One Saturday afternoon, I sat in a packed conference room with about 150 other would be writers, listening to a conference instructor tell us the keys to self-editing our manuscripts. The number of people in the room spoke to how important it is to make sure your work is crisp, and as close to publishable as possible. Of course, the numbers also told me how many of us don't feel completely sure of our editing abilities.
The advice the instructor gave was nothing new, eliminate adverbs, redundancies, and clich?s. Use active verbs, vivid metaphors and strong verbs. Then she dropped the one that I stumble on every time, "read your manuscript out loud."
I have some mental block that prevents me from actually trying this editing method. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my husband already thinks I'm insane. If he hears me talking to myself in my office, he would have me committed. Then again, maybe it's my childhood fear of public speaking, even if the audience only consists of two cats and a dog. Whatever the reasons are I cannot bring myself to read aloud ? especially not my own words (shudder).
However, I have found an alternative to the embarrassment of hearing myself speak. Years ago, I invested in a speech recognition software (you talk - it types), which didn't work very well in my opinion. Even after hours of trying to "train" the software, it still didn't understand what I was saying. Despite its uselessness to me at the time, I kept the software on my computer, taking up precious hard drive space. Subconsciously a part of me must have known that I would need something that could read to me someday.
The morning after the conference, I printed a hard copy of my manuscript, fired up the speech recognition software, and followed along as my manuscript was read to me in the most unemotional way imaginable. Think a Speak And Spell? that knows all the dirty words.
The software could not interpret what it thought I meant to say. It just spoke every word as written.
If I forgot a comma, or some other needed punctuation, the computer kept reading at the same pace without pause. That helped me discover one long paragraph that turned out to be one long run-on sentence.
The software program also read the words exactly as typed ? typos and all. Did my hero whip or wipe the tears from the heroine's eyes? Typos like this can be funny when you run across them, but they make your manuscript look less than polished.
When you've read your manuscript to yourself, have you ever inserted words that weren't really on the page? You know you have, and you would insert missing words when reading your story aloud too, but the computer won't.
I did a quick internet search and found the particular speech recognition software I have for less than thirty dollars. Not a huge investment for a product that can help take some of the drudgery out of editing a manuscript, and make your final draft so polished your story will shine.
When Stacy Verdick Case (yes, that is her real name) learned that her dreams of being a comic book superhero would never pan out, she turned to writing instead. "In my writing world I can be anyone I want to be." She wrote her first "book" when she was in second grade, a jaunty little picture book entitled No Snow on Christmas, and hasn't quit writing yet.
Since 2000, when she began actively pursuing a career in full-length fiction, Stacy has penned five manuscripts. Her current manuscript, A Grand Murder, has received the following reviews from contest judges and published authors: "Wow! Great stuff!" "Intriguing, fast-paced, funny ? flawless." "Loved it!" "It's commercial, it's accessible and you describe your characters very well." "I like Catherine very much and was pulled into this story immediately." "Your snappy contemporary prose are refreshing."
A Grand Murder is the third place winner of the 2004 Daphne du Maurier award in the Unpublished Mainstream Mystery category.
Visit Stacy on the web at http://www.stacyverdickcase.com
cheap limo service Lombard .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareMix a martini, don't forget the olives, or pour yourself... Read More
Have you ever wondered why certain writers are able to... Read More
You wrote a tips booklet. Maybe more than one. Oh... Read More
The creativity of Jaisini is not designed to be preaching... Read More
Writing is a muscle that needs exercise to stay in... Read More
ADAPTATION 101Brimming with confidence, you've just signed the check purchasing... Read More
I do on occasion run out of ideas for my... Read More
The Blogfest 2005 Writing Contest has only been running for... Read More
Word processors are so widely used now that I tend... Read More
It occurred to me one day that I needed something... Read More
My husband is no poet, so when I offer my... Read More
People familiar with the Myers-Briggs Personality test know that the... Read More
What possibly could I have to write about? I never... Read More
"No one will ever know who I am, I'm a... Read More
Screenwriting is a competitive trade. To distinguish yourself as a... Read More
WRITING THE PERSONAL STATEMENT TO GET INTO UK UNIVERSITYHOW DO... Read More
Hundreds of writing contests tempt screenwriters with the lure of... Read More
Fiction manuscripts receive feedback that addresses and scores:? The theme... Read More
"The Magic of Layout..."???Okay... "magic" might seem a bit over... Read More
All sales begin with some form of advertising whether it's... Read More
When you sit down to write a steamy romance, a... Read More
I went to school to be a teacher. In fact,... Read More
How many times have you checked out a job board... Read More
You sink back into your favourite chair with a new... Read More
1. What Is A Premise?A premise is the point you... Read More
limo O'Hare Glen Ellyn ..Technology vendors often contribute bylined articles to trade journals. The... Read More
Great business writers combine narrative skills with sound judgment to... Read More
It was reported that the great American author Sinclair Lewis... Read More
What Makes a Great Headline?Headlines are far more important than... Read More
"If you want to change your life," Harry Beckwith wrote... Read More
You send me an e-mail. You tell me you've written... Read More
1. Remember publication is a business; writing is an art.... Read More
There are many ways you can generate ideas you can... Read More
My bookcase take up one whole wall in the family... Read More
FERRETING OUT WORK You keep hearing that there's work out... Read More
Way back in your early school years, you were probably... Read More
You can create a great headline, a dynamic first sentence,... Read More
Freelance writer STANLEY BURKHARDT has a passion for animals. He... Read More
Since the headline is the first contact your readers have... Read More
Bookcoaching clients come to me at different stages of writing... Read More
Have you ever wondered how you can adapt your screenplay... Read More
Writing papers and book reports has long been the bane... Read More
I owe the completion and success of my book to... Read More
According to one of my previous articles, whenever a Southerner... Read More
You wrote a tips booklet. Maybe more than one. Oh... Read More
Sometimes there is confusion about the exact meaning of the... Read More
Want to write a how-to article but can't come up... Read More
At some point along the way, most of us have... Read More
When you write for international audiences, mainly directly in English,... Read More
The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea... Read More
Writing |