I’m Now A Fanfic Editor

Once upon a time, I was complete garbage when it came to writing; in fact, I used to hate it. Fortunately, my days in school helped me to improve my skill with the written word. By the time I left college, people were often telling me that I was a great writer, and I started to like doing it. However, as a side effect of years of lessons crammed into me, I became a bit of a grammar cop. I learned that that’s not necessarily a good thing when you like to read fanfiction a lot.

I say this because I’ve read a lot of fan fics in the last year or so. While most of them are very well-written, I’ve found my share that I feel have enough mistakes to hinder them. Then last week, I came across a fanfic called “The Celestial and the Princess.” The premise was an alternate re-telling of Star vs. The Forces of Evil; in this story, though, Marco’s not fully human. Taking a page from Marvel Comics and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, here Marco’s part Celestial, a race of beings that can manipulate the universe on an atomic level, letting them create anything they want.

Stepping In

I didn’t think much of the idea at first, but as I got into the story, I became interested in it. Like Star the Monster Princess, it was a premise that could potentially alter the outcome of the show. Giving Marco access to abilities on par with the magic in the show adds a new dynamic to Star and Marco’s relationship. However, there was one thing about the story that held it back: grammar. Spelling was off for several words, incorrect use of punctuation, and more. As a result, something inside of me snapped. I couldn’t stand by and watch an interesting premise be held back by the writing. So, after the author, ROTHEM, responded to my review, we wound up striking a conversation. From there, I showed him the edits I had made to their prologue, and they seemed to be impressed.

I don’t remember which of us suggested the idea, but somewhere along the lines, the idea came up of me becoming a beta reader for their story. ROTHEM admitted that English was not their first language, hence why they had such trouble with it. Then, before I could change my mind, I volunteered. So, now I’m a beta reader or editor or something. So far, though, I seem to be doing a good job of it.

Good Work

Since I started doing revisions and pitching ideas to ROTHEM, they’ve gone back and reworked the first few chapters. There were only two, so there wasn’t that much to go on. As a result, the story’s started to gain some traction. Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to give advice to ROTHEM on how the story can progress and ideas to include. They seem happy about the whole thing.

“The Celestial and the Princess” is still in its infancy; when I post this, I’ll have only just finished adapting the second segment of the first episode, “Party with a Pony.” As for what I gain out of this? I’ll be getting some experience as a writer that I can put on my resume, and that’s enough for me.

So, that’s all I wanted to say right now. Go check out the first few chapter’s of ROTHEM’s story and let them know what you think about it. I’m sure ROTHEM will be happy to hear your feedback.

Click here to see the story right now.

Click here to see my other reviews of fan fiction