Writers--Read Your Drafts Aloud

Once again, I am going to urge you to read your work aloud as part of your proofreading/editing process. You will hear errors that your eyes might slide right over as you read silently.

Only yesterday, one of the women in my writing group critiqued a new essay I'd subbed. She pointed out the number of 'was' and 'had' words I had used. I tell you all the time to get rid of as many passives as you can. Then I did what I preach not to. In my defense, this was a first draft. so I'll claim that as my excuse. 

If you use Word to write your stories, essays and such, look at the top bar, go to the far right side. You will see Find with what looks like a magnifying glass next to it. Cllick on the Find, and a box will pop up on the left side of your document. Type in any word that you want to check in the box given. That word will then be highlighted throughout your document. It can be quite a shock to see the number of times you used a particular word. Try it with the passive verbs like 'was, were, is, are' to see if you're overloaded. Also, if your document is about a particular thing, perhaps 'government,' check to see the number of times you used that word. Then try to use different words for some of them. I didn't take time to read this one out loud, and if I had, I'd have had the problem corrected before subbing to my group.

If you read your work aloud, you'll discover some sentences that are way too long. Ones where you had to stop and take a breath before finishing. Have several of those, and you're in trouble. Overly long sentences are easy to fix. They can almost always be easily separated into two, or even three, sentences. You won't lose the meaning, just the extreme length.

Read with your voice, and you could discover words that your readers might stumble over, even though they are reading silently. 

You might also find spots that don't make much sense to you. It's far better that you discover them in the editing process so you can revise or rework those areas. 

One writer said she thought she'd feel silly reading her own work out loud in an empty room. Why? You're there alone, and the practice is to help you create a better piece of writing. I wouldn't advise standing in the kitchen while dinner prep is going on and reading your story over the conversation of others. Do it on your own. Close the door to the room you're in if necessary.

It is especially important to read poetry you've written out loud. You'll quickly see places where the rhythm is a bit off, or a word doesn't fit. Or a rhyme doesn't work very well. 

So, silly or not, try this the next time you finish the first draft and again when you have done all the revisions you felt were needed. 

Make a Good Story Better

I am part of a website where writers can post their work. It's a site where the level of writing runs from basic beginner to polished professional. Readers can leave comments and a tally is kept of how many hits each posting receives. I read as many of the stories as I have time for, and I  post one now and then, too.

Recently, I read two stories that might be classified as memoir, but they were worlds apart for one simple reason. Story number one told about a move made by the author's family when she was around twelve. It was interesting because she was able to bring out the way of life at that time, the kind of houses and that they'd lived near the railroad tracks. She told about her mother's reaction to the house, the bare light bulb in the middle of the ceiling in every room, and the lack of plumbing.

Story number two was a simple slice of life about ice cream that delved into the author's boyhood and then into the period he had small children and up to today when he shares the treat with grandchildren. Again, it held my interest.

But the two stories were worlds apart in one particular way. The first one lacked sensory details. The writer reported what happened. If she'd used sensory details, she'd have brought us tumbling back through the years to experience the whole episode with her. Living near the railroad tracks allowed for using the sense of sound. Think of those long, low train whistles, or the clack of wheels on the tracks. Then, there's the special smell of the old trains. The house she describes could have been brought to life by illustrating the sense of touch--perhaps the worn smooth doorknob, or the rough, warped front door.

The second writer filled his story with sensory detail. He had me licking my lips as he described eating the ice cream. And I don't even like ice cream! Because of the extra element of using the senses in his writing, his story came alive. It allowed the reader to live it with him.

Pay close attention to sensory detail in your writing. It can make a good story better.