Do you read your stories?

[Brutal_One]

How many writers here read aloud the stories they write? If you do what do you learn about what you have written? Does the rhythm of the prose sound right or at some points does it appear you have a missing syllable that breaks the trance of the spell of writing prose to mesmerise your readers you are aiming for.

Brutal One

 

[Lifestyle66]

One 'trick' I've used is to copy and paste my Word document version of a story into a 'text-to-speech' app which converts it into an MP3 file. I can listen to my story as I do other work around the house, and it helps me pick out some annoying misspellings and grammar errors.

IE. "She wore her sliver dress." isn't apparent when I'm quickly re-reading it, since 'sliver' is a real word (instead of silver), and not highlighted as out-of-context.

I use the Speech2Go app for this. It's a rather dry mechanical reading and not suitable for an audio book. But it works for my proofreading. And it helps with the rhythm of the prose as this amateur writer learns what might sound like a more natural story. I also use this for some of the longer stories here on Literotica since I don't spend my whole day writing or reviewing the other stories in the challenges. I used that MP3 file method when I listened to "RED TSONIA & THE WITCH IN THE DARK" (Great story, very descriptive, but almost 3 hours long in the audio file).

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'll occasionally use my word software text reader, which is not too bad.

But the cadence check I rely on most is the one inside my head, to keep the beat and flow of my prose. It's the one element of edit that I pay the most attention to, to get the cadence and cascade as good as I possibly can.

 

[KeithD]

I read aloud during review what I write for the mainstream, especially works meant for contests. But, no, I don't read my erotica aloud. I write erotica purely for enjoyment. My mainstream writing is serious business. I do endorse reading your works aloud, though, to see how they track. It also helps find minor mistakes your other review has overlooked.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I always read my stories aloud before I submit them. I do pay attention to the rhythm of my prose, but also the naturalness of my dialogue, and the overall pacing.

I also hear internal rhymes and other clunkers, realize sentences have run on too long, find redundancies (I once found 5 consecutive paragraphs that all started with "She") and spot typos.

It's a very useful technique. Except in regard to the typos. They sneak back in when your back is turned.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

I always read my stories aloud before I submit them. I do pay attention to the rhythm of my prose, but also the naturalness of my dialogue, and the overall pacing.

I also hear internal rhymes and other clunkers, realize sentences have run on too long, find redundancies (I once found 5 consecutive paragraphs that all started with "She") and spot typos.

It's a very useful technique. Except in regard to the typos. They sneak back in when your back is turned.

Yeah, little buggers always find their way back in, even if I've read it three times or more. Usually, I read out loud to try and find anything that doesn't sound right, and I find it's better than just reading it to myself.

 

[yowser]

If I read my stories aloud the good people at work within hearing would likely start to develop an impression of me I would rather they wouldn't.

 

[EarlyMorningLight]

Not whole stories, but I’ll absolutely spot check dialogue or complex passages.

 

[Agiel]

About every 1000 words I’ll read them back aloud. To read the complete story aloud when it’s finished would be too much for me. I’d never do it.

One thing I do find about reading aloud, forgetting about the stupid stuff like idiotic spelling mistakes, is I pick up on when a sentence is too long, or has inadequate punctuation, because I run out of breath before getting to the end of it.

 

[StrangeLife]

Sure I read them, but not "a loud." I don't want to get divorced or arrested...

 

[tenyari]

Yeah I don't read things aloud. Not just what I write, but pretty much not anything.

That said, my inner monologue is the sort that is usually going all the time, and I will play things back in there. I use that space to toss in other characters or move myself and my POV between 'cast members' of my 'inner voice', sounds, music, and visualizations; and sometimes run back parts of stories there.

I lucid dream, so I will often play out scenes as dreams - and much of my "writing" takes place in the time when I'm transitioning out of sleep. And sometimes I'll use this space to edit a scene or 'play it forward' to craft out what should happen next.

 

[shakna]

I often write them out loud with STT, does that count?

 

[Duleigh]

One 'trick' I've used is to copy and paste my Word document version of a story into a 'text-to-speech' app which converts it into an MP3 file. I can listen to my story as I do other work around the house, and it helps me pick out some annoying misspellings and grammar errors.

IE. "She wore her sliver dress." isn't apparent when I'm quickly re-reading it, since 'sliver' is a real word (instead of silver), and not highlighted as out-of-context.

I use the Speech2Go app for this. It's a rather dry mechanical reading and not suitable for an audio book. But it works for my proofreading. And it helps with the rhythm of the prose as this amateur writer learns what might sound like a more natural story. I also use this for some of the longer stories here on Literotica since I don't spend my whole day writing or reviewing the other stories in the challenges. I used that MP3 file method when I listened to "RED TSONIA & THE WITCH IN THE DARK" (Great story, very descriptive, but almost 3 hours long in the aud

That's a good trick! I'll give that a shot.

I can't read something of any length aloud due to a vascular condition, after a few minutes of normal speaking I'd be gasping for air (So yeah, my hobby is amateur radio (bangs forehead on desk) great choice Duleigh) I use the native reader in Word which works great, but I'm tied to my desk, I'll definitely check out Speech2Go, thanks!

 

[Cobaltofdark]

I think I'm the only one actually reading them lol.

 

[Lifestyle66]

That's a good trick! I'll give that a shot.

I can't read something of any length aloud due to a vascular condition, after a few minutes of normal speaking I'd be gasping for air (So yeah, my hobby is amateur radio (bangs forehead on desk) great choice Duleigh) I use the native reader in Word which works great, but I'm tied to my desk, I'll definitely check out Speech2Go, thanks!

I'm now used to the nuisances of Speech2Go as it reads any story to my. It helps me enjoy long LitE stories as I work around the house.

Afterall, who has excess time to spend an hour or two reading some of these?

 

[TadOverdon]

No.

 

[JohnEngelman]

Whenever I write anything of significance I read it out loud at least once. by reading it out loud I often find errors I do not find by reading it silently to myself.

 

[tenyari]

Took me a while to get it working but there's a built in text-to-speech reader in Windows 10/11 called Narrator. You can add voices to it and eventually stumble upon one that doesn't sound insane...

It's not anywhere as good as some of the pricey apps or website based 'we keep your data' readers, but it's nice and offline.

 

[tenyari]

Found a good sized stack of tiny errors using Windows Narrator and I've barely even started.

All of those moments when you type too fast and skip a word, or spell check corrects to the wrong thing. Very useful to listen back. Glad this thread was here for me to find this trick.

 

[FifthEstate]

Wow, I’ve never tried reading aloud. Why does reading it out loud help you find a typo any more easily than reading it in your head?

 

[MillieDynamite]

I use read-aloud option in word. I can hear when sentences don't make sense or have missing words.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Wow, I’ve never tried reading aloud. Why does reading it out loud help you find a typo any more easily than reading it in your head?

Reading my stories from the Word or text versions, I found I sometimes miss some subtle misspellings or grammar errors. Word doesn't underscore something as misspelled when what I wrote was a real word. And when reading my own writings, I sometimes "see" what I think I wanted to write.

So, I now use a text-to-speech program ("Speech2Go") to copy and paste my story and create an MP3 audio file to listen to the narration. I can listen to it while working on other things or driving. And I often hear mistakes that jump out at me in audio.

 

[MetaBob]

Sometimes, like reading the story in a different context using a different text editor in a different font in a different size on a different computer, or as an ePub on a smartphone, reading aloud can be useful. I'm not systematic about it, however. All these methods amount to approximating a second set of eyes that don't tend to skip over too-familiar text.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Wow, I’ve never tried reading aloud. Why does reading it out loud help you find a typo any more easily than reading it in your head?

I think it is because when we read silently, we tend to “glide” over words. We see a sentence like, “Hello, how are you?” And we don’t really read each word. We read it as an expression, as a block of words. When we read it aloud, we slow down and notice every word.

 

[mirafrida]

I do "read it aloud except in my head." But I think you need to be careful to remember that written and verbal conventions are sometimes at odds. My final editing passes are intentionally geared to "reading it as a TEXT," and I usually end up unwinding or further tweaking some stuff that sounded good "spoken" but looks odd on the page.