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➤ Lorei; 20+; Writer & Artist; Linktree (personal blog, Ko-Fi, Store)

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#masterlist #ikesen #ikepri #ikevamp #the arcana

ao3commentoftheday

Coming from the opposite end of the beta discussion: I am very proud of my skills in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. However, three fic writers have asked me to beta read for them in the past, focusing on these points specifically, and each one has- upon seeing my review notes for the aforementioned- replied immediately with things such as, "that's just my writing style," "how did I miss that one misspelled word? I'm so stupid," and similar.

I've tried to adapt. I read the things they posted before they'd asked for my input. I balanced what was perceived as criticism with praise. Sometimes I even outweighed the former in favor of the latter. But they always inevitably cried, or got defensive, and quickly stopped asking me to beta.

So, anyway. I don't know if it's because of how I do things (brief, to-the-point notes seeming cold, maybe?) or if I just keep encountering people who are so sensitive to rejection that any small mistake being pointed out is taken as an insult to the writer themself.

I love beta reading. I'm proud of my ability to do so. And it's the closest one can get to being an editor anymore, since job opportunities for that are rare to nonexistent. But no longer feel secure putting myself out there and volunteering to do so. And I genuinely wonder how many others have gone through this, and if maybe that's why beta readers are so hard to come by?

Hi anon. *hugs* I'm sorry that you haven't found a good match with an author yet, especially if editing is something you love and miss doing. It's heartbreaking when you have something you want to share and you can't - and that includes the skills you mention here.

I think what others have said can help - having conversations before, during, and after beta reading to set expectations and try to be on the same page (no pun intended).

But I also think that sometimes people don't know themselves as well as they think they do. I have definitely said I wanted Thing A before when it turned out what I actually wanted was Thing E instead - and I had to go through A-D to figure that out.

Your way of editing is probably a dream for some folks and a nightmare for others. If I were the kind of person who could wait more than 5 seconds before posting a chapter, I'd probably want a beta like you.

One way that might make it easier to find where you and the author can meet in the middle would be for you to do a sample paragraph or page of beta editing for a work that neither of you have written. Without the personal element of the author feeling protective or sensitive about their work, you can demonstrate the kinds of comments you tend to leave and they could provide a version of those comments that aligns with what they're hoping to receive on their own work.

I'm thinking something along the lines of:

You: This is a run-on sentence. You can correct it by separating it into three sentences here, here, and here or you can use a semicolon here and em-dashes there.

Them: This is a run-on sentence. Grammatically we could fix it, but you could also leave it in as a stylistic choice. It changes the pacing of this scene into something more frenetic and breathless. Is that what you're aiming for here?

Obviously this is a totally made up thing I'm doing here, but this is also a mismatch that you could identify early. If you're not comfortable making the kind of comments that the author comes back to you with, then you're probably not a good fit for each other.

Betas like you are a lifeline for a lot of authors, and I hope that you can find one that is looking for your style someday 💕

#anon you're a treasure #i have a friend like you and i cherish her inputs greatly #your experience is exactly why i say that writers shouldn't make beta-readers responsible for their emotional state #and sure betas shouldn't be mean #but i sort of take that for granted #i want to believe that writers and beta-readers work together in good faith #long post #also this topic interests me quite a lot because of how culture plays into it #pls don't assume that being very soft is going to be the right thing to do -- TALK with your writer #being indirect and sugarcoating things is seen as impolite or even rude in my culture lol #while in other cultures being overly direct can be taken that way

ao3commentoftheday

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 that’s something you’d 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 that’s RSD or something else.

If that’s 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 you’re receiving feedback in a form that doesn’t work for you, then try a different form and see if that works better.

Another thing that’s important to remember is that these comments are not about you as a person, they’re 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.

Nothing that we write is ever going to be perfect, and a first draft is even rougher. There’s no shame at all in needing to improve. If there’s nothing to work on, then there’s 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 you’re doing something that’s hard for you, and it’s only by working beyond our capabilities that we can improve.

Be proud of your mistakes. They prove that you’re willing to take a risk. You’re striving and reaching and pushing yourself to do more. Keep reaching, anon. You’ll get there. 💕

lorei-writes

Hmm... Anon, I wonder, how strongly are you attached to the idea of being a "good writer"?

We often find that the things which hurt us the most are directly tied into our identity. If that is the case, then a critique of our work is no longer just that, but becomes a personal attack. It threatens the core of what we believe ourselves to be, which in turn may feel like "the end of the world". In a way, it truly contradicts something we consider a fundamental truth, the foundations of what we are. However, it is just the pain of bruised ego.

My advice would be to look into yourself. There's nothing shameful about it feeling this way. The question is: is that useful for you? Does it help you? Or does it cause you hurt and impede your growth?

Personally, I find that the more invested I am in the action ("writing") rather than being something ("I am a writer"), the easier it is for me to be detached and calm. It may sound counter-intuitive, but I think getting rid of the "I am a good writer" identity and the "I want to be a good writer" attachment is what made me a better writer. It removed the drive to be good and allowed me to just be, examine my work without any sense of failure, and discuss it with other people.

Of course, you still need some "chemistry" with your beta-reader, especially in regards to the plot itself. Outline what you're looking for in feedback and specify your boundaries. If you can't handle hearing about everything at once, tell them "I want to focus on xxx only" and specify whether (and how) you'd prefer for any other issues to be brought up. However, don't make them responsible for managing your feelings.

The point of setting boundaries isn't to prevent the situations in which you may feel hurt from occurring completely. It is to bring down their intensity to a level you can safely manage on your own. "Make sure the author never feels bad" and "be honest with the author about the issues in their workshop" are two distinct goals which, in certain situations, may contradict each other. If you can't handle feedback, you have to be aware that people will stop giving you their genuine thoughts and will focus on appeasing you instead.

Is that a bad thing? A good thing? I don't know. Some of us write with a drive for mastery, some of us do it just for fun, and neither of those is any better than the other. Just... It all depends on what your goal is.

#rambling #say i knit just for fun #i am certain that an experienced knitter would look at my sweaters and could point out a million ways in which i could improve them #but... at the same time i'm already satisfied?#hearing their words wouldn't necessarily hurt me as my goal was never to be great at knitting #but it is because of that goal -- my awareness of it -- that i am able to just shrug my shoulders and admit they're right #and still continue to do my bs lol

pakangayawa

Was lowkey sad about ikevamp not being included in the lineup this year so have me coping... highkey inspired only by cybird liking my comment on their IG LMFAO

Mama I miss you,,,, I hate doing costume design so much but I love u so ill do this,,, Mistuki belongs to Cybird^^

shatcey

Brilliant warriors who bloom in the turbulent times

Kenshin, Masamune, Yoshiteru

Previous cards from this gacha here.

I changed the order in the second sentence. The original was something like: "If I don't see your form or hear your voice, I can barely breathe." I changed it to sound better.

There were two people... 二人. For better phrasing, I changed it to "we".

And finally... Yoshi. No comments about translation. It's right about the same. I just want to say I didn't pay him much attention until that moment. I mean, he's nice and a bit out of the clouds, and it's fun. But how did I manage to miss that huge yandere??? I totally didn't expect that.

Original picture is below

silkkorchid

Wait. Why is one of Kenshin’s eyes looks brown???

I’m guessing it was a human made error that the artist probably forgot to change

lorei-writes

A wild guess, but I wonder whether some overlay layer wasn't put over the finished art and the blending mode didn't screw up the eye colour.

#chatting

dicenete

Finally edited this! ^^ I'm so happy how these turned out too, I can put them on my itabags <3 (because one was not enough for me lol)

✨Vgen || Blue Sky || IG || Ko-Fi || Commission Queue list || My Store✨

lorei-wrote

Witches’ Sabbath

Status: Completed Pairing: Shapeshifter!Masamune x Witch!MC Happy Ending Fantasy AU Summary: Each year, witches gather to renew their contracts with the gods. It so happens that Mai prefers to travel with her husband… Although nobody seems to realise who exactly is her cat. Content Warnings: food mention, pain mention, assault

Chapter I - A Witch and Her Cat Chapter II - Renewals Chapter III - Cycles and Claws

#psst pssst psst #eien is coming >:0000 #which means more masa >:00000

reroseshi

One more meme for today

#2 #TWO #TWO!!#no questions asked thank you very much #just gimmie the ticket already

lorei-writes

That feeling when you check your Ao3 page, to see how many fics you are yet to archive... Hahaha... Haha... Ha...

282, but that excludes certain multi-chapter stories, headcanons and an undefined number of drabbles. The real number is most likely above 300.

lorei-writes

...

[Number of posts on my library blog, that I used to maintain until fairly recently. It holds the majority of my headcanons, fics and so on. Currently it sits at 598.]

Fuck.

#rambling #and i am behind on le masterlists too... goodness gracious...#ig i know what i'll be doing after uni is over? maybe?#catch me crying over my own stupidity in the corner

That feeling when you check your Ao3 page, to see how many fics you are yet to archive... Hahaha... Haha... Ha...

282, but that excludes certain multi-chapter stories, headcanons and an undefined number of drabbles. The real number is most likely above 300.

#rambling #and this is why we shouldn't put off archiving stuff :'“”)

Consider: Chevalier's mind-reading abilities do not dull with time. If anything, he discovers new uses for them... when his partner experiences food cravings.

Period food cravings? He will placate you before he dies by PMS.

Pregnancy? Don't say a word, he's foreseen the fact that you'd want to eat tuna with rose jam and ice-cream, he's already brought it to you.

Just a random craving? ...Well, if it isn't for his survival, there is a chance he may just call you a simpleton. (He still knows you want those chicken nuggets. Don't be deceived).

#chevalier michel #ikepri chevalier #ikemen prince chevalier #ikepri #ikemen prince #ikemen series