BETA EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION FORM


1. What are your greatest writing strengths?

Spelling and grammar are really my forte, but I'm also good with description, scene transitions, dialogue, and fight sequences. I can write pretty good sex scenes too, which is actually kinda disturbing.

2. Weaknesses? (dialogue, description, etc)

I can't do angst scenes very well. most of the self-pity in my writing usually ends with my character getting no pity at all or getting slapped across the face. I'm a major 'deal with it' kinda guy.

3. What genres do you write best? (tragedy, western, etc)

Fantasy, action/adventure, chick lit (oddly enough...), sci-fi and horror.

4. Worst? (I hope you get it by now)

Um, I cannot write western or romance to save my life.

5. Give 3 synonyms for red, blue, green and black.

red- maroon, ruddy, scarlet; blue- azure, cerulean, teal; green- lush, emerald, verdant; black- ebony, sable, obsidian

6. Let's see what you can do! Post an excerpt of your writing that shows some of your strengths as a writer (under 500 words, people!)

Bright embers danced across Seda’s vision, growing brighter by the millisecond as he opened his eyes, letting the light spill around him. “Faolan!” he shouted. “Move!” Faolan only just managed to jump aside, dragging Trace with him, as a bolt of lightning struck Sohalia with full force. Her scream was barely audible over the crash of the thunder, and Faolan thanked whatever luck gods were watching him that he had dropped his sword.
Then the scream came again—louder, and laced with agonizing pain. Faolan looked down at the man beneath him…and exclaimed in shock.
Trace had not been as lucky as Faolan. His hands were still clutching his swords, and bright drops of molten silver oozed out from between his scorched fingers. The blades were black where the lightning had struck them, and the pommels had melted entirely, fusing Trace’s hands to the white-hot metal.
“DAMNIT!” shouted Faolan, trying to pry Trace’s hands loose from the swords. Trace screamed again, and tried futilely to pull away, tears leaking from his eyes as he thrashed. “Seda! He needs help!” He tried again to pull Trace’s fingers loose, but with no results. “Seda!” Shielding his eyes from the rain, he looked for the mage.
There. Not ten feet behind them, Seda and Sohalia were in a standoff. Seda’ dagger was buried to the hilt in Sohalia’s stomach, but the witch was only trying to pull it deeper into herself. The pommel suddenly began to glow white-hot, and with a cry of pain, Seda was thrown backwards.
“Trace!” There was a flash of silver, and Reza’s sword flew through the air, striking point-first into Sohalia’s forehead. Seemingly unhindered by her sleek armor, she ran to her brother’s side, pushed Faolan away—“Go help Seda!”—and examined the damage.
Faolan ducked as Sohalia swung her leg at his head, then snatched up his sword and jammed it through her jaw, sending it straight up until it hit Reza’s sword. He hadn’t expected it to kill the witch, and he was right. But he did manage to pin Sohalia’s mouth shut, so he wasn’t too disappointed.
“Seda! The final rites!” he shouted, pulling the dagger free from Sohalia’s stomach, then sticking it through her arm and into the wood beneath them.
Seda whispered an incantation under his breath, then slammed a flame-wreathed palm into Sohalia’s chest. With a shriek, Sohalia burst into flames, spreading from her heart to her arms, legs, head, and other extremities. Faolan breathed a sigh of relief as Sohalia crumbled slightly, nothing but a shell of ashes.
Suddenly, everything seemed to move in slow motion. The shell exploded, sending ashes and weapons flying across the entryway. The dagger flew through the air and buried itself in Reza’s thigh, while the swords struck Faolan’s arm and skittered off one of Seda’ ribs.
Then it was over.
Seda fell to his knees, blood flowing past his fingers as he clutched the gash on his left side. “What just happened?” he whispered.


7. Is there anything else we should know about you before submitting our work to you? (hate vampire stories, can't write sex scenes, fluent in French, etc)

I like vampire stories a lot, but please do not ask me to beta anything that is similar to Twilight, Moonlight, Lost Boys or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I will simply send you a picture of my vomit.