Hear me now or regret it later: Everything you write must…
““Hear me now or regret it later: Everything you write must be read aloud. Once all the context items are in place, this is the final test for any written piece... Do not neglect your sense of hearing in the process of writing and reading. As a longtime teacher of English as a foreign language, I can tell you on good authority that you have been listening to the English language at least five or six years longer than you have been writing and reading. And, most probably, your ears also had eighteen or more years of familiarity with the language before you began to read or write with a writer's sensibility. For these reasons, your ears know when things sound okay, good, beautiful, strange, awkward, or just plain bad, before your eye can pick up on such things... Your written voice should burn with the fire of fervent prayer, soothe like a friend's voice during a late-night phone call, alure like a lover's whisper. You must, through your accessible, infinitely read-aloudable voice, make your audience into an insatiable reader of your words.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Writing should be audible; the ear judges quality before the eye can;Read aloud to test writing; listening refines voice
In simple terms: Write with an ear for sound and rhythm
Key Takeaway
writing;reading;auditory awareness
Themes
language pedagogy
voice
literary criticism
Mood
advice
pedagogical
Type
Books:0
English language:1
Fervent prayer:0
Foreign language:0
Phone call:0
Reading:1
Writer:1
Writing:1
Writing and reading:0
Read Write:0
Read Aloud:1
Listening English:0
Later Write:0
Writing Reading:0
When to use this quote
- Some writers may undervalue auditory feedback
Key Concepts
writing workshops
language teaching
self‑editing
Questions to Reflect On
- reflective
- educational
A Different Perspective
How does reading aloud change your perception of text?;What auditory cues improve writing?