Voice

This is just a reminder.

Read your work out loud.

Voice--that special "something" that a character has that makes them come alive to the reader.

Voice--how we communicate.

I just read 20 pages of a novel out loud to my daughter and got a conk on the head regarding my character's motivation that I never ever saw when I read silently.

For those of you waiting to publish, remember this. Read your work out loud. If you stumble over a sentence realize that the reader may stumble. When in doubt, pluck it out! Edit. Edit. Edit.

After all, how do editors edit? They say, "I love it love it love it can you change it!" Just kidding, but not really. That's why it's best to make sure when you submit your voice is sound, your writing is clean.

If you don't have a daughter to read aloud to, try the dog.