A Gathering of Gargoyles and the Boring Voice -- Misha Herwin
Not
I hasten to say the author’s voice. At least I hope not. What I’m referring to
is the Word programme that reads back your work. For someone like me who types,
writes and thinks fast making use of the boring voice is a vital part of the
editing process of my newest book, “A Gathering of Gargoyles.”
As
she reads on in her monotonous way I can pick up where I have missed out an “a”
“to” or “the” and even the odd verb or two. Checking for this on screen, or
even on paper, the mind reads in the absent word and I suspect that most
readers would do the same. Which makes me wonder whether subjecting myself to
the boring voice is really necessary. Except of course it is as the thought of
publishing a book I know to be less than perfect in this respect is not
something I could contemplate.
The
trouble is that it takes so much time and it is easy to let the mind wander. I
have done a whole chapter only to realise I haven’t really listened and have to
go back to the beginning. The solution is to resist doing it all in one go and
work in short sharp bursts.
There
must be writers out there who do not need to go through the process. If there
are I wish they would share their secret. Do they have a brilliant knowledge of
punctuation and grammar? Do they type slowly? Re-read their work after every
paragraph? Whatever they do, it can’t be the way that I work and the way that I
work is all bound up with the creative process.
Once
the idea comes to mind, then it has to be put down on the page. Captured before
it flies away. When the first draft is finished, then I start on the next, but
this tends to be mostly looking at narrative and character. Style comes later,
when I read my work out loud. Even this stage however does not pick out all the
repetitive sentences or over use of words and so to the boring voice…
Much
as I dread the process, it not only picks up errors but by making me focus on
each word prompts me to think how often I have used a particular expression. In
the current WIP, “A Gathering of Gargoyles,” there was a lot of nodding and
glancing. I have also had to disentangle long and complex sentences which has
made my writing more precise and impactful.
All
in all it has to be done, though there is a great sense of relief when it is
over and the next stage of getting the book out can begin.
Comments
Reading what you do reminded me of how Henry James would dictate his work to an amanuensis and then get him to read it back. He was Scottish!
An enjoyable post and good luck with progress on The Gathering of Gargoyles - great title.