So as long as we're talking about the value of reading your own stuff out loud--I've recently decided it's also important to listen to other people's stuff read out loud. This is where the whole books-on-tape thing comes in.
I'm kinda new to books-on-tape, actually. I love listening to music so much (recent favorite discovery--the Black Keys) that I've always resisted books-on-tape. Seriously, I thought only people touring America in Winnebagos went in for them. BUT! I was wrong. Being read to is a pleasure--you feel like a kid in grade school again. You come in all hot and sweaty from recess, put your head on your desk and let the wonderful words of WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS wash over you.
Best of all, you get to HEAR how the pros do it--how they structure their sentences and manage stuff like dialogue and description. Lately I've had fun listening to all the Hamish Macbeth novels (so yeah I'm a sucker for a kilt and an accent). Meanwhile I've picked up a few hints from M. C. Beaton (prolific author) about how to create lasting visual images with a few quick broad strokes.
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