What Moffatt and Gatiss really needed

[deelaundry]

...a good beta. Someone to say them, "Well, ok, but why? What's the overall gist of what you're trying to accomplish here? Alright, given that, why is this scene here? Why does this character say that, and do that? You've shown a gun in act one, so how are you going to make it go off before the story's done? And literary license is a thing, but you've gone over the line into supernatural, even given the AU you're writing. How would this have occurred -- I mean literally how, walk me through it, even if you're not going to cover it in the plot, you have to have thought through the actual steps. And this, this, and this would be more effective if dialed back a bit. I get this is all about the adventure but if you're going to say that the character has emotionally progressed, you have to show that the character has emotionally progressed."

I can personally recommend bironic, daisylily, nightdog_barks, and thedeadparrot for this important role, although you may not be able to afford them...

Comments

[nightdog_barks]

:D

[blackmare]

I haven't been watching the show, yet based on reviews and reports from everywhere, I had come to exactly this conclusion the other day. "They need a damn BETA, is what."

And having had the tremendous benefit of Nightdog beta-ing, I can heartily second that rec; I'd be happy with anyone on that list, though.

[taiga13.livejournal.com]

So, Sherlock is the dumbest of the three Holmes children? First we were told that Mycroft is smarter than him, now Euros is smarter than them both.

[nikita79x.livejournal.com]

Yup. At this point my eyes rolled so far in the back of my head I can't find them now. 😜