Actually, I always find it more interesting to have someone else read my writing out loud to
me! When someone else takes your work and reads it aloud, in a certain sense you're getting to experience, all through their unique intonations and tone, a glimpse of your writing through
their eyes. What it sounds like to their ear, filtered through their brain. And it'll be different from what you imagined...but also, sometimes, better. Certainly educational.
I
have read my own stuff aloud before (not often to other people, because my friends usually prefer to read it on their own
) but the thing about that is, I already
know in my head how I think my writing should sound...so there's rarely any surprise to the result, if I'm the one doing it! Unlike a cold read of someone else's work--where it's easier to surprise yourself with your performance if you're immersed enough in the unfamiliar narration--you know
exactly what's coming next and why. I actually use reading my own stuff more as an exercise in practicing my vocal skills than an exercise on my writing. I'm training to narrate audiobooks, and the closer my performance matches what I heard in my head as I wrote the words, the better I've done.
I wonder if that's why authors notoriously find it hard to narrate their own work--not just because they're rarely experienced at it, but because they're so close to the material that they have difficulty sounding truly spontaneous and genuine as they read it. I need to look into that--I do intend to narrate my own books when they're finished. Thanks for the topic! My thought processes may have twisted it a little, but that's just my own interests.
