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Some things I learned when I spent five days reading my 300-page draft out loud (in case it& #39;s useful to anybody else): (1/9)
1. I really don& #39;t need all those dialogue tags. There are better/more efficient ways of providing the kinds of spatial grounding that I& #39;m almost always after when I use them. (2/9)
2. These words made too many appearances: little, small, delicate, moment, wide, broad, bright, utterly, gnarled, warp, squawk, muffle, wince, teeth, shake, fractured, glance, gaze. (3/9)
3. Apparently, the main way I think people show discomfort is by wincing and/or rolling their shoulders. And nobody ever SEES something, they GLIMPSE or REGISTER instead. Also, no one just drinks their tea (they sip or gulp). (4/9)
4. Speaking of, tea is all anybody EVER drinks. A lot of these interpersonal conflicts would probably be solved if the characters would just hydrate properly. (5/9)
5. I owe apologies to all the people in workshops I& #39;ve been grouchy at, when they informed me that my sentences were very long. After five days of having to wrap my mouth around them, I concede. (6/9)
6. Little cuts add up. I didn& #39;t remove anything more than a paragraph at a time, but the manuscript still went from 106,311 words to 99,982. (7/9)
On the off-chance that you do this as well: drink LOTS of water. (And tea. Careful with the coffee.) Pace yourself. Take breaks. Take notes. Call your friends when you can& #39;t stand the sound of your own voice anymore. (8/9)
That& #39;s it! I& #39;m so grateful to everyone who& #39;s let me bug them this week—and to @SundressPub, whose Firefly Farms residency I& #39;ve been doing the reading-aloud at! My book is still not good, but it& #39;s in a better place than it was on Monday, and that& #39;s thanks to y& #39;all. (9/9)
