All meeting are by ZOOM.

BETA WRITERS is where writers become better reviewers, and learn to master the basics of engaging novel writing -- three-act structure, inciting events/climaxes, a plot that grips readers, characters that come alive, staying within POV, no verb tense shifts, show don't tell, adding BLAs (body language attributions) to dialog tags, proper punctuation, limited adverbs (stronger verbs instead), beat structure, and more...

SUBMIT (less than 3,500-word MS Word doc) before midnight the SATURDAY before the meeting.

Make sure to add pre-submission info at the start of your piece so reviewers know: author name, genre, where they are in the piece, main/secondary characters, what's happened before, and what, if anything, you're looking for specific feedback on.

Any questions, contact David Larson (davidslarson@yahoo.com). Anything placed in the DropBox after midnight Saturday may not make it into the mix.

SUBMIT REVIEWS TO OUR DROPBOX BEFORE TUESDAY 5pm. Complete your review using MS Word's Track Changes and write a brief summary of what you thought of the piece at the end.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS.

We are predominately fiction writers and readers/reviewers in both the novel and screenplay formats. We know nothing of poetry, and even less of how-to books. Fact-checking is not our skill set (although most reviewers are prone to Google a word).

We focus on two areas: STORY and WORDSMITHING.

a. STORY. We are students of Hauge and McKee, as well as King and Foster. A critique group needs to be able to speak the same language and these masters give us this. Please rethink joining if you are odds with these masters. [Really...if Hauge and McKee are good enough for Spielberg, the Nolan Bros., and King, they should be for you.]

b. WORDSMITHING. Novelists use the CMS (Chicago Manual of Style). CMS is the bible for Novel writing and what publishers demand. WORDSMITHING is the foundation upon which a STORY is built. Novelists do not use MLA or AP formats (college writing or journalism for punctuation, capitalization, numbers, etc.).

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REVIEWS: Keep in mind, you will either inspire, confuse, tread water for the reader/reviewer, or some combination.

When you read your reviews, remember this: It's not about you -- it's JUST WORDS ON PAPER.

Writing successfully is about STORY and WORDSMITHING. You cannot have one without the other.

We are looking for stories about extraordinary characters from fantastic locations put into unbelievable situations, aren't you?

Peace,

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