Writing by Ear

We often hear of talented musicians who "play by ear." In other words, they don't read sheet music. They create music by listening. It's also possible to "write by ear." This means listening to the sounds of your writing rather than focusing on structure, format and other rules of writing and English. You can write a technically perfect piece of writing, but it may sound flat to readers' ears. Language is very much like music in that it has cadence, rhythm, and sound effects such as alliteration and rhyme. If you can learn to listen to your writing rather than merely seeing it, you can learn a lot about your own writing habits and style and what makes writing effective. This is best accomplished through reading your work out loud. This allows you to hear your work more directly than a silent reading. What your tongue stumbles over, your readers will also stumble over. What flows smoothly off your tongue as you read aloud will also flow smoothly for readers. The sounds of words can produce many emotions and reactions. Pay attention, as you read your work aloud, to what emotions your words evoke in you. Then think about how these words will impact readers. Music moves through many moods as it progresses from softness to crescendo, and so does writing. Learning to listen to words and hear language in all its nuances will help you produce writing that is music to readers' ears.