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Seeing as how this is a writer's forum, there a good chance that we all fancy ourselves writers in some way, but there are some of us out there who also enjoy reading and critiquing other peoples work. As betas, we hope to help others improve their writing by pointing out problems and suggesting improvements. The relationship between beta and writer sounds like it should be perfectly symbiotic, doesn't it?

Well, I'm afraid it's not.

Beta's complain that writers refuse to listen to their advice. Writers complain that betas are abrasive and unhelpful. What should be a match made in heaven too often finds itself spiraling into hell.

And after listening to both sides of the argument for a very long time, I'd like to suggest a reason for all of this friction.

The answer lies in Motivation.

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Why Lea, you ask, whatever the hell are you talking about? Let me explain. Not all writers write for the same reason, and not all betas beta for the same reason. To be a good writer or beta, you must first have an understanding of the motivations of your other half. In this article I will review the different motivations writers might have for publishing their work on the web, and reasons why some betas might choose to beta.




Although in this list I will be referring to Genus' of writers, all of us have a little bit of each type in us. Some just let one archetype overpower the rest, and as a beta it's your job to recognize this.

The Masturbatory Writer

Sadly, this writer may very well be the most common writer in the WF. Like his name suggests, the masturbatory writer writes purely for the pleasure he gleans from writing. It doesn't matter if his grammar is incoherent or his story has been written a billion times before. He loves his story because -he- wrote it, and has no interest in improvement or outside opinion. Mary Sues and Fantasy Realization plots are not causes but symptoms of this sort of mindset.

So why do Masturbatory Writers put their work online if they're only writing for themselves? Well, I'd hazard a guess that they�re blinded by their own satisfaction (well, that's what they say happens when you write like this, but I think it may be an urban myth) and they think by posting they are just sharing their pleasure with everyone else. But it's really no fun to watch the messy results of someone else's self love. That's why betas find the product of this writer to be the most horrible and annoying to go through of all fiction. If you tell this writer that he has written sucks, you will most likely get an angry reply back. Of course he�s partially to blame for doing something so lewd in public, but if you realize what you've walked into and still interrupt this author in his bliss, then you're not innocent either.

Chance of Improvement: Zilch
Chance for Conflict: Extremely high.

The Compliment Fisher

The Compliment Fisher is a delicate creature. Just slightly less impossible than the masturbatory writer, the main reason the Compliment Fisher posts her work is because she is looking for support. Improvement is secondary to this. Of course we betas are all about improvement (or are we? more on that later) so the concept of boosting confidence first, tear apart later, is fairly foreign to us. But this is what the Compliment Fisher demands. If you indicate that her story is not quite as good as she thinks it is, she will immediately realize you are not going to give her what she wants and may become hostile. Another common tactic of the Compliment Fisher is to thank you for the nice critique and then make no changes to her story whatsoever. This is clear indication of a lack of genuine interest in improvement and should also indicate that you might not want to waste your time on her.

But unlike the Masturbatory Writer who is nothing but ego, the Compliment Fisher may be welcome to constructive criticism, granted that it's worded in the right way. If you speak to her politely and praise her when she makes positive corrections, you may be able to do some good yet. Attacks of frankness or 'honesty' will be useless against this writer, and should be stockpiled for some other target rather than completely wasted.

Chance of Improvement: Slim
Chance for Conflict: High

The Eager Writer

Now we're getting into some more friendly territory. The Eager Writer often can be spotted with big, "Critique Please!" signs pasted next to his title in the subforum. He happily thanks people who critique him and even changes his story in line with suggestions he deems feasible. But there's one thing that keeps him from being a Knowledgeable Writer, and that is, surprise, knowledge! Although the eager writer is writing for other people and is posting for improvement, which are both essential if the writer is to be open to criticism, he doesn't have the best grasp on the craft of writing. This may include but is not limited to, spelling, grammar, point of view, narrative technique, etc...

Therefore, when you tell the Eager Writer that his description is ambiguous and may improve with more sensory description, this writer might reply, but isn't ugly a sensory word? A good beta knows that ugly is somewhat open to personal preference and there are many much better and less ambiguous words out there, but this has to be explained to the writer. The biggest problem a Beta faces with an Eager Writer is that his advice will be unheeded simply because the writer does not understand the standpoint from which you are offering said advice. For a dedicated beta who is willing to explain the particularities of the craft, this can be fixed. For a hit and run beta who does not follow up on his suggestions, it may be harder to make his advice stick.

Chance of Improvement: Good
Chance for Conflict: Normal

The Knowledgeable Writer

The holy grail of writers for any beta, this writer not only is very open to critique, but she also understands everything you say and can even intelligently reply to your comments on form, narrative structure, and the like. There are times where the Knowledgeable Writer, in her self-assurance, may second guess your suggestions, but because most Knowledgeable Writers are also Eager Writers, with proper discussion and fact checking most conflicts of opinion can be resolved peacefully with minimal fuss.

However, this writer does not come with pitfalls. A Knowledgeable Writer will break rules and push envelopes, and can sometimes be mistaken for a writer of a lower level in her defense of aspects of her story that are 'against the rules'. Because she is at such a high level, she has learned the rules enough to start breaking them in an intelligent fashion, and if a beta is still in hardcore rules nazi mode when critiquing this writers work, there may be a fight. A Knowledgeable Writer can not be beta'd by anything other than a Knowledgeable Beta.

Chance of Improvement: High
Chance for Conflict: Low

Note that although there are some aspects of the writing itself that might indicate what writer you are dealing with, with the exception of the Knowledgeable Writer, skill is not always indicative of writer class. You may have someone who is in perfect command of the English language be completely masturbatory, and you could have someone who has written a train wreck of a short story turn out to be rather eager to improve it.



Although I'd love to believe that all betas are in it for the love of the craft and want only to help those who ask for it, the evidence suggests otherwise. Here are the four classes of betas that all writers should be aware of if they want to get the most out of their critiques.

The Empty Beta

You've just finished writing something you're quite proud of, ran it through spell check, even read through the thing to catch any last minute typos, and posted it to Gaia, looking for feedback. But the only reply you get is from someone who says eh, it's not my thing, bye. Or worse yet, someone replies that your story is s**t and you're the hole it wormed its way out of. Ouch.

But wait a second. What gave this person that opinion? Did they refer to any places that in particular were sucky? Did they quote a section to highlight their point? Did they suggest in any way how you might improve besides shooting yourself in the face? If not, then you've been hit with an Empty Beta.

Empty Beta's come in both happy and angry flavors. A post that says, oh that was great and I think you're the best writer in the world, is equally useless and should be completely disregarded. Replies to this sort of trash are entirely optional.

Level of Helpfulness: Dead Bottom
Chance for Conflict: If the beta was negative, Very High

The Angry Beta

Sometimes, if not usually, also an Empty Beta, the Angry Beta is all about being negative. This part sucks, you're grammars atrocious, learn to spell. The Angry Beta is often a staunch believer in the 'truth', which is a euphemism for 'saying things in the most abrasive way possible'. If you find that you don't agree with what the Angry Beta has said, you'd best be careful. Many Angry Beta's see disagreement more as a challenge than a genuine attempt at discussion, and will use this as an excuse to rip you a new one because you have dared whine about their proclamation on your poor work.

Angry Beta's can be pacified with some perseverance, but sometimes it isn't worth the effort. What's worse is that if you are an Eager or Knowledgeable Writer you will see the value in whatever acid coated advice is given, and will not be able to write this beta up as completely Empty.

Level of Helpfulness: Fair
Chance for Conflict: Off the Charts

The Friendly Beta

The friendly Beta is the most common Beta out there. She reads your story somewhat objectively and gives her suggestions and comments without adding a side dish of Angry superiority, but there is something lacking in what she says. Maybe she corrects things that do not need correcting. Maybe she says that it would be real cool if your main character sprouted wings or was really a god in disguise. Maybe she reads a block or irony and doesn't get it.

Like the Eager Writer, with the Friendly Beta lacks is the know how to give her advice real authority. It's not that she doesn't want to be helpful, it's that she doesn't quite know how yet. But don't give up on her. If she reads more and receives feedback on her feedback, she may become a Knowledgeable Beta yet!

Level of Helpfulness: Fair
Chance for Conflict: Very Low

The Knowledgeable Beta

Like his Writer Counterpart, this is the person someone serious about writing should be looking for. He knows his stuff and is willing to discuss what he has said after he has said it. If you are able to explain what you have written he is willing to revise his opinion of it. Angry Writers sometimes think that Knowledgeable Betas are bad betas because they are not hard enough on those stupid writers, but, being Knowledgeable, this beta doesn't care.

Knowledgeable Betas are still human of course, but ideally they understand not only the story but the writer that they are working with, and in the spirit of improvement are able to avoid conflicts as much as they can. However, one way to avoid those conflicts is to avoid the type of writer that might start said conflicts, so the Knowledgeable Beta can sometimes be quite elusive, picking and choosing what he wants to critique.

Level of Helpfulness: High
Chance for Conflict: Very Low

And there you have it, the many Genus' of the Writer and Beta. Please, whenever you come into contact with each other, please remember what has been said here, and realize that different people are looking for different things in this forum, and to act in ignorance of this understanding is to invite hardship.