On the first day of writing class, the lecturer asked us to clear our heads of any thoughts and then write down the first thing that entered our minds. A phrase, a word, a name or even an entire paragraph. That, according to him, was the beginning of an idea. One of the marvellous advices he'd give. Another was to always have a notebook with you, within reach, so you could always record down anything that inspires or catches your fancy. This way, you'll never let an idea slip out of your grasp.
Un-Betaed is that notebook of ideas: random phrases, conversations, visuals that appear in my head and refuse to leave until I've exorcised them into my notebook one way or another. In fan circles, 'beta' is used to mean 'editing ': a story in beta means a story is being edited by faithful volunteer beta readers. 'Un-Betaed' to me simply means 'in the rough', which I think fits perfectly into the whole idea of a note or scrapbook.
I had chosen a term closely related to fandom, because it was my involvement with fandom that encouraged me to pick up creative writing again. Even if it was in the form of poetry, it was nevertheless still creative writing. Poetry, to me is like trying to evoke emotions unto an abstract thought that seems to be captured, like a photograph. The characters, if there are any, do not grow as do those in novels. The challenge is both to capture the vision and the emotion of the subject, be it in poetry or in abstract snippets.
In 2008, Un-Betaed has also combined some opinion pieces about film and TV that has spurred me to write, or challenged me to think in some way more than your average entertainment texts.
