TBBS Fanfic Recommendations

[Naraht]

Posted by 47:

Posted by Naraht:
Uh, guys, recommending your own stories is really missing the point of this thread. Of course we all like our own work. But it won't really help readers decide which stories to try if authors just say "try mine... it's great... really".

That was my point.

Obviously a bit too subtle for me. Thanks.

 

[TimmyWl]

I sincerely apologize for that.

I'm just tired from all the effort I put into the story only to find out that I have only one reader.

The one thing that I would recommend, however, would be the Rust Red series by a Walter Schoak (sp?). You can find his comments on my thread and thus can be linked through clicking on his name and then finding his posts as of late.

 

[mac]

If you guys can give me a day or three I'll try to read everyones' stories and try to leave some feedback.
Cool?

 

[Scatter]

^ everyones in this thread, or everyones who posts here regularly. coz if it's the latter, you'll have a tough time getting through it in a day or three...

 

[Captain X]

Yeah, Endeavour alone could take you 2-3 days to read, though I'd be more than happy to have you read through even just the first episode and see what you think (there's 13 so far).

 

[Naraht]

Posted by TimmyWl:
I sincerely apologize for that.

I'm just tired from all the effort I put into the story only to find out that I have only one reader.

Please don't worry about it. If it makes you feel any better, your story is one that I would definitely like to get into. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to read very long stories online, especially if they're posted here, because I find the formatting not too easy on the eyes. If it were a book that I could curl up with in the evenings, I would be there. Hmm, maybe someday...?

 

[Emperor Tiberius]

I recommend Star Trek: Vesta, a fantastic series by local writer Starkers.

I've read lots of Trek fiction over the years, but none has come closer to capturing the feel of a true Trek series the way his has. Vesta has the joviality and wonder of TOS, mixed with the intrigue of DS9, and is staffed with a command crew to rival Picard's, IMHO. Again, I can't recommend it enough.

As for the editing failings you may have found in my own work, Naraht, I can only apologize and say that I am but one man toiling within the timeframe my spare hours allow. Never thought of it as 'slapdash' though, but what can I say Nar, not everybody can be as perfect a writer as you obviously must be.

I give every fic I write two proofreads; one just after it's completed, and then a second before it is posted. But it's true, whenever I review a completed fic later on, I find, invariably, that errors still got through my filtering process. Personally, I have yet to come across a published novel without a single grammatical mistake in it, so at least I'm not alone...

 

[Emperor Tiberius]

Sorry, nearly forgot, but Naraht, I read your How to advance your career through marriage, and found it to be an excellent 'what if?' style MU fic, especially the passive-aggressive interplay between Bev and Jean. It was superb.

Keep up the good work, and I'm looking forward to that alternate "Farpoint" fic you've got brewing.

 

[Naraht]

Emperor Tiberius, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be as harsh as I must have sounded. My post was really about my own failings as a reader in not being able to get past copyediting issues. The fact is that being a good writer has nothing to do with being a careful typist, or whatever, and I'm sure that I'm missing out on a lot of good stories because of it. I may give your series another try...

And thank you for the generous praise of my own work. Very classy of you to bother.

 

[Emperor Tiberius]

Not a problem, Naraht, I was just speaking the truth, if I like a story I say it. Hmmm, keep getting this weird text error when I post, maybe Gojirob isn't being paranoid, and this place really is haunted with diabolical spy ware.

 

[Naraht]

Posted by Emperor Tiberius:
I give every fic I write two proofreads; one just after it's completed, and then a second before it is posted. But it's true, whenever I review a completed fic later on, I find, invariably, that errors still got through my filtering process.

It is indeed very difficult to spot errors when they're your own. Have you ever tried having someone else proofread your fiction, though? I have six friends who read my stories critically before I post them publicly; only three of them read for grammar/spelling/typos, but even so, that's enough to ensure that the story is pretty clean before it goes up on TrekBBS. I would highly recommend this approach, if you can find people generous enough to spare their time.

 

[Starkers]

Posted by Emperor Tiberius:
I recommend Star Trek: Vesta, a fantastic series by local writer Starkers.

I've read lots of Trek fiction over the years, but none has come closer to capturing the feel of a true Trek series the way his has. Vesta has the joviality and wonder of TOS, mixed with the intrigue of DS9, and is staffed with a command crew to rival Picard's, IMHO. Again, I can't recommend it enough.

You know, this BBS really needs a blushing emoticon! Words can't describe how much that description of my work means...especially since you compared it to my three favourite treks. Coming from you, it means a lot.

 

[Emperor Tiberius]

Think nothing of it Starkers, it's how I feel, and the comments are well deserved.

Posted by Naraht:
It is indeed very difficult to spot errors when they're your own. Have you ever tried having someone else proofread your fiction, though? I have six friends who read my stories critically before I post them publicly; only three of them read for grammar/spelling/typos, but even so, that's enough to ensure that the story is pretty clean before it goes up on TrekBBS. I would highly recommend this approach, if you can find people generous enough to spare their time.

I've never been huge on the whole beta thing. In the 99 fics I've posted to this bbs (counting only the ones 15-80 pages), I have only employed a beta reader when said reader was also contributing to the project, and I wanted to maintain our own story continuity. Never for the purpose of catching grammatical mistakes. Now, that's my own personal preference to be sure, but you Naraht say you employ three checkers just for spelling, but yet when I was casually reading your "How to advance your career through marriage" I spotted 12 errors without even trying, some of them quite blatant, so using beta's is obviously far from a perfect method.

Of course, a good reason I don't usually use beta's myself is that I produce 30-40 pages of copy a week, every week, and I wouldn't wish that editing responsibility on my worst enemy.

 

[mon capitaine]

Posted by Emperor Tiberius:
you employ three checkers just for spelling, but yet when I was casually reading your "How to advance your career through marriage" I spotted 12 errors without even trying, some of them quite blatant, so using beta's is obviously far from a perfect method.

Who dares to cast aspersions on my poof-reading skills?

 

[47]

Posted by mon capitaine:
Who dares to cast aspersions on my poof-reading skills?

Jeez, I guess I'll have to, 'cause the "poof" is in the pudding ...

 

[Naraht]

Posted by Emperor Tiberius:
I've never been huge on the whole beta thing. In the 99 fics I've posted to this bbs (counting only the ones 15-80 pages), I have only employed a beta reader when said reader was also contributing to the project, and I wanted to maintain our own story continuity. Never for the purpose of catching grammatical mistakes. Now, that's my own personal preference to be sure, but you Naraht say you employ three checkers just for spelling, but yet when I was casually reading your "How to advance your career through marriage" I spotted 12 errors without even trying, some of them quite blatant, so using beta's is obviously far from a perfect method.

Twelve errors? Well, that's more than I consider acceptable; if you have the time to let me know what they are, I would be most obliged.

I think you misread me slightly... I don't "employ three checkers just for spelling". I have some friends who are generous enough to give me their detailed opinions on my writing; three of them extend their remit to copyediting matters, including spelling, grammar and continuity. Any mistakes left in the finished work are, of course, my own. But nonetheless, there are fewer mistakes than there would have been otherwise, and that's all I ask of the system. I think it's worth making the effort, even if perfection is the goal rather than the result.

 

[Starkers]

See this is why I try not to throw stones...'Cos I know I live in a really big glass house

 

[Captain X]

I don't suppose I could talk a Mod into stickying this...

 

[RevdKathy]

I suppose you might. Though even stickying doesn't prevent it going eventually if no-one posts. I'll see if I can find any drawing pins...

 

[Wenya]

*peeks in* Wow. A fan-fiction forum. Neat! Reading addict, here, and only stumbled into Trek-dom as of last fall. --And now that Enterprise is cancelled, I'm looking for fun stuff to read, to help forget that which was the series' finale.

Anyhow, I wanted to recommend a fic effort done by a rather superb writer, Maggie (or Miss Maggie on TrekBBS). It is titled Reviviscence, and is set during the first season of Enterprise. All the fics on the hosting website, triptofan, are great, but they tend to tread into the 'shipper waters -- and I'm not sure how people feel about 'ships around here. Reviviscence is a nice, spooky drama, and although the entirety of it isn't posted, I don't believe it's a WIP -- it's just being posted chapter by chapter.

Here's a brief summary: On probation, Enterprise is sent to investigate a nebula that emits a multi-phasic radiation that has previously deterred all exploratory missions. The ship enters the nebula -- coined the "Miasma" by the crew -- only to find that there’s more to the phenomenon than space dust and gas.