A series of how-to articles for doing readings or recording audio fiction.
Stage fright is one of the most horrible things about reading. It can be debilitating and, what’s worse, it can cause a self-feedback loop that will make the symptoms manifest in different ways. Some people’s knees shake, others can’t breathe, some people forget everything they know… it can be horrible. People suggest things like, “imagine […]
Reading Aloud: Dealing with stage fright Read More »
While I was in Utah at the Superstars Writing Seminar, I did a very fast version of my “How to Give an Effective Reading” workshop. I do this talk at conventions when I get the chance and have the text of the longer version here on the site. BUT while I was there Stephen Nelson
Video: How to give an effective reading Read More »
The dialect is definitely going much smoother when recording Shades of Milk and Honey. The first day I was covering about 7 pages an hour and my usual speed is 15. I’m back up to the twelve range, which is still slow but at least in the realm of reasonable. It will be interesting to
Recording Shades of Milk and Honey, pt 3 Read More »
Ah-ha! I had dim memories of learning a general rule of thumb for how to handle the A in RP English, so I went looking for it. Until around the 1600s everyone, no matter where they lived, pronounced a the short way, as in trap. But in the 17th century it became fashionable in London
The virtual linguist: Trap-bath split Read More »
If anyone has time, I could use help with two tasks. 1) I recorded a story (not mine and I promise it’s good) and I need to listen to it to make sure that we didn’t leave any of my stumbles in it. I’m tuning out my own voice. The story is two and a
Help with listening and reading? Read More »
Last night, to celebrate, I worked. I needed to turn in my recording for PodCastle and had been given an extension because of my cold last week. The dragon lady was not appropriate for this story. Even so, my voice was a little fragile and we had to stop a lot. Actually, that’s not completely
Reading Aloud: The importance of quiet space. Read More »
My niece gave me a cold for Christmas, so we’re going to take advantage of it to show some tricks for dealing with throat ailments. For kicks, I recorded the whole post this time. You can listen to it here OR you can read and just listen to the example clips. Listen to Reading Aloud:
Reading Aloud 16: The Common Cold Read More »
Please go listen to this brilliant and funny bit of advice: How Not To Do A Podcast by Kate Baker.
Reading Aloud: How Not To Do A Podcast Read More »
When Bill Schafer at Subterranean Press asked me to read Kage Baker’s Rude Mechanicals, I was delighted, because I love the Company stories. I was delighted until I started reading the manuscript and realized that the point of view character was male. I skimmed forward, just looking at dialogue. Most of the characters were male.
Reading Aloud 15: Choices & Compromises while recording Rude Mechanicals Read More »
Early on, I talked about the importance of selecting the right piece for a reading. Some pieces of fiction naturally lend themselves to being read aloud, while others are meant to stay on the page. In John Scalzi’s The Sagan Diary, I ran smack into that difference. Scalzi asked me to read the preface, which
Reading Aloud 14: Stumbling and the Sagan Diary Read More »
I have a mild cold that I picked up from the germ factories that come aboard the boat to meet the Cinnamon Bear. It’s not bad, just a scratchy throat and fatigue–although I suppose the fatigue comes from other sources. Anyway, we carol as people are boarding. I enjoy this even though I’m scantily dressed
Reading Aloud: Singing while sick Read More »
As noted last week, I’m not going to post this week. Now, I asked you to record a story yourself. If you did and would like comments on it, paste a link into the comments of this post. Meanwhile, I’d like to offer you The Time Traveler Show #9 Halloween Special, which has an interview
Reading Aloud 13: Sam A. Mowry Read More »
The tricky thing with reading a story written in the first person is that your narration has the same voice as your main character’s dialogue. There is a simple trick for differentiating when your POV character is narrating and when she is addressing someone else. For the narration, think, “I am having an intimate conversation
Reading Aloud 12: Narrating with first person Read More »
Okay. At some point, every SF story on the planet is going to hit some handwavium. You know the thing I’m talking about, that magic point where you just have to make stuff up in order to cover the gap between what is possible and what you think might be possible sometime in the future.
Reading Aloud 11: Making Sense Read More »
You’ve honed your voice to be a well-modulated wonder. Now you have to get in front of people and actually read. In some readings, the author remains seated. Some, they stand. What should you do? Well, it depends on venue, the story and your own preference. If you’re in a small venue with an intimate
Reading Aloud 10: Stage presence Read More »