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Test Audiences...helpful or hurtful?

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blgarver:
Hello all.

I was wondering how many writers (pro or otherwise) used a test audience to gauge the story as it's being written.

I have about 5 people I give my chapters to as I finish them.  I don't ask for editing or anything like that, just feedback on the plot and characters and other story elements.  I know a lot of writers would say to never let anyone read anything until it's completely finished, but I've found that I get a lot of encouragement from my test audience.  When they finish reading the latest chapter, they're always really eager to get the next one.  So if nothing else, it's a little bit of a motivational technique.

I try to avoid using friends and family as test audience, because of the bias.  I find people at work I don't know on a personal level and things like that. 

So, anyone have thoughts on using a test audience?  Is it good or evil?  Does anyone else do this?  Who do you choose to read your unfinished story?

Thanks!

BLG

Mickey Finn:
Well, Jim has a beta list for his work, so I'm guessing he'd say it was good. ;)

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:

--- Quote from: blgarver on January 12, 2007, 03:11:27 PM ---Hello all.

I was wondering how many writers (pro or otherwise) used a test audience to gauge the story as it's being written.


--- End quote ---

I do.

People reading as you go along and wanting more are helpful for motivation. People reading the whole thing for flow are also useful, and I do prefer that to be separate people, good alpha-reading and good beta-reading are quite different skills.  And the only way to tell whether someone will actually be good at it for you is to test them on your stuff., sfaict.


--- Quote from: blgarver on January 12, 2007, 03:11:27 PM ---I try to avoid using friends and family as test audience, because of the bias.

--- End quote ---

I'm not sure I'd want someone looking over my stuff whom I did not consider a friend, but on the other hand, I have a strong preference for brutal honesty over niceness in my close friends.  And it is possible to find yourself marrying to your best test-reader, years down the line.

Dom:
I've a test audience...varies between one and three people. It is good for morale for someone to comment as you write, and also, it's really, really fun to be able to discuss your world with someone and not have them look at you funny.  It's even better if they like one of your characters.  It's also good to have a second pair of eyes look things over so they can point out flaws or comfirm things that you've seen yourself but aren't sure if you want to cut or not, even early on on the story.

I don't have family look my stuff over, and not-like-me friends...meaning, friends I didn't meet through books.  I tend to be very quiet and innocent-looking in real life, and I'm not really sure how they'd take my stories.  They'd look at me considerably differently, I'd think.

Abstruse:
I gave up on that.  I kept giving stuff I'd written to friends to get opinions and the conversation, no matter how well-read or educated the person, would go like this:

Me: So what did you think?
Them: It was good!
...
...
...
Me: And?
Them: And what?
Me: Care to expound a little more?
Them: What?  I liked it, it was good.
Me: Well, what did you like?
Them: Everything.
Me: Was there anything you didn't like?
Them: Not really.  It was good.
...
Them: What?
Me: Seriously, you're not going to hurt my feelings.  Just tell me honestly what you thought.
Them: I liked it!
...
...
Them: What?
Me: <mumbled> Thanks.

And I just don't have the heart to tell them that they did NOTHING to help me.

The Abstruse One
Darryl Mott Jr.

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