First and foremost, let me give a huge shout-out to my ‘Readers’. Pat, Pam, and Rosemarie – you are angels. Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!!
These women help me more than they could ever imagine. They just happen to be family and friends who are avid readers, enjoy a wide variety of literature, and are willing to do a little homework. Without their direction, corrections, suggestions, comments, and insights, my stories would not be as clean or as polished as they are. Not that the stories are suddenly perfect, but they are far better after these Beta Readers get their hand on them. And they each seem to enjoy reading for me.
Each of these women has unknowingly taken a specific role in supporting and improving my writing. Rosemarie finds practically every misspelled word, grammar issue, and even that stray comma that is out of place. Pam is fearless, she doesn’t hesitate to tell me something is amiss, but she’s just as quick to tell me what works. And Pat keeps my characters in check, she’s especially watchful that my female characters don’t come across as gay boys. Whoops, my bad!
I’ll tell you a funny story. In one short story, the main character, a wife and mother, was not enjoying her vacation at the shore, far from it. Turned out that sand in the house drove her crazy – and with 2 young boys, the stuff was everywhere! Pat’s response: not one of your best. It didn’t excite her; she had to work to finish it. Pam, on the other hand, said without hesitation: I hate that bitch. I’m not sure if she finished the story, but she was right. That “bitch” had no redeeming qualities nor did she have a change of heart in the end.
Because of those two reviews (Rosemarie wasn’t on board yet), I reworked and reworked the story until it was obvious it needed to be shelved. Not all ideas are worth spending a prodigious amount of time on, but they do deserve at least a synopsis and rough draft.
These women are a godsend. I have come to rely on them to keep me on target. I can’t tell you the joy I feel when they tell me not to change a word, or that they cried at this part or laughed at that. They’ve found flaws in plots, pointed out wandering dialog, noticed character weaknesses, and suggested solutions to confusing scenes. I’ve reassured them that I have thick skin, and they now believe me. They have a no-hold-back attitude, and I am grateful.
If they thought all I wanted was an ego boost and pandered to my writing, it would be unfortunate. But they are fearless and tell me exactly what they think. That doesn’t mean I change the story accordingly. But it does mean I take a second or maybe third look to see if it needs an edit. And, yes, oftentimes they’re spot on. Once in a while, I disagree, but I still very much appreciate the suggestion and time spent.
When I first heard of beta readers, I couldn’t imagine asking someone to do that for me. After hearing more about them, it became clear I feared the criticism or maybe worse, feared they would hate my work. But then I remembered back, years ago when I was painting. My sister Kim and I painted together every week. We ended most sessions with a critique of the night’s work. At first, it was “that’s nice”, “looks good”, and “pretty colors”. But soon enough, working side by side allowed us to become more honest which was far more helpful. My sister, an expert in composition and color theory, wouldn’t hesitate to point out issues in my work. She was always helpful and also very creative. I appreciated her honesty and guidance more than she knows. She alone made me a better painter. I rose to the level I did because of her.
Now? I don’t know how anyone can write a plausible story without having someone willing to read and critique it. I won’t ask anyone else to read my work, but if someone asked me, and promised to be forthright – good or bad, I’d welcome the help.
So to Pat, Pam, and Rosemarie – thank you so very much. You are each a blessing to me.
