1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,919 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to become a better writer by reading 4 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: what you write out loud before sharing it. I've always 5 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: loved to write, and so I was really lucky that 6 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: my first job after college was a year long internship 7 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: at USA Today. I worked on the op ed page, 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:35,199 Speaker 1: mostly fact checking and helping with layout. The biggest upside 9 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,959 Speaker 1: was that I worked for some very encouraging editors. When 10 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: I expressed interest in writing op eds, they did not 11 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 1: immediately shoot down the idea of a twenty three year 12 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,160 Speaker 1: old intern doing such a thing. They helped me work 13 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 1: on my writing, and over the course of the year 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: I got several essays published. With everything I wrote, I 15 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: used some of the best writing advice I ever got, 16 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: and this came from one of my editors there. She 17 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: said it, I think in passing. You know, Laura, when 18 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,399 Speaker 1: people are reading things silently in their heads, they're still 19 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: hearing the words as if they're spoken, So you need 20 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: to write as if your words are being read out loud. 21 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: I realized immediately how brilliant this was, because it's true. 22 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: Next time you're reading something, notice how you're processing it. 23 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: You probably hear the words even if you're reading silently. 24 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:31,760 Speaker 1: That means that things are more pleasant for the brain 25 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: when they're more pleasant for the ear. You can use 26 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,399 Speaker 1: this to your advantage. You can make your writing more 27 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: appealing by reading anything of consequence out loud before you 28 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: publish it. This step of reading out loud will do 29 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: several good things. First, you'll write tighter, because wordy sentences 30 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: are hard to say. When you find yourself tripping over 31 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: a sentence, that's a sign that editing would help. Second, 32 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: you'll vary your sentence length. If you've ever heard a 33 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: really good preacher, you know that sermons often feature a 34 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: few short sentences with parallel structure, punctuated by longer ones. 35 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: The preacher chooses this rhythm because it's appealing even for 36 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 1: difficult truths. You want people to say that about your writing, too. Finally, 37 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: you'll end your sentences strong. In general, single syllable words 38 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: provide the most satisfactory conclusion to a phrase. I don't 39 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 1: know why this is, I do know it's true. You 40 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: don't have to always honor this truth, but your writing 41 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 1: will read better when you can now I will admit 42 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,639 Speaker 1: that I don't read my emails about next week's schedule 43 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 1: out loud. Some writing is purely utilitarian, but with the 44 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: growth of audio books and podcasts, writing for the ear 45 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: has turned out to be a useful skill. Given how 46 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: much bad writing is out there, Anything that makes your 47 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: writing stand out can give you an advantage. So if 48 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: you're writing something of consequence, take a few extra minutes 49 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: to read it out loud and adjust your words to 50 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,959 Speaker 1: make them sound better. People might not know why they 51 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,239 Speaker 1: like reading what you've written, but I promise you that 52 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: they will in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, 53 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 54 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 55 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 56 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod 57 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: that's b the number four, then Breakfast p o D. 58 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast 59 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: podcast at iHeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is 60 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I 61 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a 62 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I 63 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 64 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.