Reading Aloud

And the scroll of the profit Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. — Luke 4:17.

At my daughter’s wedding, there were two readings, one a beautiful poem titled The Invitation and the other was from the Beatitudes. Hearing them read gave the words special meaning. Most religions include in their services, public readings from scriptures or holy writings. The words seem to have more significance and a different meaning when they are read aloud.

When I first started writing  novels, I was told that when I thought I was finished to read my manuscript aloud. I did so, and realized that I wasn’t finished. Unless the words on the page sound right to the ear an author’s work is not done. The same advice about reading aloud applies to a difficult passage in a book or textbook. If one is puzzled by a paragraph try reading it aloud. You will be surprised by how reading aloud makes a difference.

I was surprised by how much I was moved by the two familiar readings at my daughter’s wedding, but I shouldn’t have been. They were read aloud.

 

 

About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.

2 Comments +

  1. We’ll allrightythen, Webb. So I read “The Invitation”… my face is wet. What a dirty trick for a professed soft touch as I. But thank you and I will get to where maybe I can read it aloud so I can use it similarly.
    Congratulations on your daughter’s wedding, sounds like it was a glorious affair. My daughter’s wedding day (2005) still ranks as one of the top memories in my existence. Special. Thanks for putting me back there for a moment with your post.
    I hope you are well, and I still enjoy your Pew, greatly. It causes genuine reflection – a good thing. For example, your comments on your arthritis. I’m so sorry for that and I empathize because I watched my Daddy suffer so with rheumatoid for years. Bless you in your struggles.
    And your post on Family. The only immediate family I have left is my sister, it was just the two of us. We have been estranged now for, oh, 46 years or so, and it troubles me more & more as time slips by. And it is exactly as you eluded – all sorts of jumbled up reasons, misunderstandings, jealousy, pride, and like my friend says, “no matter how flat the pancake, there are 2 sides”. I want to repair, but just the thought somehow paralyzes.
    So do you like apples? How bout them apples?
    I’m sure you didn’t expect all that this morning, but thanks you, Sir, for your indulgence. The message is: thank you for your posts and their part in keeping me grounded… in touch with me, at the tip of the spear. Powerful. Your pen is mighty indeed, please keep ‘em coming.
    Go Hogs! [We’re all Tigers (Clemson) in our family, but Daddy always pulled for the Hogs… it’s a carryover for me.]
    Have yourself a splendid Wednesday… positively!

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