What was Your First ficathon like? (And beta request.)

[hobgoblinn]

The minutes are ticking down on the tenyearsofbuffy ficathon deadline, and since I not only posted several prompts but also Picked one of them because it was whispering to me, I feel like I should try to finish it.

It's a strange story, and I'm starting to have some POV shifts which are more jarring than usual because the main narrator is, well, a bit-- dead. But I can't tell the story only from his POV. And the other characters are even more lively in comparison with the main character's very circumscribed situation.

Anyway, if someone would like to have a look at the first half, I'd really appreciate it. I also have some preliminary notes, though I have by now departed quite radically from that outline. But some of the questions I wanted to think about while writing might be helpful. I should say that I make a distinction between a beta for grammar, which I can do pretty well on my own, and one for larger issues and ideas, which we all could use help on from time to time. I'm happy to get any level of reading anyone cares to do though-- and to obligate myself to returning the favor, of course.

In the meantime, to distract myself from the growing disquiet of my first ficathon deadline-- what was Your first ficathon like? I know I have some old Pros on this Flist-- what's your favorite ficathon moment?

ps: health update: Hand is getting better-- still stiff, but I played the re-arranged piece well tonight on the actual instrument in this church, though I had to transpose it down a step to avoid a truly awful out of tune note. What with the ice and snow, nobody's going to get out and tune this puppy before Saturday night. I think it's actually better than the set arrangement of "Simple Gifts" I've been playing for months. I'm just really afraid I'm going to get lost and suddenly be in the wrong key when I do it for real. Ah well.

Comments

[antennapedia.livejournal.com]

Heh-- you may recall my very first ficathon experience, because you responded to my panicked call for a beta reader. And then I finished only part 1 of a 2 part story for it. (All this for a ficathon that only asked for a 500-word story; I wrote a 9000 word story. Doh.)

My ficathon advice:
Start early.
Keep your ambitions scaled to the amount of time you have.
Allow the time pressure to work for you and shut up your internal critic! You don't have time to worry about whether that idea is good. It is good. Run with it!
Remember that you can always do what I did and post a part 1.

And I'd be happy to read anything you have to be read, to return the favor you did me :)

[secondalto.livejournal.com]

My first ficathon experience was really great. I had an idea almost right away, abandoned it as silly, tried something else, realized it didn't work with what the person requested and abandoned it, went back to my original idea. Was ready a week ahead of schedule. And I got great feedback for it, especially from the requester. So all in all a good experience.

Just relax and write. Let a beta take care of mistakes. A good beta reader is a blessing. Find one and stick with them, you'll never regret it.

I'd offer my services, but I'm in the middle of three WIPs as well as waiting on beta feedback on my own tenyearsofbuffy story. Any other time though, give me a holler.