SGA/Pern progress. Or lack thereof.

[icarus]

Atlantis Big Bang Fic is in trouble.

I slogged through twenty scenes of my Pern fic, beta reading it myself.

I have a list of changes, but the editing has thrown me into a different mindset. Instead of "feeling" my way through the story, I'm "thinking" my way through it. Which results in bad writing. I've had to put it aside.

I've contacted three betas who looked at it early on. In 36 hours not a single one got back to me.

Finally reached sarka. She's just had a busy weekend, unexpectedly. ETA: just heard from 2nd beta. She's been without internet and just got back online. ETA2: heard from 3rd beta last night. She'd turned off her computer and it had been off all weekend. All present and accounted for.

My Labor Day weekend just got taken by a friend visiting from Bhutan. So I have this weekend and the weekend it's due to write. There is little time for me to write during the week.

If I'm both beta-reading and writing ... well, that's just not happening. It's derailed the writing and soaked up the writing time.

I'll tell you this much: if the story progress keeps at this snail's pace, I will not participate in the Big Bang. I will not post the story as it is. It would be a waste of a good story idea. enname and mad_maudlin tell me that end of the story is rushed and "draft-like" but the beginning is solid. I started beta-reading from the end so it looked worse than it was.

Comments

[rowaine]

I'm really sorry to hear about your continued problems with beta readers. In case you didn't get the comment on IJ, I'll repeat my offer of doing a run-through for you. Won't hurt my feelings if you choose to go with folks you've worked with before, of course, but the offer's still there. I'm definitely looking forward to this SGA-Pern fusion of yours. Please don't give up for lack of proofers.

[icarus]

Actually, my IJ goes to an older email address, so no, I didn't.

What email can I send it to?

*glomps*

The problem has been that I've defensively said, "I know, I know, I slammed it out in four-five weekends and it has thisproblemthisproblemthisproblemthisproblemthisproblemthisproblem."

They've said, "Well, since you know, yes, we agree. Good luck!"

I've said, "Wait, wait! Come back."

Betas: "But you said you know the problems."

"But. I need you to tell me where the problems are."

Betas: "..."

"I-I'm overwhelmed."

Betas: "You just need to break this down to size. Let us teach you how to edit, since you've asked. It's fine art."

"That is good."

Betas: *teach*

"Aaaaack! I'm even more overwhelmed. This is what you do? It is much work. Plus I'm writing at the same time and ... paniiiiiiiiiics."

Betas: "We think you are insane, but then again, in our experience only editors are sane, and you are clearly not one of them. We will try to help you. "

[rowaine]

My email address is rowained(at)yahoo(dot)com. Send over what you've got, what you want/need from me, and I'll happily lend a hand.

Amazingly, tomorrow is wide-open for me

[sherrold]

If you still need a whole-story beta reader, I read quite quickly, and will promise to give you whole story comments (and line edits, too, but maybe not the whole story worth) before I go to bed tomorrow.

If, instead, your beta situation is all good now, that's even better.

Good luck!