Happy Friday!
Here are photos of the beauty I’m surrounded by!
Rewrite Status
I’d hope to complete the rewrite during my “vacation,” and I did – only to realize that the work needs a polish. OY! A final polish can be very time-consuming because the goal is to get every word right. We’re talking 80,000 words for a 300-page novel and 10,000+ for a screenplay.
I will share that because of the 4 MQS, I’m able to see small structural details within the scenes, which allows me to do a higher level of revision. While this makes the process slower, it also negates the possibility of having to do it again. To check the structure of a scene and the beats within a scene allows completion, and it feels great to know that a piece of writing is finished.
Reading Aloud Helps The Rewrite Process
An unexpected source of clarity has been working with my singing teacher, Susan Baum, to learn how to read for audiobooks. I warm up, work on a song, then read a current portion of my book aloud.
When I read my stuff aloud, using accents and cadence, the scene I am working on becomes like a movie I can mentally “watch” in my mind. As a result, I can hear any repetitions of information or clunky sentences, so I really can complete a section before moving on.
Here’s How To Do The Exercise:
1. Read a scene aloud to someone who you trust.
2. Read slowly because they have never heard this before, and take the time to make your voice expressive.
3. When reading dialogue, try to use an accent or change your voice in some way so that the characters sound different.
4. Get feedback, and take it to heart.
5. Rinse and repeat.
It’s not necessary to do this for the entire story. Instead, focus on problem scenes.
Here’s to your happy writing!
Professor Marilyn Horowitz
