AlphaBet? what is that? also could you please explain what an alpha and beta is? not the trope but in terms of writing? i’ve seen it being thrown around but never really knew what it meant...
Hi!! It’s just something silly we came up with. Cat (SaintDionysus) and I alpha and beta for @lovesbitca8, so we call ourselves the Alphabet. 😂
Have you listened to our podcast recapping Ch. 29? We talk a lot about the writing process in it, and it helps clarify what alpha’ing (vs. beta’ing) is.
Cat and I have unique roles: she has a high-level view close to the reader, and I am an “ant” helping Juls build each hill. But we’re both alphas, since we both weigh in on themes, plot points, character arcs, pacing, and tone. Juls decides whether to incorporate our feedback, which can be mild to major.
Cat and I also beta for TA. Cat talked about encouraging Juls to get rid of her “stage directions” (😂), i.e., fragments-- that’s an example of beta’ing. It’s also focused on clarity. So I’ll leave notes if something confuses me and ask her to reword. Another beta’ing task I do is review for repetitive words and phrases.
When I purely beta for a fic, such as for @monsterleadmehome‘s Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time, I'm usually not involved in plotting or pre-writing. (That said, there are always exceptions, because again, Cat takes each chapter of TA mostly fresh, but still makes suggestions consistent with alpha’ing).
Also, while purely beta’ing, I generally don’t suggest major changes. Sometimes I’ll leave somewhat significant notes, such as, “I’d really love for you to dig into his motivations here,” or, “I’m not sure if she would be thinking this-- earlier she said XYZ.” But I generally stick to my lane and focus on SPAG and clarity.
Hope this helps clarify!! 💕
