Comments on: Reading Aloud

By: Jeanette

Jeanette — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:11:25 +0000

Mary, do you have any advice for reading in a voice of the opposite gender and how to transpose back and forth without losing either voice?

By: The Great Geek Manual » Geek Media Round-Up: August 20, 2009

The Great Geek Manual » Geek Media Round-Up: August 20, 2009 — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:07:05 +0000

[...] The SFWA offers up some tips on Reading Aloud. [...]

By: Liane Merciel

Liane Merciel — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:21:04 +0000

Thanks for these tips — they’re super helpful for a total noob facing down the terrifying prospect of doing readings! I hadn’t even thought about formatting pages to make the process easier, but that is forehead-slapping sensible. I will definitely keep it in mind.

By: Pat Whitaker

Pat Whitaker — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:44:20 +0000

Thanks Mary. I understand about reading slowly, the problem is my eyes keep skipping ahead of where I’m reading. It’s bugged me all my life and I understand it’s a matter of self-discipline, but the slower I’m reading the more I do it!
I have even tried covering the unread text and just revealing it as I go, but that’s really too cumbersome in practice.

By: Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:39:13 +0000

Torrey: I’m glad you asked. We’re actually moving from NYC to PDX at the end of the month, so I’m not familiar with the Pacific Northwest convention circuit yet. Unless we are moving into our new place, I’d love to make it to Foolscap, but hesitate to commit until I know what my schedule is like.

David: Use this simple mechanic. Breath when you come to a period. Deep breath between paragraphs. Breath is one of the ways we communicate to the audience and periods tend to indicate places where people would breath naturally.

Pat: Two suggestions. 1) Slow down! Seriously, it will help the audience and help you. 2) Reformat your manuscript for reading. Rotate the page to landscape, so you have two pages on it. Then raise the font to 14pt. What this does is it makes the width of the line narrower, so that as you track back from the end of one line to the beginning of the next, your eye doesn’t have as far to travel. The horizontal layout mean that the page isn’t as tall, again, making it easier to keep track of. The larger font is just plain easier to read.

By: Pat Whitaker

Pat Whitaker — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:05:22 +0000

Thanks for this, Mary, this is one area I find almost impossible – but can no longer avoid. You have given me the basic tools to tackle the matter.

I do have one question, though. A particular problem of mine is that I read very quickly, and find I keep getting ahead of myself. At that point I lose my place – with disastrous consequences. Any tips?

Pat.

By: David Macinnis Gill

David Macinnis Gill — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:18:43 +0000

You’re a genius of the clench and twist, MR. Got any techniques to keep me from forgetting to breathe while reading?

By: Torrey

Torrey — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:59:26 +0000

Thank you Mary!

I commented on the SFWA facebook link, but had to share back here – this is a fantastic presentation of good advice. I wish I had it when I still taught high school! Now I’m going to permalink it for my own readings, make sure the other writers I know see it, *and* use it as a primer in presenting for my current day job.

Are you coming to foolscap in September (www.foolscapcon.org)? I’d love to have a reading-aloud panel there, if it’s not already on the docket .

By: Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:23:18 +0000

I’m glad you found it helpful!

By: Laurie Mann

Laurie Mann — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:18:41 +0000

Mary, that’s perfect! I plan to share this link with program participants I work with in the future.