It wasn’t until the fourth revision of Net Switch when I started to read the book aloud, and it made all the difference in the world. For those writers who haven’t read your written words aloud, I suggest you start. As we read, our minds can already put in words that might be missing without us even catching it. It isn’t until you read aloud that you realize something doesn’t work.
With
my newest manuscript, I have found so much in revisions when I read it aloud. I
am able to catch missing words, notice where it stops flowing, awkward
dialogue, and believe it or not, wrong word usage. The one thing I didn’t
expect to happen in reading aloud was it bringing out more personality in my
characters. When I’m reading it aloud, I change my voice a bit to reflect the
characters’ personality. This helps me stay focused on my characters’
personalities. It’s a great way to enhance character development.
As
writers, we take bits and pieces of our life and incorporate it into our novels.
I believe this is what makes our characters and stories come alive. Don’t get
me wrong, a serial killer in a novel doesn’t mean the author is a serial
killer, but there are parts of the author’s personality that brings the
character to life. Maybe the author has a temper or knows how to keep secrets.
Whatever it is, our characters grow because we have lived. Reading aloud is
another dimension to giving our characters life. I can hear my characters in my
head, so when I read aloud, their attitude and personality comes out. I can
tweak and show off my characters more through description or dialogue.
I’m
not losing my mind when I say I can hear my characters’ voices in my head. We
all do it at one time or another. I’ve heard many of people say, “I can now hear my
mother, telling me to…” It’s part of life, just like it is part of creating
authentic characters; flawed characters struggling from self or another kind
of infliction.
Like
anything else in life, practice is important. Practicing the art of writing and
realizing your mistakes are key in becoming a good, if not great writer.
I suggest you add reading your manuscript aloud during revisions. You’ll learn
so much more about your writing, your characters, and the story.
Do you read your works aloud? Do you have another revisions tip?
Reading
aloud and Characters,
Bea
I always read aloud. How it sounds in your head and how it sounds out loud can be totally different, and can especially help if you're stuck with the flow of a particular sentence.
ReplyDeleteThe concept only hit me with my last book. When I started to read aloud, I started tripping over words and noticing missing words.
DeleteAside from just the revision aspect, reading aloud touches us in a more primal place. Our first stories were read to us. Even history originally followed an oral tradition.
ReplyDeleteReading the story outloud changes it to something more in our minds.
I never thought about that, Jon. It's so true, stories were first told to us orally.
DeleteGreat post Denise. it really is an excellent habit, which i only do when I'm in my writing critique group, and then only for a short section. But it's totally true that mistakes do jump out at you and/or dialogue sounds unnatural etc, through reading. There must be some science behind this, but it's an excellent point. I must get into the habit of doing it more on my own. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, A.K. As Jon stated, our first stories were read to us, so it's natural for us read our own works aloud.
DeleteGreat post. At the moment I only do this when I'm in my critique group, but it makes such a difference. Thanks for the prompt to do it more often at home.
ReplyDeleteWhen I start to feel half-way satisfied with what I am working on, I will read it out loud. For me, doing so becomes a way to help the language flow and to catch the clunky sentences and improve them so they roll more pleasingly off the tongue. I hadn't thought about reading to get a better sense of the characters' personalities, but I will get that in mind when the time comes. When it comes to reading my work out loud in front of my critique group, that is the absolute worst. I can function in a classroom, but any other sort of public speaking/reading is always so nerve wracking.
ReplyDeleteI will read my drafts from the end, at times, sentence by sentence. It helps to break the forward flow created by reading from the beginning.
I couldn't even imagine having to read my work aloud in front of others--a nightmare to say the least. I give people credit who have good public speaking skills. It's something I don't have and I avoid it at all costs.
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