Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

Ian McHugh is an accomplished writer, winning the Writers of the Future award. As well as selling short stories to professional and semi-professional publications, he is also is very generous in sharing his experience and writing insights with others. He is a key figure in the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild and basically a really good guy.  He is currently coordinating the CSFG novel critiquing group, among other things. I wanted to interview him because we had beta read the same novel and his comments were extremely insightful so I thought his views would be helpful to writers and those thinking of using beta readers or becoming a beta reader. Ian McHugh keeps a blog here.

1. What do you see as the key role for a beta reader?

To help the author find the problems and potential in their book that they’re too close to see for themselves, and to affirm the strengths in their writing and storytelling (that they may or may not be aware of, or entirely convinced of).

 2. What are the types of things you look for when beta reader?

I tend to structure my feedback under a number of headings:

– Plot and structure

– Characters and relationships

– Conflict, tension and threat

– Worldbuilding

– Writing Style

(We’re using these headings in the CSFG novel crit group this year, and it seems to have been useful.)

I tend not to go looking for particular stuff to write under each header. I wait to see what stands out – eg, an aspect of the world that I find implausible, a character I don’t find sympathetic, a plot device that I think is too obvious. Or, of course, a character I think is awesome, an action sequence that kicks arse, a well-executed plot revelation etc.

Often I find that it’s the apparent absences, rather than what’s there, that most catch my attention – eg, a lack of tension at a certain point, an undeveloped relationship between two characters, no obvious protagonist.

I find that structuring my crits under headings helps me to organise my thoughts, although a lot of comments cut across the different sections, too – a lack of strong plot direction and lack of a protagonist go together, unsympathetic characters undermine tension.

Yeah, characters affect pretty much everything, actually.

I also jot down my reactions while reading, particularly to anything that jolts me out of the story, and provide these as well in a line-by-line list.

 3. What is the most difficult part of providing feedback when beta reading?

A) Tempering my inclination to be a smart-arse when saying something uncomplimentary about someone’s manuscript, and expressing myself purely constructively and with sensitivity to their feelings instead.

It’s a lifelong battle and I don’t win every skirmish.

B) The other most difficult part is, when I see and am excited by (what I think is) unrealised potential in some aspect of a story, staying on the right side of the fine line between (i) offering constructive suggestions in case they spark something for the author, and (ii) re-writing their story for them. So:

GOOD: I think there could be some more tension when the ranger and the barbarian go into the dragon’s cave, for example, if you draw out the uncertainty more over whether the dragon is asleep or awake, or the dragon isn’t where they expect it to be and it’s stalking them instead.

BAD: Oo, oo, instead of the ranger and the barbarian going into the cave to slay a dragon, it should totally be a horde of goblins with two or three cave trolls instead. Really huge cave trolls that ate the dragon. That’d be awesome. And the ranger should die. Awesome.

 4. What is the best part about providing feedback when beta reading?

A) Reading a story that is already awesome, and having that to say to the author.

B) When one of my suggestions makes lightning in the author’s brain, and excites them about their next draft.

 5. As a beta reader what benefit do you get in providing critique?

Accumulating reciprocal novel-reading favours.

6. Is beta reading useful to you as a writer?

I think that in getting your work critted, you tend to learn what you need to do to fix that particular story. Whereas, when you’re critically reading someone else’s work, and thinking hard to figure out exactly what it is that seems like it’s not working and why, you’re learning about writing and storytelling generally. So, fingers crossed, critting is making me a better writer.

Ian thanks for that. An excellent perspective to help tie up the series. I find I’m in accord with most of what you say. I have something to learn about structuring my feedback and I will take on board some of your approaches.

Donna