Words worth

R is for reading aloud. Hearing your words is a great way to help improve writing, says Elen Lewis

Here’s a simple trick that will immediately improve your writing. Read the words aloud. It’s the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences work well. I like the way crime writer PD James explains it: ‘If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.’

If you stumble as you read, the construction of the sentence is probably wrong. If you run out of breath, the sentence is too long. If it sounds too staccato, you may need longer phrases. If it doesn’t sound right, then something is wrong with the flow. You may need to mix up short and long sentences to get the rhythm right. If you trail off at the end of your sentences or start speeding up, you might be getting bored.

If you are stuck, here are some things you could try.

1. Put the writing aside; leave it for as long as you can. An afternoon, a day, a week.

2. Read the words as if you’ve never seen them before. Don’t read from your computer screen. Print it out.

3. Challenge every word. Is this the best word to use?

4. Cut until you can cut no more. Every word counts.

5. Challenge every sentence. Does it have rhythm? Is there magic in it?

6. Challenge every paragraph. Pretend it’s flatpack furniture. Did you assemble it correctly?

Rigorous editing can help craft the plainest words into something of beauty. Brilliant writers tend to be brilliant editors. Or they are lucky enough to have one. David Ogilvy said: ‘I’m a lousy copywriter but I am a good editor. So I go to work editing my own draft. After four or five editings, it looks good enough to show to the client.’

Do you have a business writing conundrum you’d like Elen to address in this column? Send your queries on question marks or questions of style and punctuation to

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