Writing with a Reader's Ear (Revising)
It's not enough to write for yourself - not if you intend to publish your work in any way. First, I should say that you should have some pride in your work. If someone is going to read what you are writing, you should want it to be the best you can write!
You must also write for people to understand. Not only must they understand the words, but they must understand your intention, the mood you wish to create, and the moral or theme to the story. If they do not "get it", they probably won't come back for more.
For me, I have to read my own writing out loud. That way, I can hear what I've written. It's better for me to take it in not only with my eyes, but also with my ears. If I can't see the scene, hear the machinery, taste the words, feel the character's emotions, and smell the surrounding air, I feel I have not fully expressed myself.
I am not a speed reader (no matter how much my fifth grade teacher wanted me to be). In fact, I read silently at the same speed that I read aloud. I want to see every part of the story as if it were a movie - at times even in a slow motion sequence, and at times in an eye-blinking montage. In my mind, when I am reading, I can zoom the camera in for a closeup, I can "fly" the camera up for a bird's eye view, and I can fade the scene to black when coming to the end of a scene.
If that doesn't all come into focus when I read it, some revision may be necessary, and unlike others, I really like to craft a good revision. Do I need to rewrite it completely? Can parts be rearranged to make more sense or to add suspense to the scene? How can I tell things to the reader without revealing them to the characters in the story? Things like that - fitting puzzle pieces into places they weren't designed to fit - are when I feel like a real artist.
I must be able to do the same thing with my own writing. It is not enough to feel the joy of writing, but I want to feel just as good when I read it. I want to be proud that I did my best.
You must also write for people to understand. Not only must they understand the words, but they must understand your intention, the mood you wish to create, and the moral or theme to the story. If they do not "get it", they probably won't come back for more.
For me, I have to read my own writing out loud. That way, I can hear what I've written. It's better for me to take it in not only with my eyes, but also with my ears. If I can't see the scene, hear the machinery, taste the words, feel the character's emotions, and smell the surrounding air, I feel I have not fully expressed myself.
I am not a speed reader (no matter how much my fifth grade teacher wanted me to be). In fact, I read silently at the same speed that I read aloud. I want to see every part of the story as if it were a movie - at times even in a slow motion sequence, and at times in an eye-blinking montage. In my mind, when I am reading, I can zoom the camera in for a closeup, I can "fly" the camera up for a bird's eye view, and I can fade the scene to black when coming to the end of a scene.
If that doesn't all come into focus when I read it, some revision may be necessary, and unlike others, I really like to craft a good revision. Do I need to rewrite it completely? Can parts be rearranged to make more sense or to add suspense to the scene? How can I tell things to the reader without revealing them to the characters in the story? Things like that - fitting puzzle pieces into places they weren't designed to fit - are when I feel like a real artist.
I must be able to do the same thing with my own writing. It is not enough to feel the joy of writing, but I want to feel just as good when I read it. I want to be proud that I did my best.