I do, but only inadvertently because that's the way my writing group works.
I read a blog post where Laura Lippman said she was about to begin reading her newest book aloud. I can't imagine doing that. My voice would never hold up and nor would my confidence.
What I would like is have someone else read it aloud to me.
I think I could really pick up flaws if I heard someone else read it aloud. Does anyone do this? I suppose I could record it and then listen but I hate my voice. (Philadelphia does not produce good reading voices).
DO YOU READ YOUR WORK ALOUD?
34 comments:
I always read my story aloud and usually have Denise read it to me before sending the final version out.
I have various levels of reading aloud. Sometimes for an edit it's sotto voce, just to give me an idea of how the words flow. I never send anything out beyond trusted readers unless I have read it aloud, full voice.
I used to be a big believer in having someone else read it aloud to me, in a writing group. Not so much anymore, as the random reader may stumble over a word or phrase that I want to be left as it is because he or she isn't attuned to the voice I'm using, and my voices are rarely right down the middle.
Although in my case, I stumble over my own words (because I am remembering various choices) more than my mates do.
If a sentence is giving me trouble and I can't figure out why, I might read it aloud, but this is rare. Otherwise, no. Robert E. Howard often read his stories aloud as he was writing them, sometimes loud enough in the middle of the night that it disturbed the neighbors.
Like James, I read sentences out loud when I'm having trouble with them. And, like you Patti, I'm not fond of my reading voice especially when I hear professionals like Jim Dale read.
Patti - Interesting question! I don't read my work aloud. I check myself by reading it and then putting it aside and coming back later. The only exception to that is if there's a section or bit of dialogue that I'm not sure about. In that case, I admit I do read aloud and ask for input from trusted people.
Of course, I am always hearing it inside my head. And in different voices it there is more than one character. But I don't trust the inside of my head very much.
Since I live in a townhouse, I am mindful of doing anything too loud!
I don't, because I've always felt a little weird doing that.
I do read pieces specifically for clarity and voice, but not aloud. Maybe I should try this, though...
Ha. Just watched THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD again and was tickled by the portrayal of Howard's reciting as he typed...I used to read my stuff aloud, but got out of the habit. I can hear it well enough in my head.
I always read my stuff aloud, and since I live alone, that usually works fine. But yesterday, as I was in the middle of a pretty outrageous scene, I heard a tentative knock at the door. It was my neighbor, wanting to get a kid's ball that had bounced over the fence. I don't know how long he'd been standing there, but he would have heard every word through the screen door. I tried to explain, but I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm nuts now.
The voice in my head isn't critical enough. It likes to lure me into thinking things are swell.
I don't read everything aloud, but anything that seems to be limping, it's the quickest solution finder. And I love to read. I would buttonhole people on the street and start reading to them if I had more moxie. Probably will when I become a homeless old bag lady.
I found a free software program that converts text to speech, so I like that much better than listening to my own voice. It lets you convert it to a file and copy it to a cd, so you can listen in the car too.
Can you tell me the name of it, Sean.
I am glad I am not the only one. MY excuse is that my voice sounds too Danish, not at all like my characters would speak :)
So I only read sections silently, a sort of inner monologue. I think that works fairly well.
Yep, I read all my work aloud to make sure the voice is consistent and it's kind of fun. But if I had a whole novel, I'm not sure I'd read it out loud.
When I do a reading I'll read part of it out loud for the first time, and then wish I had chosen an easier name to pronounce! And depending on the crowd, I'll find myself filtering out some of the language...
But no, as I'm writing, never. Although the book or story does play out in my head like a movie--and sometimes they invade my dreams.
In a word, never. I was in a critique group that read things aloud and since I didn't want to read my stuff it usually fell to a woman who: 1) never contributed a word, and 2) was hypercritical of everyone else. She stumbled and stammed through the prose so badly it sounded like it was written by a finite numkber of dyslexic monkeys. Needless to say, I dumped that group. And the book sold.
I had a terrific creative writing professor years ago, a poet named Garry Geddes, and he had us read our stories aloud. At first I hated the idea and really resisted but after a while I understood what he was after. It really opened my eyes to the rhythms of the words and the flow of the story and I was able to see where things really slowed down or got choppy and awkward and where the voice lost consistency.
Of course, I still have all those problems with my writing, but reading aloud has helped.
I really think it does point up certain weaknesses (and strengths) One of which is the repetition of words or sounds. I really "hear" those.
Always read it aloud and always find something to change/flaws, etc. My wife and I are just reading aloud a 3 Act Play of mine and laughing our heads off at how really lousy readers we are (first takes had us hysterical in a few places--not the intended humor in the play, the unintended horrible reading).
Yes, I read everything that I have written, aloud. That is part of the final, final editing. In fact, I have a little ritual. I print the story out and staple the pages. Then out to the kitchen... pour a glass of merlot, and begin reading aloud.
This allows me to hear how the words flow... I will put an inflection or emphasis on certain phrases... the character's voices are in my head, so to speak, and I can pick out if something doesn't sound right. I have certain characters that must sound a certain way... it is part of them. For example... Sophie, Veronica's French lover... she rarely uses a contraction. She has a distinct manner when speaking English.
I find the voice in my head is more critical. Reading silently, my eyes have missed things. I didn't read aloud "Revenge Will Wait for Another Day", and have since found passages that needed just a bit of "tweaking".
An added "bonus" to reading my stories aloud... Tina LOVES when I do this.
And, as for the sound of my voice? Oh, trust me... this girl does not have a "reading voice"! My throat suffered injury some years ago and... well, let's just say that my voice has "an interesting quality". :)
Patti, It is called Word Talk, it's nothing fancy, but it works for what I use it for. http://www.wordtalk.org.uk
It's my final step, and I do it in a loud voice. Helps me spot unnecessary words, make sure the sentences have rhythm, and great for proofreading too.
Patti--
Usually my beta reader reads it aloud to me. Then I return the favor with her material. Sometimes, I'll read my own novels aloud to nail down the rhythm of the narrative and the dialogue.
I need a beta reader.
I don't always, but when I do, I'm always glad I did. I find words that I've used too much, places where the sentences are too long and inconsistencies in logic. I actually imagine giving a reading -- will this keep the audience entertained?
Hard enough to keep my writing group entertained and they know me.
Like you, I only read aloud in my writing group. I don't know why I don't read my work aloud just for my self, since so many writers say it's a help.
I'll do it occassionally. Reading out loud is good for dialogue. How it sounds in your head and how it does when actually spoken is often different, I find. Good for tweaking.
Reading aloud is a huge help to me. My first, and shortest, flash fiction piece stubbornly refused to move from 839 words(max was 800)... I read it out loud a couple of times... viola!
@John... Great point you bring up... "inconsistencies in logic". I had a whopper of one in Sappho of Toulouse... once I began reading it out loud... (slaps forehead!) Yeah... that would have been embarrassing!
@Patti - Thank you for posting... great discussion here!
Only when forced to at school visits.
I like to do it but rarely at full voice. I find many more errors and it highlights any clunky sentence construction. I agree you can't do it for very long at a stretch, it's slower than reading it in my head.
Interesting topic though. Everyone's different.
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