you deserve to draw, by the way. even badly. even horribly
you deserve to draw,
by the way. even badly.
even horribly
Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.
cherry valley forever
Keni
Show & Tell
Monterey Bay Aquarium
occasionally subtle
Acquired Stardust
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH

Andulka
Peter Solarz

Stranger Things
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Claire Keane
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
AnasAbdin
taylor price
trying on a metaphor

Janaina Medeiros

shark vs the universe
hello vonnie
seen from United States

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seen from Malaysia

seen from Malaysia
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seen from United States

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seen from United States
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seen from Finland
@otomedad
you deserve to draw, by the way. even badly. even horribly
you deserve to draw,
by the way. even badly.
even horribly
Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

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Free to watch β’ No registration required β’ HD streaming
I absolutely 100% without question believe in the power of betas, and I advocate for getting one as much as possible, and I think they are amazing. The only problem is dealing with beta feedback without crushing despair and endless self-doubt. How the heck do I take critique gracefully and build something better without lying face down on the floor for three days first? (PS you are amazing, thank you!)
If this is your actual reaction to critique and not hyperbole to get your point across, you might want to read up on Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and see if thatβs something youβd like to talk about with your doctor. This level of a reaction to beta comments feels extreme and might be a sign of something else going on, whether thatβs RSD or something else.Β
If thatβs just hyperbole and you feel a sense of disappointment or dejection as a result of hearing critique then you might just need to talk to your beta reader about how you want that critique to come at you. Do you want a negative to be balanced out with a positive? Do you want a critique to come with a plan for how to fix the problem? Do you want it phrased as a question rather than as a statement?
We all have preferences when it comes to receiving feedback, and we all respond differently to different styles. If youβre receiving feedback in a form that doesnβt work for you, then try a different form and see if that works better.Β
Another thing thatβs important to remember is that these comments are not about youΒ as a person, theyβre about your writing. The person who is giving you this feedback is invested in making your writing better. They want you to succeed and they want you to tell the best version of your story possible, and their focus is on helping you do that.Β
Nothing that we write is ever going to be perfect, and a first draft is even rougher. Thereβs no shame at all in needing to improve. If thereβs nothing to work on, then thereβs nothing to learn. Accepting critique means accepting an opportunity to do better next time, to learn a new technique or concept. Doing something badly means that youβre doing something thatβs hard for you, and itβs only by working beyond our capabilities that we can improve.Β
Be proud of your mistakes. They prove that youβre willing to take a risk. Youβre striving and reaching and pushing yourself to do more. Keep reaching, anon. Youβll get there. π
Another perspective:Β
It sounds like someone has convinced you that the only way to improve is having a beta, or that the only way to writeΒ βgoodβ fanfic is to have a beta.Β
But the thing is - if having a beta is not something you enjoy, donβt.Β
You donβt owe anyone any particular way of doing things. I think it is very important to keep in mind that fanfic is a hobby - something you should enjoy doing. Donβt do it in a way you donβt enjoy.Β
No matter if you have a beta or not, if you get comments or not - just the act of writing does make your writing better.Β
I donβt generally use a beta, because I know it would be stressful and un-empowering for me. I write the way I enjoy writing, and I think you need to step back and consider what are the reasons you enjoy writing? What do you get out of it?
Of course - if you write with a goal of commercial success for your Original Novel, and you write fanfic to prepare for that, then it might be different. Maybe you do need to face your growing pains. But do reflect over the purpose of your writing.Β
YES. I love having a beta reader and there are still fics where I do not get a beta. Either because itβs not the style or fandom of anyone Iβd usually ask to beta, or because itβs good enough and I just want to post it, or because the content is personal enough that I know I couldnβt take any critique, or because I just plain donβt feel like it.Β Having a beta reader is the most useful to me when thereβs something very specific I want them to do. Maybe itβs spelling and grammar - frequently I get to the point with writing where I KNOW that one sentence just isnβt sounding right but I have no clue how to tweak it and someone elseβs eyes will see what mine wonβt. Maybe Iβm stuck on plot and need someone to tell me where they think itβs going, or help me brainstorm. It just works a lot better for me when I can sayΒ βIβm not sure this characterβs voice is right, and also Iβm not sure whether I need a clearer explanation of this particular plot point, and if you see any typos let me knowβ instead of just an open endedΒ βgo forth and editβ. Iβm most likely to get thatΒ βI need to go throw myself into the ocean nowβ feeling when I get feedback Iβm not expecting. And also - sometimes you need to take some time with edits. There have absolutely been times when Iβve needed to read through suggestions and then shove it in a metaphorical drawer for a week. Usually with bigger edits like plot or pacing edits, but frequently even with tiny ones. Crushing despair and endless self-doubt sucks and is definitely no fun to feel, but thereβs also no need to beat yourself up over not feeling enthusiastic about feedback. It doesnβt mean youβre a bad writer or a bad person if it takes you a while to be ready to act on critique. Sometimes you just have to take your time.
Can I make a suggestion as someone who loves betas? Flip the beta process: ask your beta to read the story or WIP or scene cold, donβt tell them anything about it and donβt ask for any initial/overall/global response from them.Β Then, once theyβve read it, ask them questions.Β
Start with reading comprehension questions--and there is no such thing as a too dumb question!Β What happened in that scene you just read?Β Can you summarize the story or scene back to me?Β Then, if there are any tricky points to your story, ask about those:Β what did character Y do there?Β Β Did you get what was happening between Y and Z--can you narrate back to me what you read? The next level up is motivation and feelings/interpretations: Why did character Y do that, do you think? How does he feel? How did scene V make you feel about this person place or thing? When did you think X and Y first had sparks?
Do not give your poor betas any answers to these questions, or give hints as to theΒ βrightβ answers--because theyβre not wrong or right. YOU are either coming across or you are not coming across: if the beta isnβt picking up what you are putting down, you have to go back and fix the story so that the words in that particular order create the feeling you want in the reader. If the scene is supposed to make you cry, and the beta thinks its funny, you gotta redo it.Β If your brilliant plot point got missed, you were TOO SUBTLE and you have to add pointers and cues. I have been surprised btw that sometimes I have not gotten my straightforward plot points across--literally my reader doesnβt know what the hell happened, let alone why it happened or have feelings about why it happened. If they donβt know that Fred is dead, they sure wonβt know who killed Fred or be sad that Fredβs dead or feel Johnβs pain at Fredβs untimely and tragic death!
Then hereβs the thing--once youβve done all this, then you CAN tell Beta A what you were on about and ask Beta A, like, okay, how could I have better clued you in to the fact that Fred is dead? Why didnβt you think Fred was dead? Work your way with them through Fredβs death to who did it and how you feel and all that.Β This beta can now be your collaborator/partner in crime.Β But THEN, like, sadly, you really canβt believe them really when they say the story is fixed, because now, like you,Β they know what they were supposed to be getting from the story. You canβt know that the words on the page alone are whatβs doing the work, and thatβs what writing is.Β So ideally you need to find someone ELSE, Beta B, and say, again,Β βHey, can you read this and can I ask you some questions?βΒ Then ask Beta B--what happened? why did it happen? Can you tell me how that scene makes you feel? Whoβs right in that argument, X or Y?--and when theyβre like, *sobbing,* Fred heβs dead, he deserved better, I am keysmashing my way through Johnβs grief, you bastard--then: post! :DΒ
For me, this helps, because Iβm not asking the beta to solve my problems and Iβm also not asking for their evaluation. I can thank them totally sincerely regardless of what they say (and you should--and also make them feel comfortable summarizing back to you, cause whatever they say is good data.) I also hate this thing where you feel like a beta wants you to write a different story than the one youβre writing, or when you get contradictory advice.Β Iβm not asking them βwhat theyβd do.βΒ Iβm asking them to literally say back to me what they think the words are saying, and adjusting my story based on it.Β
I have worked with a lot of betas over the years, and in many different ways. It's always a negotiation, working with someone new, and you as the author have to let them know what you want out of them as a beta.
Generally, for example, I am not looking for spelling-and-grammar. It's great if someone can catch typos, but I am a good speller and I make stylistic choices that I am absolutely not going to change no matter how a beta feels about it.
On the other hand, I like working with betas who are willing to function as developmental editors; they're not interested in changing my style and they barely ever touch the sentences themselves. Instead they are looking for plot holes, continuity errors, character motivations, the clarity of events, timelining, flow. Often these types of betas also cheer me on and help me untangle occasional thorny rat's-nest sentences that I just can't make work; I've usually called this type of overall beta work "midwifing". (There are a lot of things I write, particularly short things, that really don't need that at all. There's a fair amount of unbeta'd fanfic in my ao3, and for the first few years I wrote, I didn't use a beta at all. And then there's stories that absolutely needed it, that never would have seen the light of day without betas.) This isn't an easy kind of author-beta relationship with the wrong person! I do not recommend this with a new beta; it should be someone with whom you are familiar and who you know you can work with, AND who you know is likely to be good at this. Sometimes you don't have that person, though, and need to find them. (I was once told by a previous beta that she couldn't work on a particular story, but that I should try a rather well-known reccer in the fandom, to whom I had never spoken. That worked out fantastically, but boy was I nervous about it.)
I have found it cannot be a passive relationship, working with a beta. You have to talk to them. You have to ask for what you think the story needs and what you need as an author, however that looks. Maybe it looks like the open-ended questions that @cesperanza suggests. Maybe it's intense developmental work. Maybe you really want a spelling-and-grammar edit and nothing else. But it won't happen by magic. It's working with someone to make your story better, without making it any less yours, and it is work. It can be amazing work -- it can be generative and fun and a wonderful part of being a fannish writer -- but it's work.
ITS YVES AAAAGHHHHH I NEED HIM π₯Ίπ
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Yesterday i saw my little brother doing the wordle and i saw him do
THONG
BUSTY
STUMP
Before i walked away
Hes doing it rn and i look over to see this
Did u assume from his choices that he was smart

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this drawing turned out kinda buns but its Kagari so its okπ₯Ήπ₯Ή
A once-in-a-lifetime shot β the moon perfectly framed by a rainbow. Caught at just the right time. π π
πΈππ
ΰΈ ^._.^ΰΈ πΎ
Thank you, Vil!

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Free to watch β’ No registration required β’ HD streaming
Mitsuhide's speech patterns will never not be funny to me.
*something fucked up happens*
Hideyoshi: God fucking damn it!!
Mitsuhide: Goodness gracious!
uncalled for
Felt appropriate
>:]
Thank you everyone. Today we hit [insert vague follower milestone]. Wonderful work
Mentioned to my therapist I'm working 39 hours a week for the first time in my life and how I feel like I'm using all my energy up at work and this bitch really went "having low energy is a symptom of depression, let's think about how to do things to energize you!"
Excuse me ma'am do you know what it's fucking like to work in a hot sweaty kitchen 8 full hours a day when you're autistic and have sensory processing disorders?? I'm well within my right to be tired as shit get the fuck out of here.
Disabled people will say really they don't have the spoons for something and doctors will say it's their own fault or some shit. You can't self care your way into more energy sometimes.
Me: I've been using all my energy at work, and then after that it goes to chores like laundry, dishes, personal hygiene, so my room is a mess because I never have the energy left after all that to clean it.
Therapist: Have you tried getting more sunlight?
the stages of whale fall || [riso prints]

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch β’ No registration required β’ HD streaming
the stages of whale fall || [riso prints]
θθγ¨ηΎδΊΊγRose and Beauty