How to Give Good Oral: On the Importance of Reading your Writing Aloud

There’s a trick I’ve learned as an author. Well, there’s two: one involves using an evocative but misleading headline to get people to take a look at your work, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. The other is to read your writing out loud. Yes, all of it. Every word. Why? Simple. It makes the work better.

There are a few good reasons to do this. First, it’s an excellent way to proofread. While I maintain that it’s physically impossible to proof your own work, you’re much more likely to find mistakes when you read aloud. You get extra points if you do this when someone else is around, but I say that mostly to tease my fellow authors, many (most?) of whom are notorious introverts. More points if you actually perform the work rather than just reading it. That’s good practice for when you read a section or two at the bookstore when you have your launch party.

Savor the words. Roll them around in your mouth. Caress them. Taste them.

The second reason is to double check the sound of your writing. Good sentences demand to be read aloud, especially to someone you care about deeply. My poor wife listened patiently when I insisted on reading line after line from Alix E. Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches, usually long past bedtime—although she returned the favor when it was her turn with the book. If your writing sounds awkward when you read it aloud, it’s probably because the work needs another polish pass. The sound of your work matters.

Speaking of, reading aloud to one another is a terrific way to spend a date night at home. Trust me.

I find that this read aloud technique is especially helpful with dialog. If the words get all tangled coming out of your mouth, well, that would probably happen to your character, too (unless that’s what you’re going for, in which case, bravo). Here’s your chance to ensure that the dialog sounds natural. It’s also a great way to ensure that your characters’ voices all sound unique. I firmly believe that a reader should (usually) be able to tell who’s speaking even without an attribution. Reading aloud is a great test.

Finally, we’re not just writing for habitués of the printed (or digital) page anymore—we’re also writing for the increasing number of people who consume audio books. Audio books are performed, and the sound of the prose is critical. If a line or a section gives you trouble, it’s probably going to give your narrator trouble, too, no matter how good they are. Do your narrator a favor and avoid awkward tongue twisters, odd pronunciations, and (most of all) dull dialogue. Give them prose your narrator can turn into drama, into music. Make your prose sing.

Remember this: we’re writing for the ear now as well as the eye, so give your audience some oral pleasure. Keep polishing until your prose becomes a song. Reading your work aloud is a terrific tool for making sure you’ve pulled this trick off.