What Does Your Ear Hear?

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine 

We as writers know there are rules we are to follow in writing.  But, did you know there are times you can break those rules of writing?

You can, and you aren’t being rebellious, difficult or even childish. Aren’t you glad? I know I am.

When you write thrillers, for instance, you’re concerned about getting the atmosphere of the story down on paper. What is your ear hearing? Does it hear tension, danger, and trouble?

When we are writing dialogue, there are times you just can’t follow the rules, not if you are writing the dialogue the person would be speaking.

Now, don’t get the idea I am trying to get you to stop following the rules. I believe you need to know the rules, and if you do, then you know when you are breaking them, and if it is in a place they need to be broken.

When you read a sentence on paper, your ear tells you, “right on target––or off target”.

Winston S. Churchill said, “Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all.” He could have also said the shorter sentences are the better ones too, however, he didn’t say that. But they are. Short words have more punch.  I think short sentences also have more punch. Try reading a long sentence with say 40-50 words in it. Does your ear get tired? Does your brain start wandering? Mine always does.

One of the things a writer needs to be is a good communicator. Every time I write something I need to turn around and read it. What does my ear hear? Does it make sense? What can I take out? What do I need to add? These are some of the questions I ask myself. What I find sometimes is a couple of sentences are not making sense or they’re rambling. Clarity is important in our writing. We don’t want people confused trying to read what we’ve written. Listening to what we are reading helps us be better writers.

In high school, one of my teachers, (won’t mention a name) was always trying to impress upon us the importance of being organized. She would say, “Only then, can your words have clarity.” She was right. We do need to be organized. It especially helps when we are talking to be organized in our thoughts so there will be clarity in what we say. I can hear her asking us, “Did you hear what you just read?”

The answer she got was, “Of course we did.” But she meant did we hear with our ears and did we understand what it said.

The other subject she stressed, repeatedly, was writing outlines. Let me say to this day, I hate writing outlines. We are talking over fifty years here, I still hate writing them. But she was right again; outlines are wonderful tools for writers. Thank you Mrs.… (No names remember?)

Can You Hear Me Now?

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


For weeks I had been looking forward to hearing a noted author and public speaker who gave a presentation near me this weekend.  From his books and the CDs I'd heard, I knew it was going to be an inspiring and entertaining talk.

My hopes remained high until I sat down and remembered how horrible the echo is in this particular venue.  It's a beautiful, ornate setting, appealing to the eye, but a portion of what they spent on decorating should have been invested in decent acoustic consultation.  Every word bounced around the hall and fought with itself, and I'd be surprised if the audience was able to discern more than half of what was said.  (The author, BTW, gave an excellent presentation, from the parts I could hear.)

Sitting through that muddled wash of indistinctness, my mind tended to wander, and I pondered how great words can all be in vain if something gets in the way.  Anything that distracts from the clarity of the message is a curse to communication.

In our writing, we can lose the reader in countless ways.  To name but a few:

• Long stretches of dialogue that doesn't occasionally inject who's saying what
• Too many details that aren't relevant to the story
• Too many accessory characters to keep up with
• Names of characters that are similar, inviting confusion
• Pet phrases or inside jokes that make the reader say, "Huh?"

There's also the whole issue of typos and improper punctuation.  It's amazing how the same sentence can take on different meanings without properly-placed punctuation. One of my favorite examples is:

• A woman without her man is nothing.
• A woman: without her, man is nothing.

Our proofreaders at the magazine (who are among my favorite people on the planet) are all about clarity.  A missing comma here, an awkwardly-worded phrase there, are the kind of things they lose sleep over, because these little grammatical gaffes take away from cogent communication.

They might even question my use of the word "cogent" if "clear" would say the same thing with less bluster. "Bluster" might even be suspect.

In the editing process, sometimes classical rules clash and debates result, but whenever they do, the judgment is always in favor of clarity; whatever conveys most accurately.

You know exactly what you meant to say, so you may not spot the impediments to communication that a good editor will notice.  Don't skip that important insurance policy.  And if you're ever asked to give a speech in a very big room, I encourage you to check out the acoustics before you say yes.