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[Pengi]

I do it myself. I usually write it, read through it once, put it on AC and hit "preview" and read through it a second time there so I can see how my HTML tags translated everything. The only exception to this is when I collab with Jen, then we both read each others obviously so we can write the next section.

[julilly]

I have so many books with bookmarks in them on my shelf that I haven't finished reading it's ridiculous.

Don't feel bad, it has been years since I read a novel cover to cover. I rarely ever read books!

[julilly]

Tonight's question:

Do you use a beta reader? Or show your work to anyone else before posting it? Or do you feel more comfortable doing it on your own?

I normally do it myself but as of late I have been writing and posting chapters in a Google doc for saka-steph to read/review because I don't plan on posting anything until it's done.

[usako]

Tonight's question:

Do you use a beta reader? Or show your work to anyone else before posting it? Or do you feel more comfortable doing it on your own?

Most of the times I'm more comfortable doing it on my own or, maybe, I'm just stubborn and I want to do it on my own. lol But when I have a doubt or when I need some help with the plotting, I send pieces of the chaps to my best friend. An outer point of view it's always useful to catch things that I wouldn't see. Some times, i do it because I need some reassurances about my writing. I'm really insicure and I've always the fear that I'm writing only a huge mass of cliches and stupid things. lol

[RokofAges75]

Tonight's question:

Do you use a beta reader? Or show your work to anyone else before posting it? Or do you feel more comfortable doing it on your own?

I've never had a beta reader; I always proofread on my own before I post a chapter and then do what Hannah said and skim through it after posting it to make sure it posted correctly - sometimes I catch a few more typos then.

I used to always have one person I could show my finished chapters to and get an opinion on before I posted them.  It used to be my friend Bianca, and then I used Rose, but now that the days of chatting on IM every night are kind of behind us, I don't really do that anymore.  I usually sit on finished chapters at least a day so I can come back to them after some time has passed and read them with fresh eyes before posting.  That gives me a better perspective on them.

For collabs, though, we always show and proofread each other's parts before posting.

[Carter-Orange]

I've never had a beta reader either.  I read it through, post it and hit the preview just to make sure it posts alright, then send.

With the collab I'm doing with Lore, we always send each other the chapters and proof read before posting.

[mare]

A long time ago, I used to chat on IM with Kat or Swenglish and send them my stuff as I wrote it. Then a little later on, I would email chapters to Mersey & Maria. For the last few stories I just did it myself. After finishing a chapter, I usually let it sit a day then go back and reread it again before posting. I really should have read it once it was posted but never really did lol stupid formatting issues!!

[FrickingKaos]

I never outline my stories unless it was one based on a movie, like Jizzle Of Oz or When I Grow Up were. In those two cases, I did plan it a bit. As for the other stories I've written....I don't plan a whole lot. I don't have a beta but a friend who helps me with dialogue for the AU romance series I write. We spend time in yahoo chat roleplaying a bit. It really helps me. But for non AU ones I usually do everything myself.

[Purpura Lipstick]

I had a Beta for Chronos Project because I wanted to make sure the story made sense to someone else before reading it.  But I got impatient.  It was harder to get online at the same time as my beta so I just started rereading myself and then posting.  I know I still probably miss some issues because my brain doesn't see them in my own work sometimes. 

I typically don't use a beta because I want the people reading it to be surprised.  I don't like to give away my plot ideas or twists before I post, unless it's a friend not involved in the fanfic world or if I'm really stuck on something. 

[Sakabelle]

My boyfriend used to beta Running Up That Hill for me LOL. I don't really have a beta for any of my other stuff, but as julilly mentioned I'm reading one that's she's writing When I did have a beta for my stuff in other fandoms, my beta would either never get back to me, or when he did he changed the story so much to the point that it was unrecognizable from what it had been in the beginning.

For the most part now I'll just post my stuff without anyone else giving it the once over. If I'm really unsure about it I'll ask someone to look at it (and actually, I've been doing that a lot more lately, cause my writing is so far out of my box now) but usually I just post without worrying about it too much.

I guess the logical next question to ask have you ever beta read for anyone else? I find I have a really hard time doing that, because either the story is well written and awesome, so I don't have much in the way of comments, or the story is horrible, and I try my best to be honest about that but there's only so much you can improve in a story that you're really uninterested in reading.

[RokofAges75]

The only betareading I've done has been for my collab partners.  Usually it's just proofreading/editing, but sometimes we make suggestions for each other that we go back and revise.

[mare]

I have been a beta for quite a few people to the point where it was a bit overwhelming. I finally just stopped when I saw one in particular who kept making the same mistakes over & over and no matter how many times I told her about it she continued to do it because she knew I'd just fix it for her. lol

Now, I'll occasionally read something for friends but it's usually not fanfic and just another person's eyes before being sent to an editor.

[Sakabelle]

Ugh, yeah, that is the worst when they don't take your advice, they just expect that you'll fix it up so they don't try to learn and grow as a writer because they have you to fall back on.

[mare]

It was just her being lazy and taking me for granted lol

[mare]

Tonight's question:

Are you ever compared to any writers out there or find yourself trying to emulate someone's style?

I really couldn't think of a question lol if anyone else has one, post away!