Writing Tip: Read Your Writing Aloud
This is particularly important when you are writing speech, but no less important for poetry and stories. Reading your writing aloud to yourself (or to other people, if you are involved in a writing group or have friends who can comment on your work) will allow you to hear what you have created in a new voice: you will be more likely to spot any errors too, as well as words and patterns that you may not have previously noticed.
When you read it out loud, the dialogue within your writing should sound like a conversation you could have in real life. By hearing it, you will be able to see where the conversation does not seem to flow correctly, where you may need to edit or which words or phrases do not seem to fit. You should also be able to hear the individual âvoicesâ of your characters, which could help you to grow them.
Reading your poetry aloud will allow you to better understand the rhythm of your piece. You may spot something you did not notice when you were writing: a better place to break up your lines, a few words that are out of place, a section that could be expanded upon, and so on.
Your stories can also benefit from this exercise: long paragraphs or lengthy sentences will be far easier for you to spot when you are reading them out loud. Again, if one sentence does not seem to link to the next, you will be able to notice this. I often find that it is an excellent way for me to spot words that I have overused or repeated accidentally. It is a great way to develop and edit your writing.
Written By: Laura Clark
* Laura is a 23 year old English woman with a history degree residing in the UK. She has been writing for many years and enjoys writing horror/fantasy stories, as well as poetry. You can view her work at: https://inspiredstoriesandpoems.wordpress.com/
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I don’t know if it is the same with everyone but I read everything I write in my head as I am writing it. It really helps.