Can you read your own writing?

[lovecraft68]

I was just going through some chapters of my series that my editor just sent me back. He usually uses the strike method so that I see what he fixed and will add notes to why. If he adds a sentence or some words they are in red. Well he claims it's a lot of work and sent me back these chapters where his edits are not visible he simple made the correction, added subtracted sentences or words etc..
he did this for me to see if I "trust" him enough to keep doing it this way.
So I sat back and started to read them figuring I could spot his insertions or deletions I then realized that I cannot read my own stuff. Not straight through anyway, I find myself skimming constantly and "assuming" what the next part will be The words seem a little empty and I just can't focus on it. I am assuming this is a product of having outlined it, done a few rough drafts, and some editing myself before I send it off so I have already, in addition to writing it, read it several times already plus it's mainly "Well I know what it says." Anyone else have that problem? As a follow up question I know a few people on here are professional editor's "Sr" comes to mind and I am curious to know if you trust yourself to edit your own work, if you can be "unbiased" towards it.

 

[sr71plt]

No, I haven't been able to read my own writing since I became dependent on computers.

No, I don't edit my own work. (No one does/can. You review your own work. An edit is something someone else does. A couple of popular writers of "how-to" books have screwed this understanding up by using "self-edit" in their book titles).

No one can find all of their own mistakes and bad writing habits. In many cases, they wouldn't have made the mistakes in the first place if they were good at catching them. Also, one doesn't always actually write what one was thinking they wrote. And then when they review, they see what they thought they were writing rather than would they actually wrote.

I have an editor for my work--and it's often embarrassing what they catch that I've missed in my own work--but can easily see in someone else's.

 

[michchick98]

I do read my own stuff, but I'm pretty much the same way as the pilot. I can't edit my own work because I always miss stuff. I see things as I think they should be, not as they are.

I think every writer should have an editor, regardless of how flawless he/she may think their writing is.

I read a lot of books, and I find tons of mistakes that even professional editors miss. I think after you read something so many times, the errors just slip under the radar.

 

[PennLady]

I read over my own stuff and I think I hand a very clean copy to my editors and beta readers. I hate to put something up without at least one other person reading it over, although I'm usually looking more for content editing than mechanical. Not to say that I don't make mechanical errors, but it's just not my primary concern.

I can edit my work, and find flaws and errors, but it usually means I need to leave a story sit for a while. Still, I prefer another set of eyes to see it. Because I think most people, as michchick says, have a tendency to see what they expect to see, as opposed to what is actually there.

 

[JackLuis]

That is the hardest part about writing, IMO, finding a editor.

Well, maybe the most challenging is to find someone who can challenge your knowledge of the art. And I mean, in a constructive way, to point out the wobbly story arcs and unnecessary droning, someone who can point out the lack of, or our excesses, with out pissing you off so bad you throw up your hands and say, "Fuck IT!"

I also understand the editor who looks at the page afresh and shakes his head at the carnage of the English tongue. I generally read my stuff ~100 times in the process of writing and I have been getting better at self editing, but Sooner or later I find I'm reciting what I meant to write and not what is on the paper.

Thank God for word processors.

 

[oggbashan]

My first answer to the title of the thread was:

No. Even my secretary had difficulty with my scrawl until I started using a word processor. She preferred to take dictation with shorthand or by tape recorder instead of trying to decipher my writing.

The text of the thread:

I don't have much of a problem, perhaps because I had been writing technical texts for most of my working life and there were no editors available. I do miss a few things from time to time and tend to spot them AFTER the story has been posted.

Og

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

What I do is stick to the obvious errors and ignore the other cuz story and plot are kinda pounded into our skulls from reading and teevee and films. Like.... auxillary verbs, adverbs, adjectives, am I telling the story or are the characters telling the story, am I mind reading rather than showing, etc.

 

[PennLady]

What I do is stick to the obvious errors and ignore the other cuz story and plot are kinda pounded into our skulls from reading and teevee and films. Like.... auxillary verbs, adverbs, adjectives, am I telling the story or are the characters telling the story, am I mind reading rather than showing, etc.

I disagree. I have read and edited stories that cover the spectrum of problems. Just because we see movies doesn't mean to we can make one, or get the plot across in a story. And I can certainly tell that just reading books doesn't mean people absorb pacing, proper punctuation and grammar, or anything else.

 

[Dual_Triode]

One trick I have used with some success is to convert the text of my story to speech. Then, I load the mp3 on my iPod and listen. I usually catch a ton of errors this way. Also, I find that I have to proof read with a printed paper copy; proof reading on the computer screen is nearly impossible. Even with a paper copy, I have to force myself to read words one or two at a time rather than in large chunks.

I tend to edit the story content during its creation. I try to maintain coherency and plot arc as I go, keeping logic bombs and anachronisms to a minimum.

I am certainly an amateur at this writing stuff.

Dual

 

[favoritesgoddess]

I catch a lot of stuff by reading it out loud. In my head, I tend to skim. Out loud, I have to go slow and figure out if all the words really work together.

I also have to set aside a finished story before I go over it so that I can see it with fresh eyes.

 

[Kat73]

I read and reread and reread my writings. Then I have my best friend read it. She almost always catches what I miss. Then I read it again.

I usually wait a few days, read again and then post.

 

[SamScribble]

There seem to be a lot of common experiences here. Personally, I have no problem in reading what I’ve written. And when I read it, it always says exactly what I intended it to say. The problem comes later – when someone else reads it and spots all the typos and misspellings and missed words.

Like others here, I find that printing out a hard copy and reading it aloud helps. (Whatever happened to the promised ‘paperless office’?) Putting it aside for an hour or two or a day or two helps. And having a friend who will be your ‘reader’ also helps.

Interestingly, one of my editors says that, once he gets to know an author and the author’s style, he can also sometimes read what the author meant to write rather than what the author actually wrote.

Oh, and I almost forgot ... To those of you who spot the typos, misspellings and missed words in this post, please accept my grateful thanks.

Sam

 

[estragon]

On and off, for fifty years, I have played copy editor. I still do. Even here. And then I read my own stuff. And read it again. And again. And when I submit it and see it posted, I find the mistakes I missed. I have quibbled my own stories, both in anger and disgust. "Physician, heal thyself!"

And in my day job, if I use or write one word wrong, it gets expensive--muy expensive.

Read your story aloud by all means. Read word by word. I am told that scribes, writing sacred scripture by hand, say each word, spell it, write it, read it aloud as written, and go to the next word and repeat the process. I do not advocate such punctilious (not to say obsessive) behavior for stories intended for publication on Literotica. But a little compulsive behavior on the author's part, followed by a good quibbling by a obsessive-compulsive editor, would do most stories no harm.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I disagree. I have read and edited stories that cover the spectrum of problems. Just because we see movies doesn't mean to we can make one, or get the plot across in a story. And I can certainly tell that just reading books doesn't mean people absorb pacing, proper punctuation and grammar, or anything else.

Youre citing the two-headed baby fallacy, viz., two-headed babies exist in the world therefore all babies have two heads. People absorb language from experience; its how they acquire their native tongue.

If you wanna learn how to write read Mother Goose, watch cartoons, listen to momma's gossip.

 

[oggbashan]

...Like others here, I find that printing out a hard copy and reading it aloud helps... Sam

I do that, but I change the font before I do.

I can sometimes spot errors on screen after changing the font style or size so that the text doesn't look familiar.

Og

 

[Bebeslut]

Yes on both counts. I can read my own stuff, and I am a professional copy editor.
I think the reason I can read my own stuff (besides a bloated ego) is that I create characters whom I like, and they seem better-realized than the characters in many of the stories I read on Lit.
You are free to disagree.

I was just going through some chapters of my series that my editor just sent me back. He usually uses the strike method so that I see what he fixed and will add notes to why. If he adds a sentence or some words they are in red. Well he claims it's a lot of work and sent me back these chapters where his edits are not visible he simple made the correction, added subtracted sentences or words etc..
he did this for me to see if I "trust" him enough to keep doing it this way.
So I sat back and started to read them figuring I could spot his insertions or deletions I then realized that I cannot read my own stuff. Not straight through anyway, I find myself skimming constantly and "assuming" what the next part will be The words seem a little empty and I just can't focus on it. I am assuming this is a product of having outlined it, done a few rough drafts, and some editing myself before I send it off so I have already, in addition to writing it, read it several times already plus it's mainly "Well I know what it says." Anyone else have that problem? As a follow up question I know a few people on here are professional editor's "Sr" comes to mind and I am curious to know if you trust yourself to edit your own work, if you can be "unbiased" towards it.

 

[Darkniciad]

Yeah, I read my stuff all the time. The experience is usually better when it's been a while since I wrote it, though.

As to self-editing, nobody can do that perfectly. Waiting a couple of days ( especially if you write something else during the wait ), changing the font size/face, and reading aloud can make a big difference and save your editor a lot of time, trial, and tribulation, though.

 

[lovecraft68]

Yes on both counts. I can read my own stuff, and I am a professional copy editor.
I think the reason I can read my own stuff (besides a bloated ego) is that I create characters whom I like, and they seem better-realized than the characters in many of the stories I read on Lit.
You are free to disagree.

Honestly for me anyways it has nothing to do with attachment. I have 28 chapters up with people raving about the depth of the characters and how "real" they seem. They are just as real to me to the point that in my original conceot the sister was going to die at the the end. I have found now that I can't bring myself to do it. So for me it's not about character Identification I just literally cannot sit there and read through my stuff even stories i wrote close to a year ago I get so far then the brain starts "skimming". Maybe it's the equivelant to re reading a book that you love, you really read the good parts but skim through the boring shit.

 

[Boota]

I have a core of people who read my stuff before it goes out, and I have them read it for different reasons. I give them all a hard copy and a red pen and tell them not to second guess marking anything they have a question about. While they are all capable to edit language issues and typos and the like, I have one guy who makes sure things are as funny as I think they are. I'll sometimes get a phone call where all I hear is him laughing for a few seconds getting ready to tell me what he's digging. I have one who points out any continuity problems, that's her specialty. Possibly the most important eyes it goes in front of is my overly critical friend, who tends to pick everything apart. If it makes it past him I'm getting there.

 

[R. Richard]

I edit my own writing, before it goes to my publisher. I do hand over fairly clean text.
What I do catch in my editing is the things that I know, because it's my story, but that a reader wouldn't know, because I haven't explained it in the text.
It's damn hard work.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

No. Once I've posted a story or sent off a book, I can't read it again, and I'm not just talking about proofing it and finding errors. I just can't read my own writing without becoming discouraged and unhappy about it. It's always much worse than what I'd hoped it would be.

I don't use usually use editors, because in all my time writing I've only found 3 or 4 really good editors (meaning people whose suggestions actually help you accomplish what you were trying to do), and I don't want anyone else screwing with my text. A good editor is like a god. They can tell you why those passages you weren't happy with are bad, and what you need to do to fix them. They bring out flavors and subtleties in a story like a shot of MSG in Chinese food.

I edit as I write and I write slowly, going over and re-reading sentences 4, 5, 6 times as I'm writing them, so I generally do an adequate job of catching mechanical errors. Plot inconsistencies are a bigger problem. but before I post I've usually shown the story to enough people that they can catch those.

And as much as I admire good editors, I'm a terrible editor myself. I inevitably start rewriting the story in my own words, which is just execrable.

 

[Jake Marlow]

I'm lucky to have a good friend who is also an editor and she's been editing my stuff for a couple years now. Before that, I besides sometimes using a volunteer editor, I tried editing things myself and only caught maybe about half the errors. I was so familiar with the text that I found myself skimming. So except to either accept or reject my editor's changes, I really don't re-read something I just wrote.

But I have gone back and read some older stuff and been pretty pleased with some, disappointed with others.

 

[RoyceConnors]

I found a way to "self-edit" that really sorts it all out. After a Spell Check, I get into a Voice Call or Video Call on YM and read my story to my friend. I get feedback in two ways from doing it. First I have to read every single word to speak it and catch any miss-spellings, as well as hear how it sounds, they way a reader would be reading it.
Secondly, I get feedback from my friend, who lets me know how it sounds to her. If I'm too wordy here or there, or not enough detail to describe the scene.

This way, when I send it to my editor, there is little for her to do, other than sort out repetition, or wrong use of context of a word. The other good thing about my friend really enjoying having me read to her, is it helps me keep the same 'voice' in my head as I write the story, keeping POVs in order.

Just something I thought I'd share as a way to be able to read your own writing. I found it helped me to write my words for a better read and set the flow of it right.