Work Room - Week 5

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

This is the Work Room post for therealljidol.

It is about a space for people to discuss the new topic and writing in general.
I had some trouble thinking of what to put in this Work Room. It was really hard.

Finally though I think I came up with an angle to write about for the Work Room. It's not my best. But I hope you enjoy it.


***

It doesn't sound any better as the opening of a Work Room than it does in an entry.

We all have self doubt and we all struggle, hoping to showcase our best efforts. Yeah, sometimes it falls a little flat.

Most of the time though, it's probably not as bad you think it is - we tend to be our own worst critic after all. Which is why if you are having doubts, or even if you aren't, (because we also have blind spots!!) it might not be a bad idea to find a friend you trust to "beta read" for you.

Then again, maybe you don't need that. Or want it. But it's an option on the table, a tool to pick up and use when you need it.

What about you? Do you have a beta reader? Are you someone else's beta reader?

Do you find it helpful?

***
The new topic is up: http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/393995.html

and people are saying goodbye to those who left us this week: http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/393756.html

Comments

[banyangirl1832.livejournal.com]

I'd love a beta reader. It's kind of annoying having to ask my writer friends week after week. The more specific and targeted the criticism, the better.

[lawchicky.livejournal.com]

I don't share my writing until it's finished. Ideally, I write, I step back for a little while, and then I go back to read/edit. I wish I could take the editing stage more seriously. It is my weak point. When time is tight, I write, skim for typos, and call it finished.

Once in awhile, I let the hubby read and comment on my entries before I post them, but usually he doesn't read them until I've already posted.

[phoenixejc.livejournal.com]

I'm debating between fiction (ie more Cassandra) and non (ie just my life stuff.)

Lots to consider....especially with the tribes as they are currently set up.

Either way, I usually only share with one person prior to posting. My spouse; she is my best critic because she will honestly tell me where the weaknesses are, even when I don't want to see them.

[comedychick.livejournal.com]

Last season I asked a friend to look over some of my entries I was less confident about. I didn't mention it in those entries because I thought it would look like I was namedropping :P Normally I just spew words and post, though.

[hosticle-fifer.livejournal.com]

Well, team_jessie and I are married, so...we definitely send rough drafts to each other first.

If by some fluke we wound up directly competing (a notion that came up back when we were in the same tribe), I'm not sure how we'd handle that. Probably still help each other and see how it goes.

[kittenboo.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to jump in and say that when I played I did occassionally use a beta reader as you call it. I called it more like, "hey you I can't tell if this is awesome or it sucks, please help me!"

Anyway, I used 3 different people at various times. I also used someone as a proofreader/editor. I used that person twice when i felt really stuck with something. But I know now it's less about being stuck and more about being afraid. Afraid of screwing up because I was writing something outside my comfort zone.

The people I asked were all other contestants, but were people whose writing I enjoyed/respected and/or they were friends who i thought wouldn't lie to me.

[yachiru]

I like the idea of a beta reader but I never really use them. I'm totally a selfish writer. ^^ If I like it I post it.

[vaguelyclear.livejournal.com]

I don't have a beta reader, though it did cross my mind to ask a friend to read over my entry last week since it was the first time I was posting fiction for Idol. I may even consider it for future weeks. Usually, I just write, edit on my own, and then post. It seems to be working so far, LOL.

[stormkitty.livejournal.com]

I tend to write like I did in school (when I got my best grades). I open up a document, type furiously for 10-20 minutes, spell check it, copy it into an entry and let it go. I find when I stress over it too much, it ends up sucking.

This topic I'm not sure what I'm going to do. The first idea deals with my mother again (and I really don't want to end up being the contestant using this for therapy). My second idea deals with work stuff, but I wonder how many people are tired of hearing about that already. My third idea is to simply take a bye because holy crap do I have a lot of work to do this week.

Dunno yet what I'm going to do.

[joeymichaels.livejournal.com]

I thank sharya in all of my entries because she edits every official entry I post. You can see the difference between my post-sacrifice home game entries last year and my sharya edits entries for the first bunch of weeks of the contest.

She checks grammar, spelling and gives me feedback on awkward sentence structure. Furthermore, she'll sometimes give me feedback like "this doesn't make sense" or "what are you trying to get at here?" that is incredibly useful.

Long story short, when I'm my most successful, sharya is the secret to my success.

[lilycobalt.livejournal.com]

I don't use a beta reader, but I'm considering it. I have a few brainstorming buddies, but I don't really like sharing the final product until it's done.

I do have an idea floating around in this week, but it doesn't know how to make the leap from idea to entry. One of the things that I fret about is pushing a metaphor too far, but I also don't want to be too obvious.

[xreesex.livejournal.com]

My BetaReader is the boyfriend, who usually gets woken up around 2am so I can read the entry out loud to him. Reading it out loud helps me hear what's wrong with it, and having someone else to read it helps. Though, to be fair, he's a terrible beta reader, because he likes everything, even if he really doesn't ;)

[thaliontholwen.livejournal.com]

I really don't use a beta, especially for fiction. Part of it is that I'm particularly grabby/protective about my characters and my fictional worlds, but the other part is that I'm my own biggest critic, so if I'm even remotely thinking that something sounds contrived, I'm making changes.

I do have a thought that I've been toying with. Now that I've done two entries in my fiction series, I've been thinking about doing a short summary (~5 sentences) as a sticky post on my journal to help people figure out where the story has been, especially if I have a week when I do nonfiction or when I take my other bye. I'd love some input on whether to do this or not. Would it help you, as a reader, for there to be a quicky summary so you don't have to try to remember where my story has been?

[onda-bianca.livejournal.com]

No beta readers for me.

1. Sadly, I doubt anyone I know would really care to do that.
2. My time is so limited right now that "it is what it is."
3. I had something else to say, but I forgot. But I'm writing a three anyway because three is a nice round number...:)

[tigrkittn.livejournal.com]

I've had a couple of people beta read for me in the past, but one of two things happened- they said it was awesome and had no critique, which wasn't actually helpful because anything can be improved, or they suggested changes I didn't like that didn't feel like my style. So now I just do my own thing- it takes me about two evenings to write a first draft, and the second day I'm editing what I wrote the day before. Then I sleep on it and do final edits on the third day. By then I usually really like it and it's ready to post.

[courtney-ke.livejournal.com]

I would love to have a beta reader. I wouldn't want them to be a friend first though, because then I would doubt if they were being honest or not.

I am not a 'serious writer' by any means. I write for pleasure, and have no intentions of ever getting published. That would probably deter beta readers from spending time on my writing, so I've never looked for one :/

[robertlyon.livejournal.com]

I could use a beta reader. I have a draft going but I'm not sure if it even meets the definition of an afterthought. I have one person who does this sort of thing but that's for another project unrelated to Idol. I'm getting too tired to even think now so dreams are calling my name. Have fun everyone!

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

I've used a beta reader now and then in the past, more often with my partner on an Intersection, when our fates were intertwined.

With my own work, I mostly just write the first draft in one sitting, go back and edit the parts that seem weakest, then post and double-check for any typos or minor changes (adding or deleting commas, that sort of thing).

[sweeny-todd.livejournal.com]

I don't have a beta reader. And so I do sometimes not spelling/grammar mistakes in my work which I fix up later.

Ideally I would have time to read, and reread etc etc but as last week shows, I pretty much have to do it when the prompt comes, otherwise it just doesn't get done!

[gratefuladdict.livejournal.com]

I always beta/edit/proof for douchejuice - except when he doesn't send me his entry till a few hours before the deadline, and I'm busy cranking out my entry (which has been basically every week this season).

Then again, I edit and proof everything he writes in Real Life, too.

Sometimes I'll ask him to read mine, but he's not big on specific edits. He gives feedback on what works and what doesn't work, though, and it helps!

ETA: And whenever I intersect, my partner and I read/edit each other.

[applespicy.livejournal.com]

I've never used a beta reader. I'm not really sure why - I guess I either prefer to keep my writing intensely personal all the way through the process, or I submit it to a large group for quicker, easier shredding :)

[alephz.livejournal.com]

My beta readers are rattsu and folks on my flist if/when I put up potential entries. I'll usually have an entry up for a day or so while I mull over whether or not it's good enough to submit and then, based on feedback, I'll decide whether or not to use it or try something else.

[nyxocity.livejournal.com]

This is my first year, so I don't really have a process specific to Idol, but I've handled my entries much like I handle writing fanfiction, which is to say; if it's under 5000 words (which it always is here) I self-edit and beta check on my own. I do a LOT of re-reading/reviewing before I post. So I generally trust myself inside that range.

But I'm finding with this, where the entries have so far tended to be intensely personal, I don't feel like a beta would be able to critique accurately for things outside spelling/grammar. Fiction, which I have yet to write, may turn out to be a different story.

[comedychick.livejournal.com]

This week I have written 4 entries. That's how much I love this prompt. I have sent them all to someone to help me choose which one to post. LOL. I know which one I like best, but I'm not sure how I feel about posting it in public :/

[quoting-mungo.livejournal.com]

I throw all my LJI entries this season at shurhaian (my fiancé) before I post them. But then, that makes sense seeing as he's my co-writer for the comic I grabbed the characters out of. How could I not have him proofread them, both for language and for characterization.

(Funnily, every time I throw him a text document, he goes "really, you don't need to do that, your writing is fine", yet he always finds some kind of idiom snafu, typo, or WTF-is-that-wording-about moment.)

I also nag him about the ideas. Not really sure what Sarah or Blake might have to say about afterthoughts, so there may be some quality nagging when he wakes back up. Toni's out since she did last week.

(Is it just me or are the topics this season really hard?)


-Alexandra