Do you read your work aloud? If not, you should think about it, and here’s why.
If your club has a reading aloud + critiquing model – like Leicester Writers Club does – learning and practising the art will help you get the most out of the technique, while if you’re intending to be a published author, part of that is going to be reading aloud in bookshops, at conferences or your own book tour!
Here are some of the benefits of reading aloud as you work:
- It’s a great way to edit, helping you spot mistakes, repeated words you don’t want in close proximity and combinations which sound awkward or words that don’t quite fit your genre.
- Whether the scene is exciting or downbeat, reading aloud will tell you if you’re doing it right. If you’re trying to be exciting but it sounds boring or slow-paced when you read aloud, you can switch it up with shorter sentences or staccato rhythms.
- It can help you develop individual character voices. Have fun trying to give your characters different voices to see if they sound the way you imagine. Formal, casual, legalistic, epic, technical are all modes you might want to hear.
- Listen to reading aloud. Audiobooks are great – pick a narrator whose voice you like, with plenty of variation, good pronunciation and inflection.
Ready to read aloud? Some tips:
- Practice makes perfect. Read your passage aloud to yourself a couple of times, and enjoy your choice of words, the rhythm of your sentences. Ask yourself if it fits the mood you’re trying to achieve?
- Next, read to a partner or friend. Gauge their reactions as you read. Are they laughing when you want them to? Are they emotional? Do they look confused? Ask them for feedback both on the text and your reading.
- When it comes to ‘public’ readings, there’s no need for nerves. Your friends and fans are on your side. They want you to succeed, and when it comes down to it, they’re here for what you write not how you read, so just relax and have fun with it.
- There’s a physical element to reading aloud. Make sure your chin isn’t on your chest so hold the paper as if you’re at a lectern. Try to project if you can but there’s no need to shout (especially if you’re mic’d!)
- Remember to breathe. Pause a little between each sentence, take breaths where you need. If you want a sentence to resonate, leave a slightly longer gap. Allow your words to speak.
- People are often afraid they’ll mumble or gabble, and these are things to avoid. But if you’re breathing properly, reading in a ‘lectern position’ (whether you have a lectern or not) and you’ve practised several times with yourself and a friend, you’ll do just fine.
Contributed by Mark Brandon
leicesterwritersclub.com 