Meet Our Betas

1. Name or Screen Name?
   Fox. And I should note that Fox is actually my name, and my using it as a handle has nothing to do with (a) conceit or (b) The X-Files. :-)

2. A brief bio? Male/Female? Age? Career? Where is home? Married?
   Female. Early 20's. Career in flux. Home in flux. Single. (Okay, I've just looked at that again, and no, the Naomi-ness of that isn't at all intentional.)

3. Are you a writer as well as beta?
   Yes.

4. Do you have a web page? If so what is the URL?
   Yes. Fox's Den, home of Crazy Like a Fox, the Kourt Crowe Fan Club, Mom's Kitchen, and Layna's Lounge. Come in through the front door: https://www.squidge.org/~foxsden

5. Why do you like to beta?
   I am a raging perfectionist. It bugs me to almost no end to read something that is, critically, very good, but whose author apparently didn't know or care enough to, say, run the spell-checker. Or find out the appropriate ways to use a semicolon. Or learn the difference between "imply" and "infer." These are fairly simple things that (here's where the language snob in me comes out; I try to keep her down, really I do) it seems to me literate people ought to know.

   That's how I got into beta-ing, anyway. Pushed over the edge by mistakes that were too many to be typos. So I came in on the proofreading side. But then I realized that the same process exists on a larger scale, that there are issues of continuity and accuracy at the plot level as well as just at the language level, and that someone with the (-ahem-) attention to detail I have could also be quite successful on that side as well.

6. Do you have a preference? Jim or Blair angst, any ?
   A preference ... that's kind of an ambiguous question. :-) Just between J-angst and B-angst?

   Hard to say. I tend to reject the That's How It's Done reasoning, so I heartily approve of writers who refuse to have Blair kidnapped, or to make Jim all stoic and gruff, or whatever. Thinking outside the box -- that's the way I want to go. At the same time, though, cliches get to be that way by being true a whole lot of times, so there's something to be said for habit.

   I guess that's a No, I have no real preference. [g]

7. What kind of background do you feel is necessary to beta, or is it a natural type ability?
   Familiarity with one or both of the following:

   -- the source material -- the language

   depending on what specific sort of beta work you're being asked to do.

   Now, as I've noted, I have not so much familiarity with this show at the moment. I do, however, have a mind like a trap and a (sounding my own horn for a sec) damned good grasp of the English language and its effective use. I grew up with that stuff, and my degree is in linguistics with a minor in English. But it's not necessary to have training to know your way around your own native language. Or around your source material, frankly -- if I had a degree in American Pop Culture, maybe I'd feel differently about all these self-made experts in [insert name of show] running around, but I don't. :-)

   As for the actual process, I think a certain blend of stubbornness and deference is essential -- always, of course, depending on what the writer is after.

8. How do you feel your contributions improve the process?
   I'm able a lot of the time to shake loose the ideas that are tangled together and stuck in the writer's mind. A human thesaurus of words and phrases, that's me. :-) This comes not just from reading the drafts, but from discussing the thing with the writer as well -- she'll tell me in a sort of roundabout way what effect she's after, and that will help me help her nail it down succinctly and effectively.

   I am also, as I noted above, useful as a human spelling- and grammar- and punctuation-checker. :-) I catch things the writer might never have noticed.

   Both of these are specific instances of the general maxim that it's a good idea to have someone involved who's a few steps further away from the thing than the writer herself is. I can find the stray commas and apostrophes, because I didn't write the draft and therefore don't subconsciously make it fit my own expectations. I can rework the stubborn sentence because I didn't come up with the idea and therefore my mind doesn't resist *any* changing it around, even though that changing-around does eventually result in a brighter, sharper-focused version of the original.

9. Any other fandoms you beta/write/play in?
   Star Wars -- mainly Episode 1 slash (my gen HT project has been simmering on a back burner for years now)
   Sports Night

10. Funniest part of being a beta and the hardest part of doing it?
    Funniest part? Um ... probably getting to let loose in my comments to writers who already know me well. I tend to start of sort of restrained, but once I have a rapport with a writer, no holds are barred. I've threatened to fling myself into traffic if a writer didn't quit overusing the same word. I've used the sentence "Come on, you're a much better writer than this" with another. I've -- well, you'll see, because now I'm here, and pretty soon I'll be comfy. :-)

    The hardest part is sitting back and watching the writer get high praise and accolades for something you *know* wouldn't have been as good (or, in some cases, *any* good) without your guidance. Good writers acknowledge (and occasionally grovel at the feet of) their betas, but general readers don't. And, of course, why would they? They don't see the draft before it's done -- that's the whole reason I'm there, is to get rid of the blemishes before the readers see the finished product. How do they know if I just gave it a quick polish with a brass rag or rebuilt the thing from the ground up? They don't, and they shouldn't, but that doesn't change the fact that the hardest part of being a beta (or other sidekick; Dr. Watson, for example, or George Harrison, or -- gasp! -- B. Sandburg) is watching the main event get all the recognition.

11. A brief bibliography... please [if you write]?
    All I *have* is a brief bibliography. :-) It's all at the Fox's Den: https://www.squidge.org/~foxsden.

12. Do you have a favorite quote ? If so what and why?
    A quote from this show, or from a fanfic, or just in general?

    I have several, and I can never remember them all.

    Don't rush me, sonny. You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.
    -- Billy Crystal as Miracle Max in The Princess Bride

    KATE: I told you a liter was less than a gallon.
    FAITH: We would have had enough gas to get us there if you hadn't gotten us lost. [pause] Besides, a kilometer is less than a mile.
    KATE: Right. *Less* than a mile. So we should have been able to cover *more* of them.
    -- Bonnie Hunt (Kate) and Marisa Tomei (Faith) in Only You

    There's a marvelous quote from one of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, in which Arthur says something like "We're just operating under different value systems," and Ford said "Well, mine's better," but I don't remember the exact details. I'll have to look it up.

13. Any thing else you would like to share with your readers ?
    A present participle is not, on its own, enough of a verb to make a sentence. Many betas, myself included, allowing occasional exceptions.

    [g]

14. Email address ?
    Write to Fox at the_fox01@hotmail.com

1. Name or Screen Name ?
   Gryph (AKA Jenna Blake in old AOL circles)

2. A brief bio ? Male/Female ? Age ? Career ? Where is home ? Married ?
   Female, 40, Network Admin. (AKA Computer Geek) Live in Ohio and never married though came close once. Then I came to my senses

3. Are you a writer as well as beta?
   Well I am now..wasn't really one a few weeks ago.

4. Do you have a web page ? If so what is the URL ?
   Only web page I have is for my online role playing game. The drawing is me as my character quite a few years ago... Spook's Place: http://www0.delphi.com/spooksplace/ (don't ask why the 0 is after the www, delphi is just strange)

5. Why do you like to beta ?
   Because I see it as not only helping others improve their writing, it helps me improve mine.

6. Do you have a preference? Jim or Blair angst, any ?
   I tend to prefer first time stories...with equal opportunity angst thrown in .

7. What kind of background do you feel is necessary to beta, or is it a natural type ability ?
   Good grasp of grammar, innate sense of what sounds right.

8. How do you feel your contributions improve the process ?
   I hope that I'll make the story read better, come across better. Catch the little things that we tend to miss when reading our own writing.

9. Any other fandoms you beta/write/play in ?
   I play in Due South, XFiles, Trek and Quantum Leap. (and if anyone goes digging..I did cowrite a Stingray story many many many years ago that was put out in a zine..and still cringe when I read it <G>)

10. Funniest part of being a beta and the hardest part of doing it ?
    Don't have a funny part yet. Hardest is telling someone that something they really like needs to be cut or changed.

11. A brief bibliography... please [if you write] ?
    Ackkk....this is going to be short
    Co-author "Chances" (Stingray story)
    Co-author "Male Exchange" (with WoD and Alyjude)

12. Do you have a favorite quote ? If so what and why ?
    Not yet..still looking for one..

13. Any thing else you would like to share with your readers ?
    That I'm not quite sure I how I got dragged into this??

14. Email address ?
    Write to Gryph at gryph@columbus.rr.com

1. Name or Screen Name ?
   Helen Stagie Karidi or just Stagie.

2. A brief bio? Male/Female? Age? Career? Where is home? Married ?
   Female, 26, web designer, Patras-Greece, no :)

3. Are you a writer as well as beta?
   Not really. I just try.

4. Do you have a web page ? If so what is the URL ?
   I "keep" the stories of VampyrAlex and Monica (while trying to make my own page). Metallica Slash Archive: https://www.squidge.org/~stageira/alex

5. Why do you like to beta ?
   Cause I'm a sucker for reading stories? :) I really have no idea, I started one day and then I couldn't find a way to stop.

6. Do you have a preference? Jim or Blair angst, any ?
   Blair :) Sap.

7. What kind of background do you feel is necessary to beta, or is it a natural type ability?
   Well if we are talking about me, I think it's natural and since I'm not english lets just say that I'm not the expert :)

8. How do you feel your contributions improve the process ?
   I'm good at picking out details. Even in fictions posted years ago or by famous authors, that makes me be even more careful with my betas. Also I can tell if a story makes sense or not :)

9. Any other fandoms you beta/write/play in ?
   TPM, Highlander, Metallica.

10. Funniest part of being a beta and the hardest part of doing it ?
    That I usually see things that no one else can LOL. That I'm swamped from work and RL, thus making me late to deliver the damn things.

11. A brief bibliography... please [if you write]?
    Write....... not really. If you want the betas though :)

12. Do you have a favorite quote ? If so what and why ?
    Here we go again :)
    "Never opened myself this way
    life is ours, we live it our way
    all these words I don't just say"
    Well I could paste all the lyrics from Nothing Else Matters here LOL

13. Any thing else you would like to share with your readers ?
    Uhhhh I'm innocent :)

14. Email address ?
    Write to Helen at stageira@squidge.org or stageria@slashcity.org

1. Name or Screen Name?
   --KimAnne

2. A brief bio? Male/Female? Age? Career? Where is home? Married?
   --Female / 26 / Accounts Payable or Human Resources / Pennsylvania / No

3. Are you a writer as well as beta?
   --Yes

4. Do you have a web page ? If so what is the URL ?
   --No

5. Why do you like to beta ?
   --I like to read the stories slowly, and look into things, make sure everything is consistant. I also like discussing storylines, characters, I tend to delve in deeply at times. <g> Also like the sneak preview, and the fact that I've seen something no one else has. I hope that I'm able to help the writer flush out different ideas and thoughts, that's what I like most.

6. Do you have a preference? Jim or Blair angst, any?
   --I'll read anything <g> But I think I like Blair angst and pain; it is the change reaction, cause Jim reacts in such different ways when Blair is hurting.

7. What kind of background do you feel is necessary to beta, or is a natural type ability ?
   --I don't think a background is necessary, but beta's should really care about the characters and story itself. Sometimes one beta can't do the grammar and such, just the plot, characterizations, etc. So you have two, usually beta's will know their limits, or at least what their specialty is. Patience and honesty is also needed, and above all a good way of suggesting your thoughts. As a beta you don't want to insult the writer, so politeness is also needed.

8. How do you feel your contributions improve the process ?
   --I like to hope that I'm able to help maintain a characters actions, make sure the plot was believable in terms of what was laid out in the beginning, and that the writer gets more ideas from my comments or just learns a different way of saying something.

9. Any other fandoms you beta/write/play in ?
   --The Sentinel is the biggest fandom I have, but I'm also interested in the Hercules and Xena Universe, Metallica... I have a bunch of fandoms that I haven't taken the time to go find stories or communities yet though.

10. Funniest part of being a beta and the hardest part of doing it ?
    --I don't have a funniest, but the hardest for me, is finding the time to sit down and just concentrate on the story. I love to sit and read through a story in large chunks (it depends on the size) doing it in small pieces allows you to run the risk of losing continuity.

11. A brief bibliography... please [if you write] ?
    --

12. Do you have a favorite quote ? If so what and why ?
    --Nothing comes to mind at the moment.

13. Any thing else you would like to share with your readers ?

14. Email address ?
    Write to KimAnne at kimanne@dca.net