How reading my book out to someone as I write it has been amazing for motivation!

ByNika

I started writing a book out by hand a few weeks ago, and reading it out to someone was so helpful for motivation!

I will be honest and confess that I haven’t touched it for two weeks – eek! But honestly the biggest thing pulling me to get back into it is the fact that I am reading it out to someone as I write it.

Terrifying or not?

The thought of reading your manuscript out loud to someone – as you write it nonetheless- might send a flicker of panic through your very bones. It’s not even an edited version!

I myself am not a very perfectionist person, and the fact that the person I’m reading it out to is in that inner inner INNER circle, I don’t feel very apprehensive. I will say that they are honest, and so I sometimes brace myself when I ask what they thought.

If the thought of reading out your writing to someone is terrifying – like a big no no – then maybe try reading it out to yourself first for awhile. (Or forever – reading unfinished writing to people might never be your thing).

Who I am reading my writing to

I am reading my book out to my lovely husband Tian. He is my best friend, and getting to share my creative projects in this way has been awesome! The fact that I trust him one hundred percent makes it a fun process instead of a terrifying one! I also just have a thing for loving to read my books out to people.

I would write out as much as I could that day and then, that evening, I’d read out what I’d written. It was like a real life audiobook.

Motivation, motivation, motivation

The part about it that motivates me is knowing there’s someone waiting to hear what happens next.

It’s like when there’s a TV show releasing episodes every week. Tian was just waiting for each chapter to find out what happens next. (I may have forced him to listen a couple times, but hey – we’re on the right track).

It gives the writing space a bit of a time pressure, and if I don’t write one day it’s not just going to sit unknown on my computer (or in my case in a note pad), it’s going to have to be talked about: “Any more chapters?”, “ah, I kinda didn’t write anything today”. It’s an everyday accountability check in.

Every day I’d think, “oh, I need to write something so I have some more of the book to read Tian”.

Not only did it get me to sit down and write, but it also upped my word count. Once I got writing, I’d think how cool it’d be to be able to read two chapters instead of one. So I’d set out to write a good chunk so story time would be longer at the end of the day.

It gives the writing space a bit of a time pressure, and if I don’t write one day it’s not just going to sit unknown on my computer (or in my case in a note pad), it’s going to have to be talked about.

Design your own reading setup

There are many options as to how this concept could be carried out. Of course everyone has different situations, but I think there’s a way to make it work for each individual.

Firstly, who are you going to read to?

  • Mother
  • Father
  • Sister
  • Brother
  • Cousin
  • Friend
  • Teacher
  • Coworker
  • Follower
  • Grandparent
  • In law

Then it’s time to decide how you’ll make it work. Don’t limit yourself to it having to be in person, or having to be at the same time. For instance…

  • You could simply send the part of the manuscript you’ve written for a friend to read.
  • Send a voice recording to your listener for them to listen to in their own time and reply with feedback or not.
  • Do a video call and read it out (or a voice call if you don’t want to have someone looking at you as you read).
  • Send a letter with a printed version of the part of the book you’ve been writing. This one is a little more drawn out and longer time frame minded. Could be super romantic and cute though! You could just do longer snippets, like ten or twenty chapters at a time.
  • Read out some of your book when you see the chosen listener – doesn’t have to be the whole of what you’ve written, just a chapter or scene – whatever works for the time you have.

With options like these, you can truly customize the reading out loud to whatever is needed for your life.

Other benefits

Not only is this super good for motivation, it also gives us the chance as writers to hear our style, tone, and voice within our writing. When we read it out loud we can hear the lazy habits, the repetitive words we get stuck on, and, of course, the beautiful parts too. It gives us a feel for what to change, what we love, what brings the story together.

I had a rule at one point to never ever read my writing as I was writing the book. This was because I would always feel disappointed in how it was turning out, and it would make me want to quit writing the story. So there are some times when reading out loud may discourage you instead of encourage. You’ll know pretty quick which it is.

But I do think hearing our writing out loud helps us as writers to write better stories. Whether that is as we write it as this post discusses, or after the book is edited. Both could be excellent times of consideration and examination.

When we read it out loud we can hear the lazy habits, the repetitive words we get stuck on, and, of course, the beautiful parts too. It gives us a feel for what to change, what we love, what brings the story together.

If you would like to learn more about writing, following big dreams, and living life with Jesus, feel free to browse more blog posts here , or contact me if you have any questions. You can also find me on YouTube at The Windy Wildflower, or the podcast at The Windy Wildflower Podcast. We talk about writing, songwriting, and being a Christian creative in all these places. I also have a free writing resource you can grab on this website here! Join me on the journey of learning to glorify God with our creativity and making dreams a reality.

Till next time friends,

Nika