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I have been waiting for Sept. 9th for awhile now. Charlaine Harris had found a way to keep life in her new series past the third book:
Bring a secondary character into the forefront as I have done with various series of mine.
Now, something has gone wrong. I can get the kindle and hardback still ... but not the audiobook!
Even the ghost of Mark Twain is bummed.
DID YOU KNOW AUDIOBOOKS CAN IMPROVE YOUR WRITING?
A) NO SKIMMING ALLOWED
C'mon, admit it: you skim over the "boring parts" as you read print. It's instinctive by now.
But skimming robs you of the power and purpose of the words you skim!
B) AUDIO LETS YOU CATCH THE PACE, THE FLOW OF THE WORDS
The sounds of the words will bleed into your own writing. You will begin to "see" words as images.
It will limit your use of HE SAID/SHE SAID in every line of dialogue.
Don't tell me those words are invisible to readers -- only to you as you block them out as you write.
You'll discover new ways to add pauses to the spoken lines.
C) YOU'LL HEAR THE WORDS AS YOU WRITE THEM
Maybe in your voice. Maybe in the voice of your favorite narrators.
It will spotlight "kinks" in your paragraphs.
The audio's will create a Theater of the Mind letting you see words as images.
D) YOU'LL "READ" MORE
Stephen King stresses that the more you read the deeper your perspective will be in your books.
You'll read in places you couldn't with a print book: in bed, exercising, gardening, commuting.
You'll discover favorite narrators and seek out books they narrate no matter the genre and
your literary horizons will expand, enriching your prose, breathing new ides into your future novels.
E) YOU'LL LEARN
AUDIBLE has its DEAL OF THE DAY:
I got Arthur C Clarke's 2001 for $2! The intro was by Clarke himself, detailing the unique way he wrote the book.
I got BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S read by Michael C Hall of DEXTER fame (great narrator) for $2!
Craig Johnson of LONGMIRE fame detailed at the end of one of his books the origin of his hero and how he writes. Great lessons.
F) YOUR OWN AUTHOR READINGS WILL IMPROVE FROM LISTENING TO PROFESSIONALS.
G) YOUR VOCABULARY WILL IMPROVE
You'll learn new words from their use in context of the action of the novels.
You'll repeat crutch words less as you insert the new words into your prose.
OH, THE GHOST OF MARK TWAIN
WANTED ME TO MENTION
MY AUDIOBOOK IN WHICH
HE APPEARS!
ONLY $15.49!
the eternal prankster Mark Twain ... which fate is worse would be hard to say!
Here is John Two-Hawks and Nightwish with lyrics
Alice Wentworth hears Creek Mary's Blood
in her mind as she rides against unbeatable odds
in END OF DAYS
Good points. You will hear your own mistakes when you can't see them on the page.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking my page aloud after I've written it lets me catch those hidden mistakes. Thanks for dropping by, Alex.
DeleteI have made my computer read it to me. No only do I hear it, but I hear it without inflection, which also helps catch errors.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea, Holli. Mind if I borrow it? Of course, I will have to get my computer Jedi, Michael, to do it for me. :-)
DeleteAll excellent points; however, I can tune out sound when I need too. Think of it as skimming but with ears. hehehe
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Some of my former students were just like that! :-)
DeleteGood points. Although, I have to admit, most of the audiobooks I've heard, I didn't much care for the narrator. I may be weird, but I prefer a flat AI type narrator over a real person who tries to do voices and such.
ReplyDeleteRobert Rossmann who did many of mine was a fantastic narrator as was Scott O'Dell whom a hurricane killed. Francene Lockett is a great narrator and did my latest audiobook. I've been blessed. :-)
DeleteI don't listen to a lot of audio books but I do like that we have a dozen titles on audio.
ReplyDeleteAs I do my blood runs at night, I am kept awake by listening to audiobooks. I believe Robert Rossman has done a book or two for you.
DeleteWhat a great list. I hadn't thought of that. Well, I did realize I couldn't skim--thought that was a negative!
ReplyDeleteIt is ... especially when you are studying for a test! :-)
DeleteI have this funny thing about having earbuds in my head, listening to music or whatever. It feels anti-social to me, as if you can't be bothered to be with whoever else is in the room with you.
ReplyDeleteI do all my listening to audiobooks while driving ... and earbuds would be hazardous to my health then!! :-)
DeleteI have some friends who really like audiobooks for traveling. I may have to try it! Thanks for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteHappy to visit. :-) Audiobooks make many a lonely mile not so grim for me.
DeleteRoland, first, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Nate. I have recently joined the IWSG and have hopping from blog to blog looking to connect once again. I came across your blog and must say, it is refreshing, to say the least, to read your posts. I am rekindling my passion for writing after years of neglect. I look forward to reading more of your ideas and thoughts. If interested at all, you can come check out my personal page, Habitual Hobbit. The link can be found on the IWSG home page.
ReplyDelete