Why Reading Your Writing Aloud is not Crazy.

I find in my own perusal of other works that a lot of times when I read something, it's worded awkwardly or is slightly off cue. This isn't to say that the message perceived isn't the one intended. It might just be the way that that author writes, but to me there would be better ways to say such a thing.

Let's take the following line as an example. It's a line out of a story I wrote a few years ago that I've recently stumbled upon in the last couple of weeks.

"Not only was this nearly impossible, but he just lost another two hundred dollars from his impulsive betting."

Take a second. Give it two or three run-throughs. On the surface, it's a harmless little sentence. Clearly the character being spoken of has fallen under ill times and his gambling ways are not helping him in any sort of manor. But, let's dissect it a little further than that. We'll start with the first clause of the sentence: 'Not only was this nearly impossible.'

The fact that it is said in this manner indicates to me that the narrator is in the character's head. The phrasing leaves little to be desired in terms of emotion, which is more than enough for me. The question is: does it make sense? At first, I'd say it does. It shows us that what happened should not have happened, and you get the feeling that it pisses the character off that it did. Fine.

But read it aloud. When I read that part aloud, I find myself struggling not to read it quite fast and with an exasperated, almost melodramatic tone. That strikes me as a little odd because the second part of the sentence is: 'but he just lost another two hundred dollars from his impulsive betting.'

It doesn't sound right. There's an icky feeling about something and you may not even know what it is.

So, what can be done? Well, there are many options. You could just scrap the sentence and try writing it again. And this might give you something like: 'Thanks to this impossible outcome, he was out another two hundred dollars.' Already, I find myself much more comfortable with this result. But now the reader doesn't necessarily assume that the character has a gambling problem.

So, let's try: 'He couldn't believe he lost another two hundred dollars to a sure thing.' Crisp, clean, precise and informative. (As an aside, let me say that I did come up with these new sentences as I wrote this.)

It's amazing what your ears can do for you in terms of writing and revision. Something might sound perfectly fine in your head, which I believe the early rendition of our sentence must have to me at first, but then sound out of tune when read aloud. I urge you to use this to the fullest scope possible.

However, I must offer a few words of caution. Your ears are good and it goes without saying that they can pinpoint mistakes in wording quite easily. But don't think that an awkward sentence is always a bad thing. As good as it is to hear your story develop through your own voice, you don't always need to change what you've already written. Read it aloud and if it sounds weird, read it again. Try saying it a little differently. Sometimes you might find that you like that it sounds a little off. Sometimes you might be trying to make it sound a little off. But the bottom line is to follow your ears, because your mind will play tricks on you.