I still don’t know a better way to find mistakes in my writing than reading each word out loud. It keeps my eye from skimming over my all too familiar words. Of course working my way through 51,000 words takes awhile….
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I still don’t know a better way to find mistakes in my writing than reading each word out loud. It keeps my eye from skimming over my all too familiar words. Of course working my way through 51,000 words takes awhile….
Kristin,
Do you record it and then listen to it again later? Or do you just read it aloud? I know writers who do both. And I’m seeing the difference in my own work. When I take the time to read out loud, things flow. When I don’t, I submit a newsletter article with “world” instead of “word.” Gotta love those little typos.
–SueBE
I actually don’t record myself. As a person who has read lots of novels out loud to her kids, I have a pretty good idea of what is flowing and what isn’t. But sometimes, when I make a lot of changes, I have to go back and read the whole thing out loud again.
It works! For example, my editor at Peachtree knows that she can leave my project until the very end when she’s pulling a list together because she knows my work won’t have too many errors. That level of trust is both nice and a bit frightening.
Oh – you have my sympathy!! That’s a lot of words to read out loud! But I’m sure they are wonderful words. I can’t wait to read your finished product. (silently, of course)
Stephanie,
Fingers crossed that you like this one. It’s a Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters type novel of romantic suspense that’s set in Augusta, Missouri.