Beta reading and WIP Big Bang

[ljwrites]

There's about a day remaining on wipbigbang signups and I'm pondering whether to enter. I do have a Finnrey AU WIP that I'm interested in finishing, but a) I'm not sure where to take the story and b) I'm not sure it would reach 7,500 words even if I do finish it. I tend not to write longfic these days so it's the one idea that could possibly reach that length, unless I decide to write out my The Last Jedi same-plot rewriting exercise which is a possibility though I am hesitant to offend people who actually like TLJ. I'll have to try outlining and brainstorming both ideas before I decide whether to sign up.

I've been seeing people talk about reading fics for works they haven't seen, and in a sort of twist of that I've been beta-reading a fic chapter that takes place after episodes I haven't yet caught up on. The fic is OrmondSacker's Where Once Was Light (SPOILERS for Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery). Even discussing who it's about is spoilery, so the rest is below a cut.

It's a CulMets fic that's primarily about Hugh grappling with his post-resurrection trauma, and the chapter I beta-read (Chapter 5, in two parts) also included a Hugh/OC plot that I really liked. I haven't done fiction editing in a while, even on my own work since I'm still writing the first draft of my original WIP, and it was fun getting back in the saddle. Microsoft Word Online badly needs to implement automatic edit tracking, though.

Comments

[redrikki]

I have mad respect for people who can actually keep up with their WIPs. I usually start one a year before eventually losing interest/character voices/the plot and am then hit with nagging comments about how I need to finish. Kudos to you if you can pull it off.

[loopy777]

I love TLJ, and you've already offended me on that front ;), but I don't think your rewrite is either bad or offensive.

[ljwrites]

I have a bunch of abandoned stories too, and have become sooo resistant to starting anything new while I have anything up in the air. I don't go back to the older stuff and don't start anything new that's longer than one-shots, so I feel creatively constipated. XD Maybe this will be one way to get things, uh, moving.

[ljwrites]

I think I could have loved it, too, if the execution had been better. The bones of a good story are there, but the framing and approach turned me off big time. It's not so much the rewrite that is offensive, I think, as that I'm afraid people might think I'm a racist woman-hater for finding anything wrong with TLJ at all.

[loopy777]

Just tell them you're a Russian bot, and they'll give up on arguing with you.

[ljwrites]

Утвердительно, товарищ!