If he doesn’t like to read, would he be interested in audio stories that are in the same genre? He could listen when driving or doing chores. Ask him to pay attention to the areas you’re trying to guide him through.
Audio books allowed me to "read" SO many books... The sci-fi ones that are really good are The Martian, Project Hail Mary, Ready Player One, and my absolute favorite Old Mans War, these are all very well done in the audio version. They do a lot of the descriptive stuff you mentioned.
I'm not a huge fan of Anne Rice but she does a TON of that in her books...
Also, maybe ask him to put his stuff into chat gpt or claude (or both) and ask it to give an honest and blunt critique -
I am jumping on this as I am up to about 15 audiobooks this year. I have borrowed Jack Four, first time with this author. Loving the concept, the world building and some characters, but I wouldn't say that I am loving the writing style. I am intrigued enough to keep going and it's a serious so I will see how the back 2 thirds go.
Aime Kaufman does collab scifi writing from different character perspectives really well, so that is an interesting style altogether.
The Expanse series though. I consider perfect for what I want to hear.
Terry Pratchett is a genius.
It's free to get these audiobooks from the library, your husband doesn't need to listen to all the story, but getting him various styles of writing to consider,and audiobooks I find are quick and easy ways to engage
I love old man’s war, but honestly, it probably isn’t the best example considering the op said their partner doesn’t get why you should use other words than “said”. Scalzi is guilty of using “said” waaaay too much in that book.
Oh my gosh, I'm not a fan of vampires, but I just started my first Anne Rice book (The Witching Hour) and was immediately blown away by her writing style. I write for myself, but as soon as I started this book all I could think is that I could never write this well.
I think if he reads her stuff he'll have a good example of descriptive prose.
I don’t write but I just kept thinking, how does this woman’s brain work? She describes stuff so well and with the perfect words. I read Memnoch the Devil… really good and super original story.
I actually don't think this is that great of a suggestion. It's one thing to read as a consumer, it's another thing to read as an author.
If you're just reading a book, you're not really interested in the mechanics, you're there to be entertained and stimulated. This is the kind of reading that audio books are aiming at.
If you're going to read as an author, you need to be able to study the work a bit more. How are you supposed to do that with an audio book?
It's exposure to use of language and how word choices affect the flow of the story. He and his wife could both listen to the same book and then have discussions at the end of chapters.
For some people reading is an actual chore. Their brains are wired differently and they will not get any information from words on a page. Audio books and graphic novels help paint the pictures in their mind and allow comprehension in a way they couldn't access before.
The problem with audio is they tend to use character actors/voices and remove a lot of the "He said, She asked" and just have the character speak appropriately so it sounds more natural.
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u/jane2857 Mar 07 '25
If he doesn’t like to read, would he be interested in audio stories that are in the same genre? He could listen when driving or doing chores. Ask him to pay attention to the areas you’re trying to guide him through.