BTW, I usually don't ask for beta-readers anymore. I have a couple of friends who will check my SPaG (especially if I need Brit-picking) or just see if the story makes sense, but usually I trust myself more than most people. My worst beta-experiences include (but are not limited to) the person trying to override my voice, correcting canon-correct terms, and straight out saying they didn't read the previous paragraph (when I snapped they'd corrected a thing wrong). So, yeah. Also, unfortunately, I've had a couple of experiences where I've asked for help and the person stood me up. After a couple of those, I'd just... you know, edit my thing all by myself.
I have a couple of tips for self-editing! (If you have a process that works, ignore me!)
1. Don't even think about the story for at least a week or two after writing it -- the longer you wait, the fresher your viewpoint. It's tough with fanfic, because the root of fanfic is "SHARE ALL THE FUN THINGS!"
2. Change the medium from how you wrote it. Change the page color, font, and font size. Even better, assemble the story into one file and use Calibre E-book (free software) to load it onto a Kindle or other device. Or you can print it out and edit by hand, which is surprisingly helpful, especially if you're reorganizing a story. All you need are scissors, scotch tape, a red pen, and a really lazy co-author.
Holy shit, your self-editing is so much more structured than mine! :D
I agree with you on the let it be -mentality. I usually let my stories simmer for months if I can (depending on the story, of course), and then I start rereading and rewriting. I use Scrivener but I haven't tried revision tools. I just revise and rewrite the actual text, add highlights and comments (my own favorites so far being FURY WHAT THE FUCK? and ADD WET DREAMS). I do think printing stuff out and editing by hand would probably help but I don't have a printer and I'm...rather paranoid about printing stuff out at work...well...
I'm my own worst critique. I read a paragraph, turn it this way and that way, read it sentence by sentence, and ask what it means and what it lacks. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out what my fic is missing but if I get stuck, I'll ask a friend.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2019-01-23 07:16 pm (UTC)BTW, I usually don't ask for beta-readers anymore. I have a couple of friends who will check my SPaG (especially if I need Brit-picking) or just see if the story makes sense, but usually I trust myself more than most people. My worst beta-experiences include (but are not limited to) the person trying to override my voice, correcting canon-correct terms, and straight out saying they didn't read the previous paragraph (when I snapped they'd corrected a thing wrong). So, yeah. Also, unfortunately, I've had a couple of experiences where I've asked for help and the person stood me up. After a couple of those, I'd just... you know, edit my thing all by myself.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-24 03:31 pm (UTC)1. Don't even think about the story for at least a week or two after writing it -- the longer you wait, the fresher your viewpoint. It's tough with fanfic, because the root of fanfic is "SHARE ALL THE FUN THINGS!"
2. Change the medium from how you wrote it. Change the page color, font, and font size. Even better, assemble the story into one file and use Calibre E-book (free software) to load it onto a Kindle or other device. Or you can print it out and edit by hand, which is surprisingly helpful, especially if you're reorganizing a story. All you need are scissors, scotch tape, a red pen, and a really lazy co-author.
Like this one: https://twitter.com/JordanSBrock/status/1088458987341795328
no subject
Date: 2019-01-26 02:43 pm (UTC)I agree with you on the let it be -mentality. I usually let my stories simmer for months if I can (depending on the story, of course), and then I start rereading and rewriting. I use Scrivener but I haven't tried revision tools. I just revise and rewrite the actual text, add highlights and comments (my own favorites so far being FURY WHAT THE FUCK? and ADD WET DREAMS). I do think printing stuff out and editing by hand would probably help but I don't have a printer and I'm...rather paranoid about printing stuff out at work...well...
I'm my own worst critique. I read a paragraph, turn it this way and that way, read it sentence by sentence, and ask what it means and what it lacks. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out what my fic is missing but if I get stuck, I'll ask a friend.