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Read It Aloud

April 10, 2019 By Nancy Casey

The best advice I can give to someone who wants to revise a first draft and make it “better,” is to read it aloud. Not to me, not to friends or strangers, not quite even to yourself.

Read it aloud to an imaginary audience, preferably where no one else can hear you. Read with great expression. Stand up. Prop up the work so your hands are free. Record yourself if you like. The tension of having the recorder on will actually help you out.

Read slowly and pronounce every word as if it matters. Go beyond mere reading and perform it.

Too weird and goofy, you might say. Too time-consuming. Maybe you think that reading it aloud “in your head,” or merely whispering or moving your lips will do the trick. It won’t. You have to read it big. The discomfort is mild. Get over it. The more dramatic you are, the more you will learn.

Read the whole thing, beginning to end. No matter how long it is.

One thing you are likely to notice is that some parts are easier and more fun to read than others. These parts flow so smoothly that you can get the expression perfect.

You will find other parts to be lackluster, even boring to read. You might want to rush through them. You might find out that it’s possible to read aloud without actually listening to yourself!

Compare these two kinds of passages. What does it feel like to read the strong passages? Why are they so fun to read?

What makes your reading falter in the lackluster passages? Can you identify the place where the reading starts to be laborious? What’s different? Are you using lots of words to say a little bit? Have you gotten lost in the weeds of the details? Is there some kind of confusion in the logical order of things?

Writerly terms like voice, narrator, or persona might apply to your thinking. What makes the strong passages flow so smoothly? What makes them sound right? Do you notice anything about rhythm, word choice, or diction? Analyzing these passages helps you answer the question, “What makes my writing work?”

 What do you have to do to make the lackluster passages sound just as good as the energetic ones? That’s not always an easy question to answer. Sometimes it brings on a lot of experimentation and rearranging. Big chunks might get deleted and new chunks added.

Here is the important fact: when a human voice (yours) can perform a piece of writing from beginning to end while remaining engaged with all the words and ideas, the mind of your reader recreates that voice and remains engaged as well.

When you have read your work aloud once and made some changes, do it again. The more you listen to yourself reading your work aloud, the more you will learn about your own writing and how to improve it.

You’ll find the typos, too.

 

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News and Events

Nancy blogs weekly for the Latah Recovery Community Center, sharing writing ideas that support self-awareness and self-esteem.


Looking for an art project that is secretly full of math? Or a math project that results in interesting art? Equilateral Triangle is an Inquiry Pack full of project ideas that will keep you thinking for a long time.


Writing classes and workshops

In-person Write-For-You workshops at the Latah Recovery Center have been suspended for a bit, but you can still do the writing prompts on your own. For more information, about the Write for You program, or if you are in recovery and interested in writing coaching, contact Nancy.


 

Let’s Talk About It

This is a program that supports reading and discussion in libraries throughout the state of Idaho.

Working with the Program Committee, I updated the theme The Humanity of Science and Technology.


 

2021-22 Let’s Talk About It Discussions

November 10 – Tuesdays with Morrie – Clearwater Memorial Library – Orofino

 

November 18 – A Home Below Hells Canyon – Boise Basin District Library – Idaho City

 

February 8 – The Girl Who Fell From the Sky – Grangeville Centennial Library – Grangeville

 

February 15 – Sweet Promised Land – Garden Valley District Library – Garden Valley

 

March 23 – Less – Coeur d’Alene Public Library – Coeur d’Alene


Nancy Casey's Books

All the Way to Second Street

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COPYRIGHT 2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NANCY CASEY | MOSCOW, ID.