woah!
Uh... so much happening in such a short time! anyway... it's nice how this side of the forum is teeming with life... and i'm somehow part of that life... i'm such a no life now... anyway...
i'm a bit late so, i apologize...
what does everyone think about our fanfic forum? ^_^ I mean, we're probably one of the more prominent (?) English-based H!P fanfic forums?
Yeah, I remember telling some people here about that. I think we are a pretty active community of writers and readers. I don't know if it's just me but even with our growing numbers recently, we sort of have an idea who's who around here (and I don't mean that in a hierarchical who's who, rather who writes what and how), I think we also have a very diverse roster of writers and readers. Most of the time I think the exchanges are healthy...
The white list is a good idea. (I was reading my fic yesterday and i really wanted to shoot myself.)
The bootcamp.... I think it would be good to develop the core of the story first before diving head on... So that the story can have depth, have a strong foundation and can be developed in a more consistent, concentrated and coherent manner with some faithfulness the the characters involved... so yes to the bootcamp...
Well... I had a sort-of bootcamp-master-beta too... but then, I'm really a nut so... I kinda wasted that... It's good when the beta has a good grasp of the characterizations and has a pretty good depth perception...
Can we have a list of people who want and are available to beta? So that we won't end up harassing people who might not be available to do it... Maybe we can have them indexed...
Like:
Characters they have "mastered" (in a manner of speaking)
Literary Focus (if a writer wants to improve on specific elements)
Tendencies writers might want to run away from (Reasons why we SHOULDN'T pick you) - biases or quirks that might impede a fair and honest assessment of the story
Etc. (These are just suggestions)
and then just "apply" for "discipleship"
I also suggest an expansion of the bootcamp... Just to stimulate greater variety among the stories that are coming out... So maybe... a combined index for bootcamp-masters and betas (just specify which side are you on, the before, after or both)
a chatroom would be awesome... so we can talk in real-time...
Yeah... I think when the criticism is grounded on valid substantiated reasons, that can't be ripping apart... as long as the necessary points are specified and you find that there really is a need for improvement, it stings a lot but it's for our own good...
While many are buddies and what not, I think there should still be some respect for the writers and the stories... It's bad enough that you know you did something wrong... but sometimes the delivery of the news is more heart-wrenching... There are many painful ways of receiving criticism, bring on the pain but insults are definitely not welcome.
I think PM's are good places to point those things out... discretion and tact
and secret codes are welcome on the threads themselves...