I agree about John and Rodney "getting" each other when it comes to their mutual difficulties with emotional intimacy. It's one of the things that makes the friendship really work, I think. They're both just bad at it, but they understand that.
I don't know if I've corrupted the definition or if the drabbles used to be longer when I've first heard the term, but I tend to think of them as very short stories, something below 3000-4000 words, no real plot.
Ah. The definition I'm familiar with (from old-school SF fandom) is that a drabble is a story that's 100 words long, no more, no less. I'd call what you're talking about flash fiction or vignettes or just short stories.
I'm pretty sure that the term drabble has been expanded a bit, because it's just such an amusing term and people like it. But when I hear it, my mind immediately goes to the specific definition, and when I see a story labeled as a drabble I assume it's 100 words long.
I'm simply impressed by the quality of stuff I see out there that has been un-betaed.
Well, getting it beta'd certainly helps. I think every story benefits from getting another set of eyes on it, and there are some stories I've written that were complete messes, plot-wise, before I had another person look at them. That's where beta-ing is most helpful for me, because I really don't need much help with grammar or spelling; part of my day job includes copy editing/proofing, so I'm pretty good at that. It's being able to step back from the story and figure out what's working and what's not ... that's the area where a beta comes in handy for me. And if I'm happy with the plot as it is, I don't really feel the need to have someone else look over it.
no subject
I don't know if I've corrupted the definition or if the drabbles used to be longer when I've first heard the term, but I tend to think of them as very short stories, something below 3000-4000 words, no real plot.
Ah. The definition I'm familiar with (from old-school SF fandom) is that a drabble is a story that's 100 words long, no more, no less. I'd call what you're talking about flash fiction or vignettes or just short stories.
I'm pretty sure that the term drabble has been expanded a bit, because it's just such an amusing term and people like it. But when I hear it, my mind immediately goes to the specific definition, and when I see a story labeled as a drabble I assume it's 100 words long.
I'm simply impressed by the quality of stuff I see out there that has been un-betaed.
Well, getting it beta'd certainly helps. I think every story benefits from getting another set of eyes on it, and there are some stories I've written that were complete messes, plot-wise, before I had another person look at them. That's where beta-ing is most helpful for me, because I really don't need much help with grammar or spelling; part of my day job includes copy editing/proofing, so I'm pretty good at that. It's being able to step back from the story and figure out what's working and what's not ... that's the area where a beta comes in handy for me. And if I'm happy with the plot as it is, I don't really feel the need to have someone else look over it.