

happy good omens season 2 anniversary :)

the water is water!

(Same.)

Season 2 came out a whole fucking year ago and i still havent gotten over it

:-)

<3

Happy Season 2 anniversary!!

are we all collectively celebrating the divorce by crying today?