eight . . . reading out loud

Read a great bit of advice a few years ago: read your novel out loud.

You find out a lot about your writing when you do this.  Reading it aloud, like I did today with Chapter 3 of my novel, showcases the bits that work and the bits that really suck.  You'd be surprised what a difference a verbal version of your book makes. 

Sure, people don't read novels out loud often (putting aside audio books for now), so why would this help in the rewrite process?  I don't know.  It just does.  It's probably to do with being an objective reader, something that is difficult to do when you have laboured over every word and paragraph of your novel for months or years.  Reading it aloud means the words and the story comes at you from a different direction, allowing you to assess it objectively.

Really helps with dialogue too - very quickly will you notice how dialogue isn't working, either for that character, in the back to back banter of a conversation or just in general terms.  And that's good.  Rather you pick it up now then a reader picks it up later, when its too late.

So that's what I am doing with the fifth draft of my novel: cutting it back and reading it aloud.

Hardest part is finding the time and place to do it.  If there's someone else in the house, it just feels weird.  I get all self conscious and end up not actually listening to what I am saying.  So, you have to be alone - that way you can sing it loud and proud, you can add special effects or crazy accents, you can do whatever you want.

Just don't forget to listen.

seven . . . carrying the weight

Today, I didn't write.  Not a word.  Not even this blog (which I am doing three days from now . . . in the FUTURE).  It was just one of those days - filled with jobs and appointments and weight lifting.

I'm cool with it.  Stressed me out a little bit, but I got over it.  Sometimes, it just doesn't happen.  Of course, that is a poor excuse.  Don't have time?  You make time.  So my bad on this one and I have apologised to myself for dropping the ball.

Missing a writing session creates a weight on your shoulders, especially if you have a deadline to meet or a timetable to keep to, like I do.  One day wasted means one day to catch up; it means you are behind the eight ball.  String too many of those wasted days together and deadlines start to look daunting.

Best thing to do is get right back into it.  Forgive yourself and don't dwell on it.  Because you can make it up.  Missing a day does add a burden to your future working schedule, but as I found out tonight at the ExCel centre in London, us people are capable of carrying a degree of weight around quite successfully, sometimes up to three times our own body weight.

You just have to make sure you are in the right weight category.

Om Yun Chol of Korea takes Gold

six . . . first event

Went to my first ever event last night - Gymnastics at the North Greenwich Arena - formerly known as The O2 but renamed for advertising reasons.

I really enjoyed it. Not a big follower of the sport but it didn't take long to catch up with the rules, if not the scoring. The ability of the male athletes on each of the apparatus is amazing. Sure there were some falls and missteps but overall, these guys were putting in their best efforts and it paid off.

It came down to the wire for qualification between Spain and Romania and ultimately, due to a few crucial mistakes, they both missed out. USA tops the list, followed by Russia and Great Britain. Rankings count for nought post qualification as the scores are wiped clean for the finals. Looking forward to it!!

Highlight was seeing the oldest gymnast at the Olympics - Iordan Iovtchev - on the Rings. He performed very well, showing superb upper body strength, and qualified for the finals. Inspiring - and that's what the Olympics is all about.

five . . . the games begin

four . . . the writer rises

Difficult day today. Not necessarily hungover; more in a state of sleep deprivation. Yesterday I had some work drinks and despite good intentions, I was unable to get home at a reasonable hour. Therefore, a day of zero writing.

But I feel I made up for it today. I was tired for sure but after work I headed straight home and worked on the fifth draft for over an hour. Very productive indeed. Happy with my efforts to bounce back from too many San Miguels last night.

I also managed to fit in a movie tonight - Conviction with Hilary Swank and the excellent Sam Rockwell. It was quite a touching movie and worth catching.

Wasn't as good as The Dark Knight Rises though; that movie is awesome. Not as good as The Dark Knight but it goes close - which is saying something. All great performances and a very intriguing story with many many layers. Not often a superhero movie keeps me thinking long after - but this one certainly does. Go see it.

And tomorrow - the Olympics Begin! See what I kinda did there? Probably not. Fair play.