I wrote fic before I knew there was such a thing as fanfic or that it was in a legal grey area. Or that there was such a thing as fandom. We're talking late 1986/early 1987 here, twenty years ago, and I was a teenager.
At first, I was going to say how amazed I was, because 20 years is a long time. Then my memory finally kicked in and I realized that I was also "writing" fanfic 22 years ago. Granted, I was like 4 and would regale my mom with stories about my Mary Sue team of human Care Bears who'd save the world.
* I've written my share of Mary Sues. I think all of my OCs are Mary Sues, to one point or another. Heck, I think most of them are Mary Sues, period. Well, the major characters, anyway.
Every time I create an OC, they start off as Mary Sues. Then I just let them develop, and they grow out of it. :)
* I write for both myself and others; sometimes I write for myself because there isn't enough for others.
I totally hear you on that.
* Some shows I read fanfic for I've never seen, or seen only bits of.
I do that all the time. :)
* I'm really bad at reviewing.
I'm always forgetting to review things.
(I also hate to admit it, but I'm not always good at recognizing *flaws* in stories either! So sometimes I leave good reviews on bad stuff just because I don't realize it's bad. I make a bad beta.)
I don't think it so much makes you a bad beta. Not everyone sees things the same way. I've had betas who've complained about "issues" in my fics which aren't really issues because of the way I wrote it, but would be issues if it was written in a different tone.
Betas are always most effective when they're on the same wavelength as you. Like, I have a beta in NCIS who practically shares a brain with me. Our writing styles are very similiar, so it's easy for her to pick up on the problems in my fics. Whereas, I've had beta who's styles are massively different from my own, and they rarely notice part of the fic I consider rough.
* Like most people, I don't like my own writing. I think that most people around me write better than I do.
I guess I'm a minority then. I love my writing. I'm rather embarrassed by some of the stuff from my fangirl phase, but there's always been good points in every one of my fics. From the first one on. I don't hate my writing because each fic I've written was the best I could do at that point in time. I get better, I grow, I still re-read a lot of my old work with a sense of enjoyment.
Granted, I don't think I'm the best writer around. I have weaknesses where others have strengths, and I have strengths where others have weaknesses.
Cool.
At first, I was going to say how amazed I was, because 20 years is a long time. Then my memory finally kicked in and I realized that I was also "writing" fanfic 22 years ago. Granted, I was like 4 and would regale my mom with stories about my Mary Sue team of human Care Bears who'd save the world.
Every time I create an OC, they start off as Mary Sues. Then I just let them develop, and they grow out of it. :)
I totally hear you on that.
I do that all the time. :)
I'm always forgetting to review things.
I don't think it so much makes you a bad beta. Not everyone sees things the same way. I've had betas who've complained about "issues" in my fics which aren't really issues because of the way I wrote it, but would be issues if it was written in a different tone.
Betas are always most effective when they're on the same wavelength as you. Like, I have a beta in NCIS who practically shares a brain with me. Our writing styles are very similiar, so it's easy for her to pick up on the problems in my fics. Whereas, I've had beta who's styles are massively different from my own, and they rarely notice part of the fic I consider rough.
I guess I'm a minority then. I love my writing. I'm rather embarrassed by some of the stuff from my fangirl phase, but there's always been good points in every one of my fics. From the first one on. I don't hate my writing because each fic I've written was the best I could do at that point in time. I get better, I grow, I still re-read a lot of my old work with a sense of enjoyment.
Granted, I don't think I'm the best writer around. I have weaknesses where others have strengths, and I have strengths where others have weaknesses.