cimorene

Who was your first beta?

it was

apetslife!

What was the story and fandom?

i met her through nslash (of course), but the story was unintended, a star trek kirk/spock story which subsequently won 1st place golden orgasm (fandom-wide awards) for multi-part k/s that year. (i never thanked pet for that. then again, she did the FIRST beta, but my beloved k'salamander, thank the lord, appeared before the end of the story and helped me a great deal more with it.) i did a substantial, like half-the-story-added rewrite at pet's behest, and then k'sal polished every scene down to its current state.

Are you still writing in that fandom?

fuck yes. kirk/spock is my all-time hugest otp.

Which beta(s) had the most impact on your writing?

k'sal, although i've had assistance from lots of other people. she wears the crown. she also writes the fucking BEST star trek slash out there. like [in check].

What is your favorite story or series of what you've written?

i always like the recent stuff best. i'm very fond of the remus/sirius i'm working on with

wax_jism. of my completed fanfics, my favorites are [identity] (she-ra femmeslash, nc-17) and [delirium] (lotr rps, nc-17!!!, domlijah). these happen to be k'salamander's favorites as well.

Why?

delirium was WORK, man, i practically sweated it out, and it was fucking EXHAUSTING. i poured myself into it and i've never written such a concentrated point of view. it's all third person but focused exclusively on elijah's train of thought, and he's a little bit psychotic. took me months to write and

wax_jism held my hand the whole way through.

identity is very, well, neat. it's reasonably short, it's got some beautiful imagery and some points to make about love and family, and it makes them quickly and cleanly.

Who was the beta?

k'sal read both after they were posted; identity had none. for delirium the readers were (takes a breath): my dad;

wax_jism;

nemoricultrix;

viva_gloria;

kmazzy;

ninglor;

guinevere33; and

buffett, who should actually go second after wax if we were going in order of importance, because they both held my hand while i was writing and bunnying, and the illustrious

buffett soothed me about the accuracy of the hospital scenes.

What are your next two favorite stories or series of what you've written? Why?

[what i am to you], a star trek tos post- 3rd movie k/s, because, again, it's short and intense and neat. i can't pick another.

Who was/were the beta(s)?

ninglor and

nemoricultrix--they're my "no k'sal" team. ;)

Who beta-ed your most recent story?

that would be the due south piece [palm to palm], and the betas were

southpaw526 and

guinevere33.

What do you consider the most important quality in a beta reader?

i couldn't define it. adrienne and jennifer and anne are good at pointing out where they were confused, typos and mechanical mistakes and the occasional word choice. k'sal is just fucking magic. her brain, like, creates a mirror image of the story in this metaphorical, um, three-dimensional thing with interwoven lines and it has a fucking shape and... i don't know. she's able to pull out what the point is even when i didn't know it. if i'm having trouble writing part, she can tell me why. ::hugs her fiercely::

What do you consider the most important thing to be accomplished in a beta read? (Grammar, spelling, continuity, plot, character, canon, fanon, hand holding, other?)

anything that makes the story less than the best it could be, they should be able to see.

How has your writing changed from your first stories?

i think i'm just getting, well, better. more subtle, better at smut and pacing. among other things.