Father’s Day Thoughts in the Rain

It is raining, a nice constant gentle rain. The rain is encouraging me to stay indoors rather than go out for yet another walk. If the forecast is correct, tomorrow will be the same. The rain is just what the doctor ordered for my garden and lawns. The local farming community is breathing a sigh of relief as it looks as though the drought is over.

One of the downsides is the roads are becoming muddy which means that my naturist hiking trails might become impassible for Tuesday’s World Naked Hiking Day. Still, I am not ruling out the chance of going free-hiking on Tuesday, at least for a short hike.

My audio recording project is going well. I have recorded three chapters and the fourth chapter is ready for recording. This chapter will be testing my story-telling skills as I will need to have a number of voices, including that of two women. One of the things about preparing a chapter for recording is to edit the chapter. A written story often contains too much information that gets in the way of “hearing” a story.

How do I edit? Well, since it is going to be an audiobook, I use my microphone and headphones and read. I stop when something doesn’t “fit” for me as a storyteller. The result is both the same storyline and a noticeably different version of that same story.

I have a few people listening to chapters as they are produced to make sure that I don’t go too far off the storyline, and to alert me to issues of voice such as popping my p’s and b’s. Another issue I need to watch carefully is the timing. I can’t rush the flow of words as older members of the reading community need just a fraction more time to process and follow the story. Equally a problem is pacing too slow. That is where story-telling experience comes in handy – finding natural pauses [here is where commas become important].

If any of you who read here want to become a “listener” who is willing to tell me what you think, just ask and I will borrow your ears.

Oh, before I go, Happy Father’s Day to all the men who take on the role of father, not just biological fathers.