Beta-readers - Tumblr Posts
Beta Reader needed!! welpp!1!
Tittle : Skinny Love
Rating : PG- 13 to be safe
Summary : Dean Winchester is safe after been possesed by Michael. But not all of Dean Winchester is back. Nor is the world. Chuck now is back, he stood up like a good Father he is. But will he help or just want to destroy the world?
Note for Beta : Help me checking my grammar, spelling, character and also tell me your opinion about my writing sytle.(I know I asks to much)
Story : Part one
The sun rises with sunlight perching through a window in front of brown downy hair young man. He feels aching in his body for bad sleeping posture, he yawning, stretching and lay his tender eyes on another man that was lying in front of him. He reach calender in the room, mark an “X” sign in yesterday date, the calendar is already full of markers.He put it down and moving, yet another stretching before he disappears into the bathroom beside the sofa.
He wash his face and stares for a while what reflected in the mirror, he can see the dark circle under his blue eyes.But not to be bothered by it, he shrugged it off. “I used to it now.” he whispers to himself.
He walking out from the bathroom with fresh face, he uses his hand to fix his golden hair, as his blue eyes laid again on the man laying on the bed. You can’t tell was he dreaming about, but those clam face, seems like protected by any harm from outside world. A corner of his mouth form a little smile, but anyone can tell how sad is that young man was. Noone was in the room beside them, just a really nice morning in a room with a big window that showing vast blue ocean that seems have no edge, but the sun is peaking just above those beautiful waves that create this clam melody. He never get tired to see just how beautiful this world is.
“Jack.” The voice behind distract him, he turn to find the door open, and a tall man is standing there with expression that he take as ‘worried look’.
“Yes, Sam?” “This is my turn, you can take a rest now.” A smile rise from a younger man,
“I just wake up, Sam. I start to understand human’s needs now, I even have no problem with peeing now.” He said as proud as he can be.
“Yeah, Yeah I know, Jack that is a big improvement.” The tall man slowly come in and close the door behind as he continue,
“I know you sleeping while sitting, so give your body a break and lay down, okay? I take it from here. “
“I understand, Sam. I will try to do some research in my break time.” he nod with determination.
“Jack, it is okay, I will do research while watching over Dean.”
“But you didn’t get rest at all, Sam.”
The man named Sam just put a faint smile and reach laptop from a sofa and start typing without any response.
“I understand.”
“I already bought breakfast for you,Jack. Go and have a nice meal.” Jack nodded and left the room.
Jack walking after he closed the door, he turn around and sees a nice kitchen surrounded with woods decoration, big window that shows a beautiful coast, and a big table in the middle that placed a take-out pancake and a glass of milk. Jack take a seat in front of his breakfast, slowly opening their wrappers, then he eyes wander to a big sofa not far from his seat, a blanket that been folded, and some books on the table and a laptop in the other side of sofa, with those dark circle you can tell Sam didn’t get a good rest again last night.
Jack might be tracking every day that has passed but now he lost all his power, he’s only human and can not help the Winchester. His movement stop and he take his hand then close his eyes, start praying to his Father. Now that even his Granpa and Father is busy with world business, this is all he can do. He’s praying.
“Thank you for your daily update, Jack.” a sore voice that he been expecting all this time. He turn around, a big smile cannot get bigger than it already was. He can feel a burning in his check, all the emotion, relief, sad, happy. Can not find his answer, he nods and open his arm, welcoming.
Those blue eyes meet, and they form a warm hug. “Jack… who is..” Sam stopped, processing, make sure this is not a hallucination because of his insomnia,
“Hello, Sam.” A short greeting but even so you can tell a relief and happy tone in that man voice,
“You back, Castiel.” slowly he opens his arm to hug the man in the trenchcoat.
The other man also do the same, for a moment they enjoy those warm hug before they find it awkward and uncomfortably long, they exchange smile before the taller man clear his throat and said, “How are you, Cas?”
“Everything is fine now, Sam.” He nod, a happy smile that he can’t hide,
“Good. You will wake Dean up right” He nod again, now he takes a look at Jack behind him, as happy as Sam.
“Good, let’s do it.”
They enter the room, all eyes laid on a man with strong figure laying peacefully on the bed. Sam walking ahead, first to standing beside his big brother.
“Sam.” he turns when his name been called, but smile still not off from his face,
“I have to tell you both before I wake Dean up.” his words suddenly change all the happy atmosphere in the room.
“I would have to erase all memories about angel, demon and horrible things you been through.”
The room silence, Jack and Sam are exchanging looks.
“Th-that’s good, but do you have to erase memory about you too?” “Castiel. Don’t we have another way?” “Then what about you, Cas? Are you leaving?” Jack take a step forward to focus Castiel attention to him,
“I don’t know. I am not allowed to know the end.” “What do you mean, Cas?!” Sam stop a moment to walk closer to Castiel “Are you come back just to told us to forget about you?”
“I know you are angry, Sam. But I don’t have any choice.” “What about Chuck? Can’t he get down here and help us!?”
“The world needs their creator now, you know how hard it is to re-build heaven, after… after what I’ve...I’ve done… this is already more than I could ask, Sam.” his staring is agonizing, begging for forgiveness.
On the other hand, Sam is just standing there, looking away but you can tell that Sam understands the situation they were in.
“I have no choice.” he slowly mumbles but loud enough to be heard,
“Castiel. I am sorry.” Jack stepped forward trying to tell him, he is not alone.
“No, Jack. It’s alright, everything would be alright.” Castiel forms a little smile as he pat Jack in his shoulder, and take a moment to looking at a young man that had turned out fine all thanks to the Winchesters.
“Then, what we going to do now?” they both turn to face Sam again.
“I will follow His’s orders. I will make perform some ritual, not here, but somewhere far.” “Cas, umm… can I ask you something?” “Of course, Sam.” “When you said erase memory do you mean Dean or me to?” he asks with cautious in his voice, preparing for the answer. “I am sorry. But all humans, angel even demon will have their memory been erased about the righteous man in Winchester families .” “But then who are we? If we forget all this time that we spent together and forget about the adventures that we been through, I will not be Sam Winchester and Dean, he would not be the Dean I know and proud of now.” “Sam…” Castiel avoiding his eyes, trying to be calm and hiding his shaking voice, “Bobby, Jack, Claire, Charlie, Jody, our friends and those who died, will all be forgotten.” “Sam.” Castiel raises his voice, his eyes were fixed, staring at Sam, his gaze was so agonized.
Sam blinking, realize he pour his frustration into Castiel, and he knows Castiel tried his hardest to help his brother, he takes a step back and let himself sit on the sofa near him.
“I am sorry, Cas. I should have be more mature and face this reality. I know you tried your best for Dean and me.” He look up to Castiel, and smile, making sure there is no more pressure was placed on Castiel shoulder. “Thank you, Sam.” a little smile in corner of Castiel face.
“Castiel.” Jack called his name. “Yes, Jack?” now their eyes back to the young man.
“Can I go with you?” He looking at them with determination. “Jack, I-” “I know. I am human now, and this is might be dangerous for me but I want to be able to meet my mom, and told her that I’ve done good things for the world.” He stop to gather his words, “I will help you with everything I could. Let me help you.” Castiel staring at that young man, not sure what to say before he distracted by voice in his head.
“God have special plan for you, Jack.” he said with same seriousness , “Wha-Wait, Cas. What do you mean?!” Sam grab Castiel’s shoulder and meet his blue eyes that somehow looks shining with light, “I-I am not allowed to give you any information than this,” And before Sam could interrupt him he continue, “I am sorry, Sam. I out of time, I should take my leave.” and disappear in thin air. “Son of a bitch!” Sam throw his head frustrated as he swings his body to the sofa.
“What does God planning?” Jack stunned.
Questions to ask beta readers
General:
Were you confused at any point of the story?
What genre would you say this book is?
When did you put the story down?
Is the ending satisfying?
If you had to cut 3 scenes what would they be?
When did you feel like the story really began?
What was the last book you read before this story?
Characters:
Do you get any of the characters names confused?
Which character is your favorite?
If you had to remove a character who would you and why? (you don't have to remove the character, just make sure their role is meaningful)
Which character do you relate to the most?
Which character do you relate to the least?
Do the characters feel real?
Are character relationships believable?
Are the goals clear and influence the plot?
Are the characters distinct (voice, motivations, etc)
Setting:
Which setting was clearest to you?
Which setting was the most memorable?
Am including enough/too much detail?
Plot and conflict:
Are the internal and external conflicts well defined for the main characters?
Are the internal conflicts and the external conflicts organic and believable?
Are there enough stakes?
Are the plot twists believable but still unexpected?
REMINDER
If it is difficult to write or you don't like your writing, that means you're growing as a writer, not that you're a bad writer.
How to make your creatures scientifically realistic ⋆。°✩
So, what makes a character realistic? How they fit into their environment. Creatures must either adapt to their environment or die. The environment is very important thing to designing scientifically accurate creatures.
What is the temperature? Are there seasons? If so, how do they affect the wildlife?
How much water is in the environment? Where do they get this water from (water vapor, ocean, rivers, etc.)
What does the ground consist of?
How long is the day vs the night? How much light do they get?
What is the elevation?
You don't need to know exact numbers, but you should have a general idea. These factors (not limited to only these), influence the species that live in the area. How is your species adapted to these environments. Think about the things you need to survive, like food, water, shelter, etc.
The other animals will also affect this. What lives there? Who is the predator and the prey? What, if any, plants live there? How does your creature fit into this?
You can also use existing traits from animals in environments today. For example, thick fur in colder temperatures. Or creatures like whales, having to breath air even though they live in the water.
The most important thing is to stick to it. YOU MAKE THE RULES BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert; this is only based off what I've learned. Feel free to correct anything or ask questions.
Create your characters voice
Write one to ten pages (I usually do 5 for major character, 1 or 2 for side characters) as your character. Anything they would say, opinions, diary entries, complaining, etc.
Ooooh I have collected some helpful things to maybe include:
adopting slang from people they are close too/love interest
do they have a raspy voice? High pitched? Overly sweet? Commanding? Figure that out.
to make characters have their own voice vary rhythm, word choice, use of profanity, how much they talk about themselves or others, their politics.
Take some dialogue and ask if readers would be able to tell who is speaking with no context.
Write an AITA post from their point of view.
Identify what role your character has, a leader? a follower? a disrupter? a rebel? an antagonist? a peacemaker? How does that change the way they speak?
The character traits will tell you what your characters will say or how they will say it.
How I'm FINALLY finishing my wip
I told my little sister if I don't finish 10,000 words in 10 days that I have to do anything she wants for a week 😭
mind you this is a middle schooler so if one week from now I stop posting, uh send help
The three essential rules I use for stories
everything must be consistent, if I create rules, I have to follow them
Every major event must have some foreshadowing
Characters "earn" what happens to them. They have to overcome a bad thing/do a good thing to get a good thing and they have to do something wrong or bad to get a bad thing.
Throws writing motivation at you
It doesn't have to be perfect, or some genre redefining masterpiece, it doesn't even have to be long. Just work on it a little. Imagine one day, when you finish your story, that it's someone's favorite. That you are someone's favorite writer. People read parts of it aloud to their friends and family.
Someone out there wants to read what you wrote.
Someone appreciates your art.
Someone wants to know what's on your mind.
@eefmuffin
How to romanticize writing
You don't have to do all or even any of these, just do what seems fun.
drink coffee or tea
wear cute outfits when writing
listen to music
create a routine for writing
light candles (you can also write until the candle burns out)
listen to music/make playlist that are the vibe of what you are writing
find a writing buddy and keep each other on track
READ reading a good book usually inspires me to start writing again
write something short and fun that isnt your wip for a bit
create fake covers
write something so horrible it funny (embrace the brain rot)
Do your hair/nails/put on a face mask
change you location, a different room, the library, a cafe, outside.
Oooo a secret other option you will share with us gasp???
Lisa or Lena (This or That) for writers
Chapter Titles or No Chapter Titles
Writing On Paper or Typing
Multiple Wips or One Wip
Want your characters to find happiness or Want them to suffer
Writing prompts/Real life events or It came to me in a dreammm
Plotter vs Pantser
Characters or Plot
Weird writer search history or Reasearch what research
Hate Dialogue or Loves Dialogue
Perfectionism or Edit it later
Imposter syndrome or Imposter syndrome or Imposter syndrome or...
Story could/did happen irl or Could not happen irl
Happy endings or Sad endings
Super long sentences or Super short sentences
Long winding description or The trees were green
Fanfiction or An original story
Hates Editing or Loves Editing
Cofee or Tea
Vibe Curator or Character designs
Wants to be published or Doesn't want to be published
Writing while dressed up or Writing while looking like a hobo
Library or Cafe
Bonus: What are you writing about?
Writerblr I need your help 😭
I've just been put in charge of this writing club, we need 4 members to have a club. We have 4. My friends who write but don't want join the club says it's too boring. The set up used last year was:
Writing prompt
Share what we wrote for the writing prompt
Lecture type thing on an aspect of writing
Talk about our WIPs
The ideas I have so far are optional contests (they will have gift cards as prizes) and putting up posters to get the word out about it.
If you have any ideas that could help me, please please please share them.
I need new beta readers 😭 my current ones:
a) don’t read or interact with me
b)takes a week to read a 1k fic
CALL FOR BETA READERS
hello! do you like
an all queer cast of found family
traumatic backstories
cozy fantasy romance
devoted bodyguards
pretty men and mean women
fun magic, potions, and curses
love squares
then you'll love my upcoming novel, THE RED KING'S MYSTICAL SUITORS. I am making a call for beta readers now.
What is the book about?
It is a fantasy novel romcom. Here is the summary:
King Randall III has everything one could want. power, charm, beauty, and enough diplomatic wit to earn him the nickname 'Emperor of the Continent.' The one thing he's lacking is a husband.
When Randall's sister invites men far and wide to woo him, only three make the cut: a noble sorcerer, a royal alchemist, and a mysterious easterner who reveals nothing of himself other than a name. A fourth lingers in the shadows, dreaming of the chance he's been too afraid to take for four years.
Each of them is hiding a secret, including King Randall himself, who falls victim to a beastly curse when night falls. As pasts are revealed, relationships formed, one thing becomes clear: no one will leave the Red King's court the same they entered.
What kind of feedback are you looking for?
I have a short list of questions for beta readers to answer, which will be provided along with the book document.
if you're interested, instructions are below the cut, as well as content warnings. boosts appreciated.
content warnings for THE RED KING'S MYSTICAL SUITORS are mentions of kidnapping, enslavement, as well as blood, injury, and alcohol. the book is about 80k, or 270 pages.
email lilamarybooks@gmail.com if interested. Would prefer if readers completed the book and answered the questions after a week or so--fine if not, just the faster the better. i'm looking for about five people.
RED KING TAGLIST:
@transmasc-wizard @synthesizer-dyke @magic-is-something-we-create @tc-doherty @softbroiled-doomdesire @somealienquill @sagasofazeria @super-writer-gal @ren-c-leyn @crazy-like-us @ashen-crest @shrunkupthejams @themundanemudperson @sarahlizziewrites @faithfire @hungryslothwrites
GENERAL TAGLIST: @worldbuildng @muddshadow @nikkywrites @47crayons @directionoftime @myhusbandsasemni
Writing Tips Pt. 4 - Beta Readers
Since I just had a long post about commonly mixed-up words, many of which would escape a basic spellcheck, how do we handle that (and other writing gaffes that the most basic of tools will miss)?
You get a beta reader. Or hire an editor or proofreader. Or sign up with a publishing company that will assign you an editor.
Beta readers, editors, etc. can generally do a few different things for your writing, which is something you will need to discuss for whoever you sign on to help you out. Whoever it is, though, make sure they're someone you trust to actually know English well—or whichever language you'll be writing in—since the idea is for them to help you with your writing and catch the mistakes you make.
If English is not your first language, make doubly sure to get a beta reader who is fluent. Yes, Google Translate can be fairly decent, but you should still have someone fluent check it over, if only for the grammar.
(BETA FOUND!) ISO language beta for a Deadloch fic!
EDIT: Dreams really do come true! An amazing beta has gone over the fic and it will be posted in about a week. Thanks to everyone who helped put us in touch -- go team! :-D
I'm looking for a speaker of Australian English to look over a long fic and point out where I've got the dialect wrong. I'd be happy to return the favor for you if you ever want that; I have excellent attention to detail and I speak a very standard/unmarked US English. If you have other feedback to share about my story I'd love that, but I won't expect it.
STORY NOTES:
Fandom: Deadloch
Pairings: Eddie/Dulcie are definitely the main one. Eddie/Cath are shown making out once. There is also one Dulcie/Eddie/Cath sex scene at the end but otherwise no Dulcie/Cath or Eddie/Cath is shown (though both are mentioned).
Length: long! ~83,000 words.
Rating: explicit. The first 1/3 of the story is UST and pining. The sex scenes all come after that, but there are a lot of them.
Canon-compliant. Set after the end of the series proper, starting right after Ray’s death. Includes the canon epilogue scene (in which Eddie and Dulcie visit Holly) and then continues after that.
I didn’t like Cath in canon but I think she could get her shit together and be a better person and a better partner, and I’ve leaned into that very hard, while doing my best to also keep her in character.
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Trigger warning for gender dysphoria. See spoiler warning if that’s you.
One quick memory of intimate partner violence (the time in canon when Ray tried to strangle Eddie).
All sex scenes are enthusiastically consensual but there's a power imbalance around couple privilege. It’s dealt with in-story.
Expanded trigger warning WITH SPOILER: a character experiences gender dysphoria with triggers around specific sex acts and one specific word. Reference to that character being triggered with past partners, including one brief but pretty painful memory of a sex act that the character wanted at the time but that feels different in hindsight. However, this is a story about trans joy as well; there is a payoff later, and eventually a happy ending for this character.
If you’re interested but on the fence about committing to this, PM me and we can talk about what’s making you hesitate. I will of course credit you when I post my story.