Thursday, April 12, 2012

Reader

Tonight I had a post practically finished, but I ended up trashing it. No, it wasn't Jilda's computer gremlins that jumped on the MacBook and hurled my work into the ether. The post simply didn't feel right.
So I went back to the drawing board.
I learned a few weeks ago that my Apple computers have a function I didn't realize they had. I can highlight text, punch a few buttons, and the computer will read what I've highlighted back to me.
You can select voices you like, so I chose the voice of an Australian woman to read to me.
What's interesting is that she reads exactly what's written, so mistakes that often slip by me when I'm writing, jump out at me when she reads it back to me.
That's not to say that mistakes don't slip by, but it does seem to me that fewer mistakes make it through.
I've learned that editing is the hardest part of writing for me. Details, typos, and other snafu's are invisible to me, but they often jump out at readers.
It's aggravating to me to discover a mistake in one of my columns, stories, or blog posts that I've missed.  So I'm interested in anything I can do to help limit that frustration.
If you struggle with this, I suggest you get you and Australian woman to read your work to you. I think you'll see what I mean. 

8 comments:

  1. I only have the luxury of a Texas accent to read mine to me, so maybe one day I will cross over to Macs and get that very thing for myself. Sounds really cool-

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  2. That's so cool! I just set mine to talk to me in "kathy".

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  3. Perhaps I'll invite Keith Urban over for some reading??? That would be fun!

    Hugs~

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  4. Well I'll choose an Oxford guy, may I? ;)))

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  5. Oh no, that would so freak me out! But I'll use if it can replicate Daniel Craig's James Bond voice...!! Take care
    x

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  6. Sometimes if a long post and important I will read it out loud to myself and oops, there it is, the mistake! Works.

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  7. I love the edit button...I've used it so much I think we're married to each other. I'm not sure how I would like it if it talked to me..I can hardly stand the GPS lady.

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  8. When I was sick once, someone read to me and it was so helpful. I wouldn't mind a computer that could do that.

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