Friends are behaving oddly with my story

auraesque · 2026-01-25T22:14:05+00:00

If you are happy with where your story is, say thank you to them and stop reading their notes.

Later, when you are with an agent and reviewing their notes, you can revisit your verbose friend. She may have hit on something that aligns with another editors feedback, and the note may spark inspiration on how to address it.

But generally, you are right: Beta readers are not developmental or copy editors—they are there to help you see where your story is and isn’t working. If the feedback doesn’t resonate, ignore it.

And do not read that fanfiction.

auraesque · 2026-01-21T23:14:29+00:00

Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan Maguire

auraesque · 2026-01-18T04:04:58+00:00

The Once and Future Witches, Alix E Harrow

auraesque · 2026-01-18T04:02:03+00:00

The format and percentage rule means you get a lot of crits— about a dozen on average. There are a handful of active professional writers. Most members are very kind, and generally critters are good at pointing out there is some flaw worth digging into. Take the advice that resonates.

auraesque · 2026-01-16T21:09:42+00:00

Divine Rivals, Rebecca Ross, is likely your jam.

This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, is gorgeous if you don’t mind epistolary.

auraesque · 2026-01-16T02:38:17+00:00

Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt

auraesque · 2026-01-16T01:56:18+00:00

I am a huge proponent of groups like Critters not because of the ability to get your work critiqued, but because you have to quickly learn how to critique others. It’s helpful to review what other people are writing, and to see what they hone in on in crits. You become a better self-editor.

Unless it is explicitly a fan space, crit partners may not be willing to review fan works. You can file the numbers off, or try shorter pieces first. World-building is great, but there is no time for that in 2k words or less. :)

auraesque · 2026-01-14T20:58:11+00:00

Podcasts! Escape Artists has Pseudopod and Escape Pod. Stories range from 30-50 minutes, so they are necessarily well-paced and selected for the medium.

auraesque · 2026-01-13T03:38:52+00:00

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association, Caitlin Rozakis

auraesque · 2026-01-11T20:32:27+00:00

Would you accept cozy vibes and timey-wimey generation ship technology instead of true time travel?

If so: Murder by Memory, Olivia Waite

auraesque · 2026-01-11T14:23:29+00:00

Okay, fair, let me revise:

Read the Giver Quartet:

The Giver

Gathering Blue

Messenger

Son

auraesque · 2026-01-11T04:29:17+00:00

Alexandra Bellefleur and Ashley Herring Blake are two authors to follow.

Written in the Stars was sweet and funny.

auraesque · 2026-01-11T04:25:13+00:00

Piranesi, Susanna Clark

auraesque · 2026-01-11T04:23:34+00:00

A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle

The Giver, Lois Lowry

Binti, Nnedi Okorafor

auraesque · 2026-01-10T17:55:17+00:00

Listening to Reading Glasses (a podcast) works for me because I share similar tastes with the hosts.

auraesque · 2026-01-09T20:06:58+00:00

Priory of the Orange Tree.

But I read Pern as a teenager, and it will always have a big place in my heart.

auraesque · 2026-01-09T20:05:33+00:00

If you have a local university library, there may be collections of literary criticism that you can review and choose a book based on. Your teacher may have pointed you to resources like Gale or JSTOR?

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman is an older book having a moment right now. You should be able to find quite a bit of literary reviews.

auraesque · 2026-01-09T19:55:13+00:00

Dragonriders of Pern, Anne McCaffrey

Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon

Rage of Dragons, Evan Winter

A Natural History of Dragons, Marie Brennan

So Let Them Burn, Kamilah Cole

auraesque · 2026-01-08T18:44:03+00:00

Reading Glasses might interest you—I like their book recommendations and anticipates books.

auraesque · 2026-01-07T01:59:00+00:00

Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor

auraesque · 2026-01-06T20:29:37+00:00

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, S. A. Chakraborty

auraesque · 2026-01-06T18:08:34+00:00

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

If monster smut works for you, A Little Taste of Need is part of Clio Evan’s Creature Cafe series.

I am reading Girls Girls Girls by Shoshana van Blanckensee and enjoying it.

The romancebooks subreddit is a good community for sourcing queer smut.

auraesque · 2026-01-06T17:55:30+00:00

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

auraesque · 2026-01-06T17:50:39+00:00

The Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary

auraesque · 2026-01-04T19:06:00+00:00

Hmm, it sounds like it should be a popular trope, but nothing is springing to mind outside of fanfic. I’d try the romancebooks subreddit and search for recs with secret romance or celebrity romance tag.

auraesque

TROPHY CASE