But parody and satire aren't really serious. You're right - they aren't meant to be taken seriously, although they often are treated seriously by the author, which was what I was trying to say. I guess, though, that could lead to some serious unexpected reactions either way, so I don't know. I guess I think, with enough effort, cracky plots could lead to serious fic, just as funny prompts can become dark, or something angsty could become something darkly humorous.
Most of what I need in a beta is somebody to talk about my stories with before they're done (or sometimes even started) and help me work out the plot, which doesn't seem to be what most betas do. I agree that it can be hard to find someone just to bounce ideas off of. I lucked out when I first joined fandom, because I was so self-conscious of both my story ideas and my execution, but I had some really nice people basically holding my hand and leading the way.
I prefer concrit, because even if I had a beta reader everybody sees different things they like and dislike, and I already know I'm an average to slightly above average writer. This. I love it when people pull lines or other details out of fics and comment on them, whether positively or negatively - it's also my favorite kind of feedback to leave.
Re: I come from metafandom
You're right - they aren't meant to be taken seriously, although they often are treated seriously by the author, which was what I was trying to say. I guess, though, that could lead to some serious unexpected reactions either way, so I don't know. I guess I think, with enough effort, cracky plots could lead to serious fic, just as funny prompts can become dark, or something angsty could become something darkly humorous.
Most of what I need in a beta is somebody to talk about my stories with before they're done (or sometimes even started) and help me work out the plot, which doesn't seem to be what most betas do.
I agree that it can be hard to find someone just to bounce ideas off of. I lucked out when I first joined fandom, because I was so self-conscious of both my story ideas and my execution, but I had some really nice people basically holding my hand and leading the way.
I prefer concrit, because even if I had a beta reader everybody sees different things they like and dislike, and I already know I'm an average to slightly above average writer.
This. I love it when people pull lines or other details out of fics and comment on them, whether positively or negatively - it's also my favorite kind of feedback to leave.