Fix-It Friday
July 3, 2009
This week’s Fix-It Friday revision tip comes from Dia Reeves, whose debut YA novel, Bleeding Violet, will be published by Simon Pulse in January 2010.
Read your manuscript out loud to catch awkward, clunky sentences or phrasing.
Thanks, Dia. Great tip! This is something I do, too, but I try to do it when no one else is home. My family already thinks I’m crazy, and hearing me mumbling aloud in my office would only serve to cement their opinion. 
Entry Filed under: Revising, Revisions, Writing, YA fiction, authors. .
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1.
Careann | July 3, 2009 at 9:41 am
I’m nodding my head in agreement with this one. It’s amazing how the ear can pick up awkward phrases and lengthy sentences that slip right past the eyes!
2.
Shari | July 3, 2009 at 10:21 am
So true!
3.
Heather | July 3, 2009 at 11:01 am
In the classroom I often have somebody else read the work to the author. It’s amazing what else gets picked up!
4.
Shari | July 3, 2009 at 11:13 am
Great idea, Heather. I’d bet having someone else read your work aloud would be even more illuminating than reading it aloud yourself!
5.
Benjamin Watson | July 3, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Hey Shari, this is BJW, aka, Ben Watson from the SRS. I just visited your website and blog for the first time and was shocked to see this whole time that you are on Vancouver Island.
That makes two of us! My wife and I live in Victoria. I had no idea there was a smackdowner, or children’s book writer anywhere near. Good for you. Cheers!
6.
Shari | July 3, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Hey Ben! Small world….
Thanks for visiting my blog!