Tips for Writers, Do the Read Aloud Test

Image by Chapendra on Flickr.

On July 13, I posted a blog about acting out your writing. That helps to get the actions, events, and dialogue in sync. When you’ve accomplished that writing task, the next step is reading a scene out loud. There are many reasons to do this, and here are a few to consider.

1. Reading out loud helps you discover grammatical errors. When we read silently, we sometimes skip over words or supply missing words, especially articles and some pronouns. Reading out loud will catch these errors. If sentences are too long, you’ll run out of breath. If they’re too short and choppy, you’ll sound like you’re imitating Hemingway.
2. It helps to hear the dialogue read aloud. I’ve been accused by critique partners of writing stilted dialogue. At first I’m always surprised, but when I read it out loud, I can see what they mean.
3. Reading aloud helps you to see if the story flows or if there are jarring moments. Keep in mind, some books read aloud better than others, which is no indication of the quality of the writing. But if you read your writing out loud, you’re forced to slow down and pay attention to the words, the expression, the intonation. If it reads aloud well, be happy.
4. If you love your stories, you won’t mind reading them out loud. It won’t seem like a chore; instead it will be a pleasure.

As a teacher, I insist that my students read their writing out loud to themselves or to a partner before turning it in to me. This saves me time editing, and it helps them learn to self edit. If you try it, you might find it to be helpful for you, too.