Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

Posts Tagged ‘reading aloud’

Reading Aloud: Cross-gender Voices

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Cross-gender voices are a tricky business. Even if you can really do a convincing cross-gender voice–and I know folks who can–the fact is that in a live reading, the audience knows that there’s only one person doing all the voices. There are two ways cross-gender voices can throw people out of listening. It’s really bad, and embarrassing, or it’s really good and shocking that a female voice is coming out of a man’s mouth. Either way, the listener drops the story for a moment.

This is like a turn of phrase that’s really stunning in a story. You stop reading for a moment and think, “Wow, that’s lovely.” That may be true, but the story has stopped, right there. Same thing with voicing. Any time you make the listener stop to think, you’ve injured your story.

The point of doing different voices is to make it clear who is speaking–it’s not to make it sound like there are fifty people sharing the stage with you. If you really want it to sound like there are completely different people, hire some actors. (more…)

Tags: Mary Robinette Kowal, reading aloud
Posted in SFWA Blog | 1 Comment »

Reading Aloud

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

There are few things that can destroy a good story faster than a bad reading.  At the same time, a really good reading can make an audience excited and drive sales.  Short of a background in theater, how can authors improve their reading skills?

Let’s start by identifying the three pitfalls that most new readers fall into.

1. Volume
2. Speed
3. Droning

Volume

Many readings simply aren’t loud enough.  You can’t rely on every venue having a microphone or good acoustics.  Fortunately, your body knows how to be loud. The trap that people fall into is that they talk to the person closest to them, the front row.

Try this experiment.  Step outside with a friend and have them walk to the opposite side of the yard or street.  Now say, “Hello! How are you?”  Your body will automatically make all the adjustments necessary for your voice to carry across the street.

The same is true when reading.  Speak to the back wall of your space, not to the front row.  If you are loud enough, you should hear a slight bounce as your voice hits the back wall and returns to you.

Speed

Many readers go so fast that their words become jumbled together.  The problem is that for the listener, this is the first time they’ve heard the story.  The analogy that I use is this: Imagine that you’ve got a mountain cabin. The first time you drive to it, you think, “This is the twistiest road in the world! I’m going to die!”  And then gradually, you get used to it.  A year later, a friend follows you home and they are driving so slow. That’s because they are behind you thinking, “This is the twistiest road in the world! I’m going to die!”

You are familiar with your text. This is the first time the listener has heard your words. Unlike printed stories, they can’t ask you to stop and repeat yourself.  You need to speak slowly enough that they can understand you.

An ideal speed is about150 words per minute. It’s easy to figure out how fast that is by taking a cutting that’s 150 words and timing yourself. I’ll warn  you, that it will feel like you are speaking about half the speed you think you should.  Keep at it.  When you get into performance, you will speed up whether you want to or not.   Adrenalin.

Droning

Humans are animals and as such there are certain things we’re hardwired to do.  One of those is tuning out sounds once we’ve identified them as not a threat.  Droning or speaking in a monotone, sends a signal to the brain of the listener that this is a sound without information.  They will, despite their best intentions, lose focus on what you are saying.

Again, trust your body because it knows what to do.  Remember that the written word was created to record spoken language. When you are reading a story aloud, you are a storyteller.  The way you tell as story to friends about an incident in your daily life is probably totally different from how you read. It shouldn’t be. Use the same animation and pacing that you would use when relating a spoken story when you are reading a written one.

So that’s how to avoid the biggest pitfalls of reading.  But what about going to the next level? How do you make your reading exceptional?
(more…)

Tags: Mary Robinette Kowal, reading aloud
Posted in Advice for New Writers, Information Center, Networking and Self-Promotion, SFWA Blog, The Business of Writing | 10 Comments »