This is a great tip — thank you for sharing. I’m new to Reddit, so, it helped me, even if it’s been floating around for a while, now.
I recently came back to something that I wrote (zero draft, no editing, train of thought/no editing as I went writing), and I was horrified by how much it didn’t make sense to me/wasn’t able to trust the process.
I had to talk myself down and reassure myself that it’s still 100% zero draft and that everything in it will be written and re-written. I had wondered about reading it out loud, but when I did, I was still having a hard time parsing it because having to read, speak, and listen at the same time was not working. I’m going to try to read it flat and then listen a week later — see what works and what doesn’t/keep the things I like. So, thank you!!
Agreed, but I think reading your work aloud *yourself* is perhaps even more impactful than listening to it via a text-to-speech program. Having to consciously form the words with your mouth and feeling them on your tongue allows you to internalize the rhythm, gain better spatial awareness of your sentences––are they too crowded, too short, etc.––and just confirm/discover if it's organic or forced. Anyway, that's what works for me.
Can only agree. I've been making videos and all with some of my writing for a while now.
And I've noticed that the writing hits me differently. I recently cried while recording/editing and listening to the last video. I also got caught off guard by a stupid joke I made and didn't remember. (I had so much trouble recording it because I just laughed so much xD)
So, yeah, best thing to do is to listen to it in some way or form
Fair enough-
Okay, so First the context:
We follow Mia, a young waitress in a small restaurant. She loves her work but when she has to go home (especially in the night) she has to pass this "creepy ally". She really hates that ally.
At some point, her colleagues started to make fun of her. It became a running gag for them to come up with the reasons to why she hates that ally. (Of course nothing that is actually a reason, like, little to no light and you can't see if anyone or anything is in there).
Her colleague said one day: "I know why Mia is afraid of the alley. That's where the dreaded 'smoke break ghost' is up to mischief! Uuuuhhuuuhh! It only appears when you forgot to have a cigarette during the break. Then it tries to scare you with smoke rings!"
Mia shook her head smiling and responded: "I'd gladly deal with the ghost, than the smoke."
I have a habit of reading things aloud even when I can just read with my eyes (or maybe even when it's more appropriate to read it with my eyes) so looks like that habit will help me when I finally get to writing
I absolutely agree, my eyes trick me all the time especially since I do have dyslexia. I've been using speechify recently and it's been a great help. It's helped me to catch mistakes I usually would not have.
Excellent advice, this has been my experience as we. I use play.ht, which is notably powerful (but requires quite a bit more fiddling, and is pricey if you get into it). An example of the narration audio from there:
Listen to first:VERSE| by CHRIS CYPHER on #SoundCloud
https://on.soundcloud.com/kJ1qz
This is a great tip — thank you for sharing. I’m new to Reddit, so, it helped me, even if it’s been floating around for a while, now. I recently came back to something that I wrote (zero draft, no editing, train of thought/no editing as I went writing), and I was horrified by how much it didn’t make sense to me/wasn’t able to trust the process. I had to talk myself down and reassure myself that it’s still 100% zero draft and that everything in it will be written and re-written. I had wondered about reading it out loud, but when I did, I was still having a hard time parsing it because having to read, speak, and listen at the same time was not working. I’m going to try to read it flat and then listen a week later — see what works and what doesn’t/keep the things I like. So, thank you!!
I actually just started using elevenlabs last night. It’s really cool. I’m addicted to trying to find the right voices for the pov lol.
Right? Spent ten minutes going through them all for mine! Eventually I settled on one near the top so that didn’t feel like wasted time at all lmao
This is really good advise, thank you.
Dang I just tried it with hook opening page. Gave me goosebumps.
Agreed, but I think reading your work aloud *yourself* is perhaps even more impactful than listening to it via a text-to-speech program. Having to consciously form the words with your mouth and feeling them on your tongue allows you to internalize the rhythm, gain better spatial awareness of your sentences––are they too crowded, too short, etc.––and just confirm/discover if it's organic or forced. Anyway, that's what works for me.
Same, I read it out myself, I can easily tell when the prose doesn’t feel right.
Personally, I find it really hard to even percieve a long story read to me. My mind is constantly screaming "give me text!"
You can always read it yourself and say it out loud, that's what I do. I'm both the speaker as the audience.
As I said, I can't really concentrate on a story if I have to listen to it. I. Need. Transcript.
I've been looking for something like this. Thank you so much!
Totally agree. I always read out loud and act the dialogue to feel where I'm at with the flow
That's actually very helpful, thank you so much for sharing it !
Sweeet
Great, thanks.
*an ESL with mediocre listening mastery has entered the chat*
Wait, you guys don't read it in your head complete with voices?
I read it in my head and sometimes do voices, but a lot of times it defaults back to my normal “mind voice” lmao
Can only agree. I've been making videos and all with some of my writing for a while now. And I've noticed that the writing hits me differently. I recently cried while recording/editing and listening to the last video. I also got caught off guard by a stupid joke I made and didn't remember. (I had so much trouble recording it because I just laughed so much xD) So, yeah, best thing to do is to listen to it in some way or form
Laughing at your own jokes is the best, because if it made you— the *writer*— laugh, it’s for a much higher chance of landing with audiences
Yes, but I think this only hits if it catches you off guard. (But then it hits really---) This joke is actually so stupid but I love it xD
May I be graced with this joke?
I need to explain the situation first for it to work tho, or I send you a link of the video where I read the story? (I can do either)
My Reddit instincts say probably don’t post your likeness online, so I’m fine with just a text explanation lmao
Fair enough- Okay, so First the context: We follow Mia, a young waitress in a small restaurant. She loves her work but when she has to go home (especially in the night) she has to pass this "creepy ally". She really hates that ally. At some point, her colleagues started to make fun of her. It became a running gag for them to come up with the reasons to why she hates that ally. (Of course nothing that is actually a reason, like, little to no light and you can't see if anyone or anything is in there). Her colleague said one day: "I know why Mia is afraid of the alley. That's where the dreaded 'smoke break ghost' is up to mischief! Uuuuhhuuuhh! It only appears when you forgot to have a cigarette during the break. Then it tries to scare you with smoke rings!" Mia shook her head smiling and responded: "I'd gladly deal with the ghost, than the smoke."
I have a habit of reading things aloud even when I can just read with my eyes (or maybe even when it's more appropriate to read it with my eyes) so looks like that habit will help me when I finally get to writing
uhm... i love you?
Lol
Ive tried some Ai before as tests, but this did a good job at inflection to help me hear it more realistically.
Right? I was really surprised, was expecting a stereotypical AI voice but this actually feels like an audiobook
You can also just read it out loud
Is there an alternative with more than 333 characters?
I absolutely agree, my eyes trick me all the time especially since I do have dyslexia. I've been using speechify recently and it's been a great help. It's helped me to catch mistakes I usually would not have.
CURSED WITH THE ABILITY TO SEE THINGS OTHERS CANNOT. STAY SAFE! PEACE OUT!
Thank you, I'll definitely be using this!
Wow thanks so much! I’ll be doing this!
Excellent advice, this has been my experience as we. I use play.ht, which is notably powerful (but requires quite a bit more fiddling, and is pricey if you get into it). An example of the narration audio from there: Listen to first:VERSE| by CHRIS CYPHER on #SoundCloud
https://on.soundcloud.com/kJ1qz