My Latest Editing Discovery

I just discovered something amazing! It’s changed my life – okay—just my editing habits.

Did you know that Microsoft Word has a ‘read aloud’ feature? You can click on it and a voice reads your work to you. It’s an amazing way to spot silly typos, but also really helps when it comes to writing dialogue. There’s no going back.

One added bonus is that my foster dog Marley, who is prone to overreacting at anything she hears outside, and tends to whine at me if I’m still for too long. (“You don’t seem to be doing anything hooman, so you could easily be petting me.”)

When I click the read aloud feature and the disembodied voice starts talking, she freezes, her head cocked to the side, and listens very intently. I’m not sure if she’s enjoying the story or trying to figure out where the person inside my laptop is.

To find it the Read Aloud feature, click on the word ‘Review’ along your top bar to bring up the Review menu. You’ll spot the giant ‘A’ just to the right of Word Count.

Click the button and the nice lady inside your computer will start reading. There’s a tiny menu that also appears in the upper right hand of your screen that has play/backward/forward and also a speaker icon that you can click on to slow/speed up or change the voice from male or female. (Personally, I like the female voice. She reminds me of several audiobook actors.)

Who needs audible, right? Kidding. I love Audible and couldn’t drive anywhere without it.

Still, the possibilities are endless.

Try typing in nananananananananananananananabanana and playing that back.

Just now I also typed, “Hi Marley, you’re such a good good dog, MARLEY!”

She actually shuddered.

Endless fun.

That’s all I’ve got for you this week. But it’s huge, right?

Maybe everyone except me already knew about this feature. That would be par for the course. I tend to be slow to the technological party.

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Hey, thanks for reading. I know you’ve got lots of options, so thanks for sharing a few of your minutes with me.

Honored,

Cara

If you’re a writer (or you wanna be) and you’d like some guidance, editing, accountability, or some good old fashioned encouragement in meeting your writing goals, reach out. I offer one-on-one coaching. Learn more here.

My latest novel, Blind Turn is a mother-daughter story of forgiveness in the aftermath of a fatal texting and driving accident. It won the Womens Fiction category of the American Writing Awards in 2022. Learn more about it and find out how to get your copy here.

If you’re curious about what else I’m up to, check out my website, CaraWrites.com.

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If you’re a dog lover, check out my other blog, Another Good Dog. And if you want to know what is really happening in the animal shelters in this country, visit, Who Will Let the Dogs Out, and subscribe to the blog I write there.

I’d love to connect with you on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram, and I’m thrilled to get email from readers (and writers), you can reach me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

My book, 100 Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues is available anywhere books are sold, but if you’d like some help finding it (or want to read some lovely reviews), click here.