Why You Should Read Aloud When Editing

   So, the reason why I'm posting a day later than usual is because I'm about to finish two subjects for school, and working two jobs all while editing my novel for the third time.

 If you follow me on Twitter (@ashleyc_earley) you know that I've been editing a lot these last few weeks and have just finished editing my latest book for the second time just this weekend. You also know that I started editing it for the third--and hopefully final--time this week.

 When editing, I struggle to find those sentences that just don't sound right. Sometimes when I come across these sentences, I can't figure out what exactly is wrong with it so I tend to stare at it for awhile, or try writing the sentence in several different ways. This is when my red pen makes my manuscript look like a bloody mess.

 Sometimes it helps me to read the sentences before and after it to try to piece it together, then I read the sentence that doesn't sound right. When you quietly read, your mind corrects the mistakes that are in front of you. If you read aloud, you're more likely to notice your manuscript's mistakes as you edit because you're hearing how it sounds.

 Reading your entire manuscript aloud probably isn't something you want to do, and maybe you shouldn't because you might second-guess yourself, but you should at least read those sentences that might come off sounding strange.

 Anyway, sorry but that's all I got for you this week. I promise I'll do better next Tuesday!

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