Writing and narrating

Gotten to a point where I'm entertaining putting more of my voice out there.

I've always had thoughts of having a podcast. My few attempts at it in the past were feeble. I can't talk to a microphone with no one on the other side to react to, and when that happens, I salt and pepper my monologue with uhs and ums so badly I become unlistenable. Well, at least, that's if I don't have anything to read in front of me as well. If I have a script...well, that's the job of a narrator! For me to be successful, in the absence of someone else's words, I just have to come up with my own words. Write them or type them, print them or put them on my tablet, and just have it out. It's an energy-intensive process, but it could be the way I work.

I've also noticed that I've been reading aloud a lot more lately. For example, I've started Pride and Prejudice, that stalwart Jane Austen chestnut. I was so bored with it back in high school that I referred to it as having the plot of a perfect line, with a climax the size of a flea (when Darcy finally admits to his infatuation with Elizabeth Bennet halfway through the book). Well. It turns out that I found it boring because I never bothered to delve into it. And not to sound like a teacher, there really is a lot of "there" there. It might not have appealed to a high school junior, but that's what happens when you go the honors route: you tackle the tougher texts that require more out of you and that, on the surface, don't reward you as deeply. It's also an investment in the future. As one of my friends once said, when he read Pride and Prejudice in high school, it bored him as equally as it did me. As an adult, he picked it up again and could not stop laughing through the first chapter. For those willing—or compelled by honors English literature teachers—to pay close attention, it's a foresight into intelligent adult life and relations.

The satire, such as it is, has been rather light over the first ten chapters, and it pokes its head through here and there, but not everywhere. (I bring up satire because this was genre of English literature we began exploring in our class; Pride and Prejudice was complemented by Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One. Also: not a criticism.)  But one recent chapter surprised me: it approached the nature of human interaction with the depth of a Platonic dialogue. I was impressed. I certainly missed this back in high school, and would have missed it again if I had read this part with just my eyes. I went back to my old trick of reading the text aloud, and even added stopping reading the text to summarize to myself what just happened in my own words. Wow, does that make a difference for me. Even if my summary is "I have no idea what the fuck just happened." Complicating things is Austen's occasional gambit of creating dialogue between multiple people without regular omniscient viewpoint signposts like "said Elizabeth," or character dialogue like "'as Mr. Darcy just mentioned regarding his letters.'" She really makes the reader pay close attention and rely on hints in the dialogue to discern who is saying what about whom. (I don't have the background, unfortunately, to say "moreso than many contemporary authors," but hopefully that will change in the near future.)

Anyhow, I've actually started up a podcast. Yes, potentially flying in the face of common sense, and even at a cost (after a free first/introductory episode) of $12/month, if I pay a year's cost at once. But if I use it as more than just a personal journal, but as a place to discuss things I've read, observations about music, reading, and that sort of thing, *and* put my literal voice out there...well, who knows? Maybe it could garner me some authors or publishers who would want my voice. I could put the caveat out there that my "podcast," such as it is, would not be episodic nor regular—and that it's not meant to be.

Besides, publishers want to hear a voice. Sending reach-out letters—written, not narrated—fail to capture a person's voice the way a recording does—and demos are so short and finite. It doesn't seem like an ideal way to get attention.

Now. I could send out my newest reach-out letter and talk about my new podcast. That seems like a much better way to market myself. And send out more as time goes on and I put more, uh, "episodes" out there. (If this is not episodic, I'll have to come up with a better term for these recordings.)

I mean, this post itself could create the basis for a new podcast, explaining why I do what I do. Why do I read aloud? Why do I narrate on top of editing? Because I want to understand more. And I'm not going to lie—I like the sound of my voice.

So. A script or two to be written while I'm here in Palm Springs. Then a narration or two while I'm back in Denver. Lather, rinse, repeat. And let's see what gold it can bring up!