Good Writing Comes from Good Reading...ALOUD!

Perhaps you're a writer who's penned a 250 page novel...or a short story...an email...even a tweet encompassing all 140 characters. Odds are we've all done some kind of "writing." You've enjoyed the sounds of your fingers tapping along the keyboard breathing black and white life into your thoughts. But before your hit submit or save or send - take a moment to read your ramblings ALOUD.

Why?

Well, when it comes to short writing moments (like email, letters and social media posts), reading these aloud will help you more easily identify tone and inflection in your choice of words. This can ensure that your writing efficiently communicates what you want to say...and of course prevent you from saying something wrong.

When it comes to writing a novel or short story - reading aloud is just as beneficial and for the exact same reasons. When we write - we are trying to capture action, character development and conversation. Good sentences do this with colorful words and proper punctuation (all elements that we are hounded with perfecting) but GREAT sentences flow seamlessly together to lead our imaginations on a journey. We love our protagonist and despise the antagonist and wait with baited breath until that very last word. Great writing is what we dream of...and reading aloud helps us get closer to that goal.

In summary, reading your writing aloud...

• Helps improve the tempo and tone of your writing.
• Helps give your dialogue "live" voice so you can catch any stiff exchanges.
• Helps catch misspellings and typos that the brain can automatically skip over when reading silently. 

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