Reading Out Loud

I’m really messing with my own head. After reading the manuscript backwards, I’m now reading it out loud. All 200 pages.

Reading out loud helps me hear any bumps and awkwardness that I haven’t caught yet. Of course, I feel like an idiot doing it, so I make sure I’m alone before I start. And I take breaks, to avoid losing my voice too quickly. At least I’m not reading it out loud backwards.

Maureen

Reading Backwards

Once again, I’m reading a manuscript backwards. Well, to be precise, I’m reading the chapters in reverse order. It’s a technique recommended by Art Slade, and it’s truly vile. Strange. Awkward. Weird. But it’s enormously helpful, too.

I’ll be grumbling for days as I work my way back through my manuscript, but when I’m done, I know it will be better. And that’s always the point.

Maureen

Objects with Character

At one of my school events, a teacher said he’d noticed I animate inanimate objects in all my books, and he wanted to know if I’d done that as a child. I’d never been asked this question (which makes it a really good one), and couldn’t answer. But I’ve been thinking about it, and noticing – indeed, I did it as a child, and I still do it, all the time.

I saw a photo of tall strange flowers and they looked like birds to me, ready to take off. The animals in pictures seem capable of speech, and I’m sure toys play at night, when no one is looking. Mirrors, gates, rocks on the sidewalk – they could all be alive, in my world. Anything with character could be… well, a character.

Now that I think about it, I realize this is, perhaps, a little strange for an adult. But perhaps not so strange for a fantasy writer.

Maureen