Guest Blogger
GB Williams
The Benefits Of Reading Aloud.
For this week’s tip, I am delighted to welcome GB Williams.
GB Specialises in fast paced, contemporary crime that doesn’t hide from harsh reality (not too much gore). She says “Nor do I hide from the fact that people have a heart, I will run through the gamut of emotion, and sometimes make the reader cry. There are many elements in my work, but it’s all about people and what they go through.”
GB Specialises in fast paced, contemporary crime that doesn’t hide from harsh reality (not too much gore). She says “Nor do I hide from the fact that people have a heart, I will run through the gamut of emotion, and sometimes make the reader cry. There are many elements in my work, but it’s all about people and what they go through.”
GB’s Writing Tip
Read out loud.
When you think you’re ready to go, think again and read your work aloud. It doesn’t matter what genre you’re writing, or where you are on your publishing journey, to know if your manuscript works or not, the best way is to read it out loud.
This is a struggle for most authors, but stick with it. No one expects you to go all Shakespearean, enunciating each syllable and clipping every vowel, but it is important to know that the words sound right when read out. Reading aloud will highlight a lot of issues you would otherwise not know were there, and the various grammar checkers won’t tell you either.
The inability to listen to your own voice doesn’t exclude you doing this either. There are many programmes which will read your work out for you. They are utterly expressionless, but I find that means I don’t get caught up in the story, I listen to the actual words and mistakes jump out. The latest versions of Word have a read to me option, as does the free download of Adobe, not sure about Pages as I don’t have a Mac, but I suspect that something is available for Mac users too.
Reading aloud also has another benefit, it lets you know what is easy/difficult to actually say. There’s a surprising difference between what we can read in our heads and what we can read aloud. The added benefit of course, is that should your book got to audio, you’ve made life easier for the actor reading it.
Read out loud.
When you think you’re ready to go, think again and read your work aloud. It doesn’t matter what genre you’re writing, or where you are on your publishing journey, to know if your manuscript works or not, the best way is to read it out loud.
This is a struggle for most authors, but stick with it. No one expects you to go all Shakespearean, enunciating each syllable and clipping every vowel, but it is important to know that the words sound right when read out. Reading aloud will highlight a lot of issues you would otherwise not know were there, and the various grammar checkers won’t tell you either.
The inability to listen to your own voice doesn’t exclude you doing this either. There are many programmes which will read your work out for you. They are utterly expressionless, but I find that means I don’t get caught up in the story, I listen to the actual words and mistakes jump out. The latest versions of Word have a read to me option, as does the free download of Adobe, not sure about Pages as I don’t have a Mac, but I suspect that something is available for Mac users too.
Reading aloud also has another benefit, it lets you know what is easy/difficult to actually say. There’s a surprising difference between what we can read in our heads and what we can read aloud. The added benefit of course, is that should your book got to audio, you’ve made life easier for the actor reading it.
GB specialises in complex, fast-paced crime novels, most recently, “The Chair”, but also the “Locked Trilogy”. GB was shortlisted for the 2014 CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition with the story Last Shakes, now available in Last Cut Casebook. Crime novels are her stock in trade, but she has had success with short stories in other genres including steampunk, horror, and erotica, and has penned a successful steampunk series. She has a husband and two grown up children, not to mention the worlds most imperious demanding cat. GB is such a cat slave, even the neighbourhood cats come demanding dinner. Now working as a fulltime writer and freelance structural editor. GB hates every photo ever taken of her.
She is published by Black Bee Books.To learn more about her and her writing, visit her website or her Facebook page.
She is published by Black Bee Books.To learn more about her and her writing, visit her website or her Facebook page.
Or you can follow her on Twitter @GailBWilliams or Instagram @gbwilliamsauthor.
