tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600710658483710039.post9130859886528434221..comments2023-10-15T06:45:50.867-07:00Comments on The Conley Corner: Beta ReadersAnne Conleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00252038587617716689noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600710658483710039.post-35474452488471650022013-05-07T09:06:02.741-07:002013-05-07T09:06:02.741-07:00Yeah, exactly right on deciding which suggestions ...Yeah, exactly right on deciding which suggestions to work on. It must come with time and experience as a writer, because it is difficult at times to know when to follow a reader's advice or not. We are so attached to our work, it is hard to be objective. <br /><br />I have had to cut things from a story because all the readers disliked it, things that I personally loved, but in the end I wanted the story to work more than I wanted to keep in a "darling." Still...sometimes, you have to keep the things IN that make your story, YOUR story. But, how do we know the difference? <br /><br />Part of it might be having the right readers for the right story. My writing group loves happy stuff, and I write some dark stuff and they always try to get me to rewrite it with a lighter touch. My husband reads the same story and says, "You're scary, but I like it." Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09978176432357891953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600710658483710039.post-23571331136226560172013-05-06T08:30:00.835-07:002013-05-06T08:30:00.835-07:00I really lucked out on my critique group...Some me...I really lucked out on my critique group...Some members have left, and we all have lives outside of writing, so sometimes the crits get a little sporadic. But they are the best, most supportive women (I think) I could ask for to look at my writing. Between the critique group and you, I feel like my tool box is filling up. <br /><br />About the suggestion-taking, I've thought about a blog post just on that, because you, as the author, have to decide which suggestions work for your piece. It's like we were talking about in an email, I think, where some critiques want to change so much that it's not your story when it's all said and done. <br /><br /> Anne Conleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00252038587617716689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2600710658483710039.post-8675877979303727282013-05-06T08:14:26.470-07:002013-05-06T08:14:26.470-07:00Beta readers - tricky all round. I've found fr...Beta readers - tricky all round. I've found friends and family aren't the best solution, for pretty much the same reasons as you. <br /><br />My husband is great for reading and telling me if things work or not, but I have to ask him very specific questions and it he's never going to give me a full critique. <br /><br />I used to belong to one online crit group and it turned into a writing-by-committee situation. One guy's fab story was utterly destroyed when he tried to incorporate everyone's varied suggestions. Then, one guy took one of my crits (where I essentially praised the story, no less) way too personally and went on a bit of a rant in our group about it. It has kind of made me nervous, especially as I am very empathetic to the writer's nerves about putting their "baby" out there for others to crit. <br /><br />Betas - important, but elusive!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09978176432357891953noreply@blogger.com