Yes, yes, yes, I'm late.
But in the great tradition of "better late than never", I'd like to add my contribution to this thread.
I haven't written a lot this year. Real life has kept me a lot busier than I wish it had, and so my leisure time has been cut down as a result. However, I'm still there and I'm still working on several WIPs, and so I still have BRs, even if I left them mostly alone this year. :p
There are no words to say what my BRs mean to me. They're constant rocks of support; they cheer me up when I feel like I'll never get something done; they nag when I don't expect anybody to remember I write, because it's been months since I posted anything; they coax when I claim that what I wrote is too much of a pre-pre-pre-pre-first-draft to be seen by anybody, even them; they're always up to brainstorming and they give me great suggestions when I'm stuck; they laugh at my weakly humorous lines, they tell me when there's a plot glitch, they're always gentle in their criticism, but also very honest and helpful when it comes to fixing problems, and they edit my grammar mistakes and take the time to explain the rules to me so I can get better. I couldn't do it without their help.
So I'd like to give a very big hug to Annette, for being *the* beta-reader with emphasis on reader. Your comments never fail to make me laugh and smile and cheer me up. Thanks so much for being the greatest cheerleader I could ever wish for.
A very big hug to Bethy, for agreeing to be added to the list of BRs for the everlasting WIP called Near Wild Heaven II. A very big hug to El, for always finding new evil ideas to add to the plot, and giving me great feedback with her eagle-eye. A very big hug to Rat, who's been there since the very beginning and always tells me how to fix plot glitches even when I'm sure there's no way I can pull it off (but she makes me do it anyway, and in the end she's right and I'm wrong). And last but not least, a very big hug to Wendy, for helping me organise my thoughts about wild plots, keeping me on track when I go off on a wild tangent, and always giving me the encouragement and help I need. Thank you all, guys! You're fantastic friends to me.
Kaethel
