Do you read your story out loud and edit it to make it flow

Lakey · May 22, 2017

I've been reading this thread with interest. I do read my work aloud - I have done with my essays too, even before I delved into fiction - both for proofreading reasons, and to get a sense of the rhythm and flow of the language.

I am a big consumer of audiobooks - at least 75% of the books I've read in the last few years, if not closer to 90%, have been in audio form. It's given me a great appreciation for how pleasant it can be to listen to a well-written bit of prose when it is well-read. When I read my work aloud, I sometimes emulate the cadences of my favorite audiobook readers.

(I have a daydream in which my book is finished, and is published, and the audio edition of it is read by one particular voice actor...)

Punk28 · May 22, 2017

Do it all the time now. It helps in figuring out if a sentence is correct, or if a word should or shouldn't he there, or if a piece of dialogue makes sense. Sometimes, the ears detect things better than the mind.

BethS · May 22, 2017

CJSimone said:
I do see value in reading it out loud, just not sure about it personally. Maybe it relates to visual versus auditory styles.

When I read my work out loud, I get all tripped up, and not because it doesn't flow but because I'm distracting myself when I hear myself. I feel like my own voice, style and such gets in the way. I'm not big on having stories read aloud to me by someone else either. I can't get into the story the same and I get stuck on thoughts like, "I don't think that was the right tone for what was just said."

Any time something's read aloud, the reader and their voice becomes a part of it along with the words/writing. For example, when I read Dr. Seuss to my kids it sounds a certain way. I recently heard my sister reading it and it sounded like a totally different work. Even though I wrote the words to my WIP, when I read them out loud it's like I mix with the work in a different way, and I don't like that. I like to just see what I'm reading and hear it in my head. In my writing/critique group we read five pages aloud for the group, but instead of following along, I tend to just read it myself at my own pace and in my own way because it works better for me.

This sounds like me. I've never had any interest in audiobooks, either, partially for the above reasons but also because my attention is prone to wander.

JRMcCarty · May 25, 2017

I read out loud. It's extremely helpful. I've also heard that you should read your draft out loud, backwards. It's supposed to be a great way to catch typos.

Cindyt · May 25, 2017

No, because I can't hear. :deaf:

kneedeepinthedoomed · May 26, 2017

I always act out dialogue or mouth it at least, paying attention to how the various characters would speak.

And my dialogue is written to be spoken (videogame script).

I also watch Shakespeare on Youtube and so forth. It's true, most actors speak a lot slower than normal people, and use less profanity, for good reasons. (I do use ample profanity and even make up new insults when a character really talks like that. I'm also not averse to have otherwise "good" characters speak realistically.)

To me, story starts with characters, and characters largely express themselves via dialogue. It is paramount to get dialogue right. So of course I read it out loud. I even talk conlang in the shower.

blacbird · May 26, 2017

In addition to reading your story aloud, it is often very useful to act out action or movement scenes, physically. You might be surprised how easy it is to write a description of people moving about that is totally absurd when you actually try to do it.

caw

mrsmig · May 27, 2017

kneedeepinthedoomed said:
I also watch Shakespeare on Youtube and so forth. It's true, most actors speak a lot slower than normal people, and use less profanity, for good reasons. (I do use ample profanity and even make up new insults when a character really talks like that. I'm also not averse to have otherwise "good" characters speak realistically.)

It's been my experience that most actors talk very fast and use LOTS of profanity.

Donna
(who is one)

unthoughtknown · May 27, 2017

Definitely.

Chasing the Horizon · May 27, 2017

I can't read my stories aloud because I'm absolutely horrific at reading aloud period. I read far faster than I can speak and have never been able to figure out how to slow down, so I completely lose my place within a paragraph or two. Having someone else read it aloud would also be useless to me because, like a few others on this thread, I can't focus on auditory stuff. I'm hyper-visual and see everything in my head, along with hearing all the dialogue in my characters' voices, which neither I nor another reader could possibly imitate to my satisfaction.

For catching typos, I use AW Admin's trick of reformatting the manuscript, and also have family members who are excellent at English proof-read for me. I'm sure reading aloud is helpful for some people, just not something that could ever work for me.

vicky271 · May 27, 2017

Yes! Of course! Everything from world geography, world history, chapters within the book, etc.

Bradley Shiner · May 28, 2017

Hello GoreQuill NachoVidal! I haven't used this strategy so far and I feel it is 100% a matter of how well you feel with that. If it helps then just do it. Anyways It doesn't have to produce same results for every individual. Best!

TellMeAStory · May 28, 2017

In my corner of the world, writers' open mic events abound, and I find myself not only reading aloud, but reading aloud to an audience.

How's that for enhanced self-scrutiny!

indianroads · May 28, 2017

I have the voices living in my head read it to each other... sometimes they argue over comma overuse or whether a semicolon should be an em dash. The result of their scrutiny usually turns out well.

LJD · May 28, 2017

Ambrosia said:
The only time I read aloud is if there is a troubling passage, sentence, or something that makes me sense an error. Then, I will read that bit out loud to find what is going amiss.

Same here.

Ruuzart · May 30, 2017

I have been thinking of doing this with just the dialogue, but may expand it to reading the whole story out loud.

nottonystark · Jun 9, 2017

I definitely have a tendency to do things like that sometimes. On top of that, I also have this need to read what I've already written before I begin writing again for the day in order to get in the rhythm, Get mood music into it, all kinds of things.

blacbird · Jun 9, 2017

Ambrosia said:
The only time I read aloud is if there is a troubling passage, sentence, or something that makes me sense an error.

I read aloud to find out if there is a troubling passage. I find a lot of them that way.

caw

GoreQuill NachoVidal · Jun 14, 2017

Carrie in PA said:
Always. Then I hear repeated words and oddities. I usually read it from a printed version so I can make notes along the way.

I think it is another level when it sounds good off the tongue and looks good on paper and is good story wise as well. When it doesn't flow I change it and when I put something that does flow I find it is always better. Maybe it is in the same way that having rules can make you more creative. I am also a big fan of alliteration when placed in the right place and general wordplay.

mrsmig said:
Yup, and I, too, will read other authors' work aloud - sometimes for clarification, but more often for the sheer enjoyment of hearing a well-written passage out loud.

I haven't found any writers that flow yet, even though the books are good books.

Stephen Palmer · Jun 15, 2017

Another technique to try is to read the prose in the silence of your head, but use a different voice, eg an actor's voice.
For instance, try reading a section of prose in the voice of Stephen Fry. It jolts you out of your own voice and provides 'editorial distance.'

LeftyLucy · Jun 15, 2017

Yes. Not for flow - reading works for me for flow/rhythm - but to catch errors my eyes don't see.

LeftyLucy · Jun 15, 2017

mrsmig said:
It's been my experience that most actors talk very fast and use LOTS of profanity.

Donna
(who is one)

Right? I went to college for theater. You've never heard words come faster or with more profanity than at a late-night table read.

divine-intestine · Jul 23, 2017

I sometimes read aloud into a dictaphone on my desk and wave my hands for emphasis.

mbalge · Jul 26, 2017

A couple days ago I read everything I've written so far for my book out loud and almost lost my voice. Next time I'll space things out but I was amazed at how many mistakes I found that I couldn't see from reading alone.

BoBoswell · Jul 28, 2017

I've found it helpful to convert it to a spoken audio track via my Mac. I can then listen to what I've written as an audiobook to check for errors or cadence. It's not perfect, because it's a rather robotic sounding voice, but it's quick and easy to do and I'm able to find more errors than when I read aloud myself.

Do you read your story out loud and edit it to make it flow

Lakey

professional dilettante

Punk28

BethS

JRMcCarty

Cindyt

Gettin wiggy wit it

kneedeepinthedoomed

blacbird

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

unthoughtknown

practical experience, FTW

Chasing the Horizon

Blowing in the Wind

vicky271

Bradley Shiner

TellMeAStory

indianroads

Wherever I go, there I am.

LJD

Ruuzart

nottonystark

blacbird

GoreQuill NachoVidal

Stephen Palmer

LeftyLucy

LeftyLucy

divine-intestine

Hardened drinker

mbalge

BoBoswell