Well, the answer to that, pet, is quite simplistic. A beta is a bloke or a gal, who goes through a fan fiction for the author, checking spelling, grammar, characterization, repetition, points of view, flow of the story and everything else that can go wrong.
So let's go through the whole enchilada here. Or well, some of it anyway. Some of the most common mistakes will appear here, and I'll try to update the site from time to time.
Below are some of the things a beta-reader should be on the lookout for when going through a story for an author.
And there are a couple of important things to remember, sort of unwritten rules, for beta-reading.
1. Never, ever - under no circumstances - should the beta change anything in the story. A beta-reader should mark his or her suggestions by separating her comments from the text of the story. This can be done by asterisks, italics, colored text or other means.
2. If the author asks you to make changes in the story directly, that makes you an editor, and personally, I would never let anyone do that except a professional editor for a fanzine.
Why? Because if the person I send my story off to makes the changes directly, there is no way I can learn from them. I cannot disagree and decide not to use a suggestion either. This is very important for any author.
Someone once said to me that stories are like our children, and in some ways I agree, but it is also important to remember that when someone does a beta for you, you must be open-minded. Listen to what your beta has to say about your story, consider his or her suggestions and then - you either follow them or dismiss them. Ultimately you are responsible for your own fiction and you must have it in you to say 'no' if you don't agree with what your beta suggests.
You'd want your child to be the best they can be, after all, wouldn't you?
S p e l l i n g :
Well, that's fairly straight forward. Either you've spelled the word right, or you haven't. Use a spell checker if you have one in your word processing software. If you don't, ask someone who you know is good at spelling.
G r a m m a r :
Grammar can be trickier, because sometimes, grammar isn't following the set rules. Lots of rules are weird. For instance, in rules of grammar it is 'wrong' to use sentence fragments, but in some cases they can be very effective, and useful. You shouldn't be afraid of breaking the grammar rules from time to time, but when doing it too often, it can be tiresome. The rules are there for a reason.
C o m m o n m i s t a k e s :
Multiple personality disorder: Try avoiding using things like "the vampire", "the bleached blonde", "the blond man" etc when you describe Spike for instance. Sometimes you end up making the reader believe there are more people in the story than you intended. It's always fairly safe to use "Spike". Same goes for Buffy and the words "slayer", "blonde woman" etc.
His, him, he, etc: Something that's easy to miss in a story when you're deep into writing is the "his","hims" and "he's" of the story. Especially if you're writing slash. And that's often when the "vampire" and other synonyms crop up. Try remembering to use the names as often as possible. The name is often ignored by the reader and blends with the rest of the story in a way that mutliple words to describe the same person doesn't.
C h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n :
Characterization is very personal. We all view the characters of the show slightly different. But we can also have very close ideas of what a character is like. Sometimes, it's good to find a beta who has a completely different opinion about the characters than you as an author do. Why? Because that ends up you making the character more well-rounded and interesting than otherwise.
W o r d s t h a t a r e o f t e n m i s u s e d :
"Than" and "then", "your" and "you're", "to and too", "lay and laid, lie, laying and lying". Also "breath" and "breathe" "waist" and "waste"
Here are some examples on how the words should be used. However stupid the meaning of them may be, they are correct.
1. Then he looked at her and she was more than beautiful, she was gorgeous.
2. Your dad is coming but you're not going to talk to him, are you?
3. I love you too, but you are too old for me. It wouldn't be a good idea for us to get married. It's too soon.
4. I've got to get laid, and if you won't lie on my bed, I'll lay you down on a bed of roses. Lying on that might be painful because of the thorns, but I'm laying claim on you nonetheless.
5. He had to catch his breath, because suddenly it was difficult to breathe.
6. He put his arms around her waist, because there was not time to waste before he kissed her.
7. May and might....are words I have trouble with myself, so I'm afraid I can't help you here...
M a r y S u e, M a r t y S u e, S e l f i n s e r t i o n , O r i g i n a l c h a r a c t e r s:
This is a difficult topic. And one that we should all be careful with. Sometimes it's a good idea to insert an original character, but not very often. You have to build a character with good sides and bad sides, and the character's role in the story must be pivotal, and by pivotal I'm not talking about the character being allowed to shag Spike.
The problem with selfinsertion is that it can be both embarrassing and/or boring for an outsider to read. There are only two choices really. Either you go with the original character, and you spend time building something real out of him or her , and if you do such a good job, I really think it would be better to write an original fic and try to sell it to a publisher, or you just avoid it.
Sometimes, an original character can be necessary, but those are nearly always very minor characters and have little interaction with the big players (such as Buffy, Willow, Spike, Angel etc)
R e p e t i t i o n :
Repetition is a killer of moods. Variation of the language is a masterful art that's difficult to learn, but keep at it. However, there are times when repetition or repetitive words are necessary. Rule of thumb is that if it's common words like "He said","She said", "Buffy said", "Spike said" etc etc, you can keep the 'said.' It's much, much more aggravating when an author tries to find a new word for each paragraph. What works better in your mind.
"I'm
hungry," Buffy said and yawned.
"Me too," said Willow.
They both looked over at Xander who shrugged and said:
"I can go grab a pizza if you're up for it."
Or.
"I'm
hungry," Buffy growled and yawned.
"Me too," agreed Willow
They book looked over at Xander who shrugged and murmured:
"I can go grab a pizza if you're up for it."
Now, this might not be a perfect example, because there are other words that can be used in this example to make the language flow more smoothly. But the point is that using words as growled and murmured in this instance only makes the language seem awkward, and doesn't add to the characterization one bit. Buffy might growl because she's hungry, but it seems unlikely. If it were Spike on the other hand ...
Just be careful when you try finding substitutes for common words.
On the other hand repetitiveness can get horribly tiresome as well. And especially if it is words that are uncommon. For instance. Using the words "Bloody hell" when Spike is talking is pretty okay now and then, but be careful of having him say it ten times in a story. That becomes tiring, and not indicative of his character. Other characters have other 'specific' phrases that shouldn't be used too often. Giles "Oh dear," for instance.
A d v e r b s :
Descriptive phrases are important, but it's also important not to overuse. Generally, I'd go with trying to avoid too many adverbs in a story. If each of your sentences have more than one adverb in them, there are probably too many.
C l i c h é s :
Avoid clichés like the plague. It's difficult, trust me. I use them all the time, but try to avoid it. Try finding your own way of describing things. If it sounds too familiar, you can be pretty sure that it's a cliché. Clichés in Buffy would probably be having Anya talk about sex and money *all the time*. She does that an awful lot on the show, but there is more to her character than that. Another cliché would have to be Tara stuttering all the time, or Giles clenaing his glasses too often. Spike would say "Bloody hell" every other sentence and Angel would brood all the time. It's important to remember that characteristics like these are great for giving flavor to a story, but one has to avoid using them too much. Just like anything else in life, too much is not good. Too little isn't good either, because then you could be writing about any characters. It's a balancing act.
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