Blog Post: Tricks of the Trade

Read It Out Loud

One of the single best pieces of advice I give my clients to improve their writing is to read what they write ALOUD. 

You might feel silly doing it, but it works.

Example: you’ll notice you’ve used the same word three times, or a sentence is way too long, or suddenly your paper sounds like a text message, complete with emojis.

The best thing is having a friend read it out while you follow along on a hard copy, making notes along the way. You could also use AI or even your laptop to read it aloud while you follow along.

TRUST ME. It’s a game changer.

WRITE BIG!       

Starting to write is one of the hardest things a person can do, and once you get going it can be easy to start second-guessing yourself. “That’s stupid, no one’s going to be interested in that, everybody knows that,” etc etc. 

And before you know it, you’re leaving out something that brings the whole piece together.

But not forgetting that in this TikTok-Instagram world, no one wants to read…anything. And it’s true – they don’t. So what do you do?

You go against every instinct and do what Miss Molly says to do – WRITE BIG. 

Loosen up. Stretch a little. There’s stuff in your head and it needs to come out. Imagine your piece as a big woolly hedge that hasn’t been trimmed for years.

Get all your ya-ya’s out. 

HALT!!! 

But whatever you do, don’t make anyone read it!! (No one deserves that.)

Remember, these are your big woolly mind ramblings, and before anyone reads it, you’ve got to start pruning. Shape it however you want – Mickey Mouse ears, rocket ship, pile of flapjacks. 

After some pruning, the stronger parts of your writing will make themselves known.

NOW WHAT?

Look at it from different angles. Like when you check to see if the ornaments are placed well on your Christmas tree, or there’s holes to fill.  Of course I’m using a lot of fanciful images here, but the point is that you need to be e x p a n s i v e. Let the ideas out to play.

Your piece will be the better for it.