When life gives you lemons be like “wow this fic is really old”
Me and my mutuals logging tf in
What sort of questions should I be asking my beta readers?
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR BETA READERS:
When I send out my chapter to be read over by my beta readers, I always include a set of questions typed out at the bottom, grouped into different categories such as: plot, pacing, character, setting, etc.
You might want to tailor the questions depending on the genre or which chapter it is. For example, if it’s the first chapter you’ll want to ask them about how well your story managed to hook them, or if they managed to easily get an idea of the world you’ve introduced them to. If it’s the climax you might want to ask if the action scenes are fluid, and if the plot twist/s were predictable or surprising.
Here’s some example questions that you could use:
Opening Chapter:
- What is your first impression of the main character? Do you find them likable? Annoying? Boring?
- After reading it for the first time, what is your first impression? Was it cohesive and compelling? Boring and confusing?
- Did the first sentence/paragraph/page efficiently grab your attention and hook you in?
- If you were to read this chapter in a bookstore/library would you be convinced to buy it? Or would you need to read further before deciding? Why or why not?
- Did you get oriented fairly quickly at the beginning as to whose story it is, what’s going on, and where and when it’s taking place? If not, what were you confused about at the beginning?
- Does the first chapter establish the main character efficiently? Do they feel believable?
Characters:
- Could you clearly imagine what the characters looked like? If not, who?
- Who was your favourite character and why? Has your favourite character changed? (if this hasn’t changed feel free to skip this question)
- Are there any characters that you do not like? Why do you not like them? (Boring, annoying, problematic, etc.)
- Was there ever a moment when you found yourself annoyed or frustrated by a character?
- Could you relate to the main character? Did you empathise with their motivation or find yourself indifferent?
- Were the characters goals/motivations clear and understandable?
- Did you get confused about who’s who? Are there too many characters to keep track of? Are any of the names or characters too similar?
- Do the characters feel three-dimensional or like cardboard cutouts?
- How familiar have you become with the main characters? Without cheating could you name the four main characters? Can you remember their appearance? Can you remember their goal or motivation?
Dialogue:
- Did the dialogue seem natural to you?
- Was there ever a moment where you didn’t know who was talking?
Setting/world-building:
- Were you able to visualize where and when the story is taking place?
- Is the setting realistic and believable?
- How well do you remember the setting? Without cheating, can you name four important settings?
Genre:
- Did anything about the story seem cliche or tired to you? How so?
- Did anything you read (character, setting, etc.) remind you of any others works? (Books, movies, etc.)
Plot/pacing/scenes:
- Do you feel there were any unnecessary scenes/moments that deserved to be deleted or cut back?
- Do the scenes flow naturally and comprehensively at an appropriate pace? Did you ever feel like they were jumping around the place?
- Was there ever a moment where you attention started to lag, or the chapter begun to drag? Particular paragraph numbers would be very helpful.
- Did you ever come across a sentence that took you out of the moment, or you had to reread to understand fully?
- Was the writing style fluid and easy to read? Stilted? Purple prose-y? Awkward?
- Did you notice any discrepancies or inconsistencies in facts, places, character details, plot, etc.?
Additional questions:
- What three things did you like? What three things did you not like?
- Can you try predicting any upcoming plot twists or outcomes?
- Was there ever a moment when your suspension of disbelief was tested?
- Is there anything you’d personally change about the story?
- Was the twist expected or surprising? Do you feel that the foreshadowing was almost nonexistent, or heavy handed?
Feel free to tailor these to your needs or ignore some of them if you don’t think they’re useful. Basically, your questions are about finding out the information about how others perceive your own writing and how you can improve your story.
-Lana
Legit Tip #190
or - “Using Better, More Meaningful Symbolism”
Symbolism is a powerful element in storytelling. It’s also something that can be difficult to get a grasp on.
One thing that I will tell any writer, amateur or experienced, is this. The best and most powerful way to incorporate symbolism into your stories is to look at what occurs naturally as you plan, outline, and write your stories.
Your mind is naturally drawn to use symbols, and instead of cramming what you think the proper symbolism *should* be into your stories, look instead at what organically flows into your writing. Often, you’ll notice things that recur time and time again. Once you notice these things you can draw attention to them and write around them to give them their proper symbolic place.
Now. That being said, sometimes you will want to intentionally include certain elements in a story as symbols. Let’s take a look at ways to choose proper symbols, things you should perhaps avoid, and how to more meaningfully write symbolism into stories.
Using Small Details to Drop Symbols Into Your Story
Remember - symbols aren’t just about the big picture, or the metaphors you use. Even minute details such as the books your characters read and the weather can be symbols can all be symbols. It just depends on how you use them.
Imagine a child sitting down to color in a coloring book and choosing “Cinderella” - that might be a significant symbol if their father is going to die in two chapters and the story is about their relationship with their stepmother.
Be Aware of Culturally Relevant Symbols
One of the most important things to remember in storytelling is that symbols are varied amongst different cultures. This is incredibly important to keep in mind in this day and age especially, as many of us have grown up learning about Western symbolism in our literature courses.
When you’re writing stories about non-Western protagonists remember to do your due diligence when it comes to using the appropriate symbolism of those cultures and those peoples.
An owl may be a symbol of wisdom in the West, but in some Native American cultures, owls are symbols of death. If you are writing a person of another culture do your research and be sure that the symbol you have chosen is APPROPRIATE for that character and the culture that they come from.
Watch Your Dictionary-Definition Symbol Usage
It’s fun to sort through dictionaries of symbols and to suss out their meanings. But it may not be so fun for readers if you haphazardly throw a symbol into your story as if you expect them to understand what it means, even though they’ve never come across that definition before.
This one is a double-edged sword. There’s nothing wrong with using these sorts of symbols as added flavor. Think of Harry Potter. The different woods of the wands have different meanings. (Yew - the wood Voldemort’s wand is made of - symbolizes death. Holly - the wood Harry’s wand is made of - is closely linked to the crucifixion of Jesus.) But you don’t lose anything if you don’t know this going in. It just adds to the story.
Don’t ditch it altogether if it’s something you enjoy, but don’t rely on it as your sole means of symbolism either. Just think of it as something that adds a bit of spice after you’ve finished cooking up the main dish.
Watch Out for Overused Symbols (But Don’t Count Them Out)
There are a lot of overused symbols out there. When I did a recent Question of the Day, one oft cited example was flower symbolism. And yes, I do get this one. Flowers as a symbol have been used since the dawn of time (and as one reader suggested, they most definitely have been used up as a way to refer to women.)
But just because a symbol has been used often - very, very often - doesn’t mean you can’t use it again. That’s because you can either A.) Intentionally call back to the overuse of the symbol (winking to the reader that this is what you’re doing) or B.) Use the symbol in a completely unexpected way.
Example:
Edmund stepped through the garden, his mind turned to thoughts of Annabelle. She was so unlike the other girls he had met. As he walked, he came across the rose bushes his mother had planted in the spring. They were beginning to die off already, their petals brown.
Only one seemed to still be thriving. He reached out to touch it, but as he did, it drooped and wilted from its branch, tumbling to the earth. A pity. He had wanted to take it to her when he came calling.
And Finally…
Last but not least, always be aware of your story. Watch out for the repeated motifs - that is, the details that come up again and again. These are the symbols that are inherent to your story and that you need to build up to make it your own. Does the importance of family come up in numerous different ways? The power of friendship? The need for self-sacrifice?
There are many different ways to use symbols beyond the most obvious. Symbols can truly enrich a story when used well and can take it to the next level.
Useful Writing Resources
This is an extensive list of resources for every problem you could come across while writing/planning/editing your novel. Use it well;)
{ *** } Indicate a Highly Reccommended Resource
Planning/outlining Your Work
- How To Outline ***
- Zigzag Method : Creating Plots
- How to Plot a Romance Novel
- Seven Great Sources of Conflict for Romances
- Let’s talk about brainstorming
- Writing Something With Meaning ***
- Past Or Present Tense? : How To Decide
Writing Your Work
- How To Write A Fabulous Chapter #1 ***
- How to Build a Romance Thread in Your Story
- The Big Book Of Writing Sex ***
- 6 Ways to Get Your Readers Shipping Like Crazy
- Romance Writing Tips ***
- 20 Tips for Writing Lovable Romance Novel Heroes
- 7 Ways To Speed Up Your Writing ***
- 80+ Barriers to Love: A List of Ideas to Keep Romantic Tension High
- 9 Romance Writing Mistakes to Avoid
- Removing the Creeps From Romance
- 19 Ways to Write Better Dialogue ***
- 50 Things Your Characters Can Do WHILE They Talk ***
- How To Write Action And Fight Scenes
- 10 Steps To Write Arguments
- 9 Ways To Write Body Language
- Writing Good Kissing Scenes
- Writing Murders
- Create And Control Tone ***
- Tips for Writing Ghost Stories
- Incorporating Flashbacks
- 12 Tips To Avoid Overwriting ***
Characters
- Behind the Name
- Top Baby Names
- Looking for a name that means a certain thing? ***
- 7 Rules of Picking Names
- Most Common Surnames ***
- Minor Character Development
- Writing Antagonists, Antiheroes and Villains
- Characters With Enhanced Senses
- 5 Tips to Help You Introduce Characters
- How Do You Describe a Character?
- How To Write Child Characters
- 36 Core Values For Building Character
- Questions To Answer When Creating Characters ***
- 4 Ways to Make Readers Instantly Loathe Your Character Descriptions
- 5 Ways to Keep Characters Consistent
- Character Archetypes
- 25 Ways To Fuck With Your Characters
- Building Platonic Relationships Between Female Characters
- 9 Simple and Powerful Ways to Write Body Language
- 33 Ways To Write Stronger Characters
- Conveying Character Emotion
- How to Make Readers Love an Unlikable Character…
- How to Create Powerful Character Combos
- How To Describe A Character’s Voice ***
- Describing Clothing And Appearance ***
- Career Masterpost ***
- Creating Your Character’s Personality ***
- Character Flaws ***
Editing
- DON’T EDIT>>> REWRITE THE WHOLE THING FIRST
- Ultimate Guide To Editing Each Aspect Of Your Work ***
- Why You Would Read Your Novel Out Loud ***
- Grammar and Punctuation ***
- How To Write A Captivating First Sentence
- 10 Things Your Opening Chapter Should Do: A Check-List for Self-Editing ***
- Saving Your Story: Finding Where It Went Wrong
- How To Condense Without Losing Anything
- The Stages Of Editing
- Dialogue/Description Balance
- 3 Proofreading Tips
- The Short Story Form
- Chapter & Novel Lengths
- Anatomy Of A Novel : Chapters and Parts ***
- How To Write Chapter After Chapter Until You Have A Book ***
- Where Chapter #2 Should Start
- Step By Step Guide To Editing Your Draft
- Writing Tool: CTRL-F (How And Why You Should Use It) ***
- How To Kill A Character
- 25 Steps To Edit The Unmerciful Suck Out Of Your Story
- 5 Ways To Make Your Novel Helplessly Addictive ***
Setting
- {Setting} How To Describe Setting In Your Stories ***
- 20 Questions To Enhance Setting
- How To Bring Your Setting To Life
Miscellaneous Resources You Can Use In Between
- How to Write from a Guy’s POV
- The Emotional Wounds Thesaurus
- Text To Speech Reader
- Compare Character Heights
- A Visual Dictionary of Tops
- Writers Helping Writers
- 7 Tricks To Imrove Your Writing Overnight
- Work Out/ Word Count : Exercise Between Writing ***
- Most Important Writing Tips ***
- Let’s talk about diversity in novels
- Letting Go Of Your Story
- Keeping A Healthy Writing Schedule And Avoiding Procrastination ***
- How To Create A Good Book Cover
- Write or Die
- Tip of my Tongue
- Character Traits Form
- Online Thesaurus
Writing Sketchy/Medical/Law
- Coma: Types, Causes, etc
- Tips for writing blood loss
- Gunshot Wound Care
- Examples of Hospital Forms
- Common Legal Questions
- The Writer’s Forensics Blog
- Brain Injury Legal Guide
- Types of Surgical Operations
- Types of Mental Health Problems
- A Day in the Life of a Mental Hospital Patient
- Global Black Market Information ***
- Crime Scene Science
- Examining Mob Mentality
- How Street Gangs Work
Writers’ Block Help/ Productivity
- Story Plot Generator
- @aveeragemusings ‘ Cure To Writers’ Block ***
- 50 Romance Plot Ideas
- Reading Like A Writer ***
- Defeat Writers’ Block
- Writing In A Bad Mood ***
- Writers Block
- When You’ve Lost Motivation To Write A Novel ***
- What To Do When The Words Won’t Flow ***
- 9 Ways To Be A More Productive Writer
- “I Cannot Write A Good Sentence Today” (How To Get Over It) ***
- Real Writing Advice ***
Info You Need To Know & Words You Didn’t Think Of
- A Writer’s Thesaurus ***
- Words To Describe… ***
- Words & Phrases To Use In Your Sex Scenes ***
- Colors (An Extensive List Of Colors)
- List Of Kinks & Fetishes ***
- List Of Elemental Abilities
- inkarnate.com : World Creator And Map Maker For Your Imaginary Setting
- Body Language Phrases
- List Of Legendary Creatures
- How To Write Magic
- Hairstyle References
- Hemingway : Writing Checker
- Body Types: Words To Describe Bodies and How They Move Around
- Poisonous Herbs and Plants ***
- The Psychology of Color
- The Meaning behind Rose color
- Types of Swords
- Color Symbolism
- How a handgun works
- How to Write a Eulogy
- Types of Crying
- Avoiding LGBTQ Stereotypes ***
- Superstitions and More
- The 12 Common Archetypes
- Language of Flowers
- 12 Realistic Woman Body Shapes
Using Feedback And Reviews
- Turning Negative Reviews Into Positive Ones ***
- Proofreading Marks : Easy Symbols To Make Reviewing/Feedback Easier ***
Authonomy Teen Ink Figment Fiction Press ReviewFuse
These Are Trusted Critique Sites ;)
Jamie Clayton and Freema Agyeman photography by James Bareham (2017)
hands down the best twitter story ever
bonus
OH MY GOD THE BONUS 😭😭😭
the motto
Mammals both produce milk and have hair. Ergo, a coconut is a mammal.
I know you’re being facetious, but this is an actual issue with morphology-based phylogeny.
*leans over and whispers to person beside me* what are they talking about
*leans over and whispers back* Human ability to quantify and categorize natural phenomena is sketchy at best and wildly misleading at worst
consider the coconut
this reminds me of that time Plato defined humans as “featherless bipeds” and Diogenes ran in with a plucked chicken screaming “BEHOLD A MAN!”
i love how you say “it reminds me of that time” like you were there.
You’re all welcome!
Bucharest by DincoloDeFatade
Happy Mother’s Day!
If anyone tells you that you can’t be badass, and also girly, don’t forget to tell them that one of the most beloved Norse goddesses, Freyja, was the goddess of beauty, sexuality, and fertility, but she was also the goddess of sorcery, war and death.
Also she did all this while riding a chariot pulled by cats.
Kromlau bridge, Germany, during all four seasons.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, ”Letter to Isabelle Amorous”, Feb 1920 (via thequotejournals)
I was out with a friend tonight doing one of my fave things. Reading the backs of romance novels aloud. Found this gem.
This is honestly the most wild sounding romance novel I have ever seen and thought it might brighten someone’s day.
OK FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON’T REALIZE, SANDRA HILL IS THE WOMAN WHO WROTE “ROUGH AMD READY” ANOTHER EROTIC VIKING NOVEL. SOME OF THE MORE MEMORABLE QUOTES BEING:
“As Hilda’s buttermilk bosoms squished up against his granite abs, Torolf almost had a dick aneurysm.”
“Torolf entered her like she was a lottery. His engorged pecker pushed inside her and she felt fulfilled with sexual fulfillment.”
“Her body was like a beautiful flower that was opening and somebody was pushing their dick inside it.”
YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE I HAVE READ THIS TO AT COLLEGE. ONE GUY COMPLETELY LOST IT FOR LIKE 10 MINUTES AFTER HEARING THE PHRASE “DICK ANEURYSM.”