I'm going to be busy on Friday... · 10:54pm May 16th, 2013
... so I updated Evening Flames a day early.
Also, because I'm a self-aggrandizing author, I've included some minor-spoilers for chapter six in a small screenshot after the break of this blog post (so, uh... if you care about spoilers, read the chapter first, then come back to this blog post).
Everyone here doesn't care about spoilers? Good, here's a quick peek at Chapter 7, subtitled "Evening Flames" (because I'm original):
I have the best prereaders
Now, my goal here isn't just to share a funny comment that someone left on my story, but it's to take some time to thank my pre-readers. I don't want to list everyone by name because I just know that I'll end up forgetting someone along the way. However, a good group of pre-readers is probably the best thing that a writer can have in a fandom where everything's done for free (I've never really looked for a straight-up editor, because I don't really trust the whole concept of "have someone make changes to your story").
Regardless, there's been a rotating group around six people that I send my story out to. Some of them have remained constant for the past two years that it's taken me to write this story, some had to bow out when real life got in the way (like riots, asshole stepfathers, or career changes). Even a few had fallings-out with me that were probably my own goddamn fault. I'll say that I never tried for a specific number, but I did like to keep a small group of pre-readers who were compatible with my writing style (or in one case, actually speaks German, something I really should've thought about before writing my story).
All in all, roughly twelve people have helped in my story, and some of the more prominent ones have found themselves actually written into the story (like the belligerent hipster outside of a bar in chapter 3 of Evening Flames). But I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to the people who've helped me from being my own worst literary enemy.
So...
Thank you.
I'd like to think I've been good about being available to return the help, but I know that with my schedule and personality, that's not always possible. So thank you for your help with revisions, idea-bouncing, planning, and general words of encouragement—that were well-balanced with hearing the criticism I needed to hear.
Ah, the greatest gift a writer can give to a pre-reader: being immortalized in a fanfic as a belligerent hipster.
Ah, I was about to ask whether you actually spoke German.
As for that GDocs comment, whoever that guy is, I want to shake his hand.