Re: reading prose out loud

On May 24, 6:54 am, Eric Ammadon <email_a...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Jacey Bedford <lookin...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In message <192h151vgakj82d4f1u9cks6kk884po...@xxxxxxx>, Eric Ammadon
<email_a...@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes
Reading your prose out loud was recommended as a good way of checking
it.  I'm lazy, I found this utility that will speak whatever is in
your clipboard:

http://download.cnet.com/Ghost-Clipboard-Reader-TTS/3000-2094_4-10859....

It seems to work under Windows Vista, and it doesn't seem to have
eaten my computer or anything.

The whole point of reading it out loud to check it is that if a sentence
is clunky your mouth lets you know because you fall over the words, or
find yourself substituting something that's not on the page. A computer
generated reading would not achieve the same effect.

Jacey

Not the same perhaps, but definitely useful.  It would point out the
the case where you've left left in an word or left one out to begin
with. <sic>  And enticing the computerized voice to speak the rhythms
you intend should tell you that you're on the mark.


That wouldn't work for me. I tend to nod off when someone's reading to
me, or my attention wanders, which is why I don't listen to
audiobooks. And as was mentioned by someone else, the act of reading
aloud is as important -- and for me, more important -- than hearing
the words spoken. If I stumble over a word or in some cases, read
words different than what I typed, I discover I'd typed the wrong
word. Not wrong in the sense of grammatically incorrect, but not the
word that I should have typed, or not the word the character would
actually use, that sort of thing. Artificial speech sounds artificial
to me, no matter how good it is, so I'd never get the proper rhythms
from it. I have read paragraphs aloud to be sure I got them just
right, even when there's no one else to listen.

I've just begun playing with it, experience will teach me something;
for example hearing my comments here spoken showed me that I had typed
"begin" where the intent was "begun", something no spellchecker would
find.


Which is why I don't rely on spellcheckers, and proofread everything I
write (except message board posts most times)
..
I find myself especially interested in rhythmic qualities and what can
be done with them, and a computerized voice seems to be a good
sounding-board.

I still prefer my voice. I don't even want someone else to read my
words aloud. I need to do it so I can get the proper feel for what I
wrote. I also hear the words in my head when I read something
silently, so maybe that's part of it.

--Shelly
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: reading prose out loud
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  • Re: reading prose out loud
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    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
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