READING OUT LOUD

by Pat Zabriskie

How are you at reading aloud? Try it. Whether you write prose or poetry,

read for cadence, rhythm, and sound. Does it flow? If prose, are the sentences

easy to read, or convoluted? Hearing your story or article will help you rewrite if

necessary.

Read someone else’s book. Do you stumble over new words or long sentences?

Learn new words. Reread until you move easily from word to word forming the

entire thought without pausing where you shouldn’t. Does your punctuation alert the reader to pause before a transition or will your words run into each other and force the reader to go over it twice before he gets it?

Become a smooth reader or better still, a dramatic reader. My five-year old

grandchild learned to read early. She made a tape for her Granny on which she

read a storybook. Since the main character was a witch who made spaghetti,

my granddaughter gave her an Italian accent. She switched back and forth from

one accent to another. She paused for emphasis, and shouted when it was called

for. I not only heard the story, I felt it.

If a story or poem needs character voices and excitement—read it that way.

Good practice for becoming familiar with strange names are genealogy lists in the

Bible. Try Nehemiah chapter 7, Matthew chapter 1, and Genesis chapter 5.

When you write dialog, is it realistic? Read it aloud and find out. If it looks proper

on the page, but reads stilted or stiff, change it. Talk your dialog and it will become

much more true to life.

Reading aloud heightens your skills and can often improve scenes.  And remember,

at some point in your career, you may be asked to come to a book club and read a

chapter of your own book aloud.

Be prepared.