Mystery...Romance...Sci Fi...Humor... The joy of writing fiction - meeting brand new people in places that don't yet exist.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Okay, It Was Fun

Okay, I'll admit it.  It was fun.

In case you missed my Monday post, my writing group did a public reading at a local bookstore Wednesday night.  Nine of us read and there was a nice mix of prose and poetry, fiction and non-fiction.  The audience was also a nice mix - familiar faces and new ones.  I was scheduled second, for which I was grateful since I had quite a case of butterflies, and I managed not to fall off the stool, drop my papers, or in some other way embarrass myself beyond redemption.  Actually, once I got started, I enjoyed myself.  The audience helped a lot by laughing in the right places. And with my own piece out of the way, I was able to relax and enjoy the others.

My son caught my read on video.  I've watched it a couple times. The first time, of course, I was all hung up on how old I looked and how much I need to lose weight.  Luckily I use a voice recorder a lot when I'm writing so I'm already used to the sound of my voice.   But after that, I focused on the reading - the material and the delivery.  I stumbled a couple more times than I'd realized but not too many.  Of course, I see a lot of room for improvement.

I'd be grateful for feedback - on material and/or delivery - if you're so inclined.  You can watch the video here.  It's not a professional taping, of course, but the audio's pretty clear.  It runs just under seven and a half minutes.

Have you ever recorded yourself reading your work to get a truer sense of how it sounds?  Do you think it's a worthwhile tool?

Countdown to retirement and writing full time: 6 work days to go.

I'm currently enjoying: The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters

Groaner of the Day: Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail; and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him...

A super-callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

21 comments:

Dru said...

I'll have to watch the video tonight when I have more time.

Love, love the groaner.

Kimber Leszczuk. said...

I saw it live and thought you did great. Watched the video too. YOu did a a great job.

I haven't been brave enough to watch the video he took of me yet. LOL

Maria Zannini said...

I LOVED the story.

Needless to say, I related to it on several levels. LOL.

Now I have to give Iko a hug despite the fact that several more inches of my Oriental rug is gone.

Linda Leszczuk said...

Dru - I'd appreciate your feedback if you get a chance. And I LOVE that you love my groaners. (I think Maria Z. just tries to ignor them. {grin}

Linda Leszczuk said...

Kimber - Aw, be brave. You did great.

Linda Leszczuk said...

Maria - Thank you!

Now you know why I had an instant soft spot for Iko.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic job! Thanks for sharing! I loved it.

Maria Zannini said...

Linda: I can ship Iko to you tomorrow morning if you'd like. He'll probably enjoy the TSA frisking. LOL.

(only kidding. His father would never let him go, no matter how much trouble he is.)

Ref: groaners

Groaners? There were groaners? Oh, no! I'm blind!

Dru said...

LOL at Maria!

Linda I just watched your performance and you were great. I enjoyed the story and I give you kudos because I could never read in front of a crowd, let for 7 minutes.

WTG!!!

Linda Leszczuk said...

Liz - Thank you! For taking the time to watch and for the kind words. I appreciate it.

Linda Leszczuk said...

Maria - LMBO. Maybe Iko is the answer to the whole TSA pat down thing. By the time they got done with him they'd be too tired to do the rest of us.

Groaners? No, of course not. I wouldn't put groaner's on my blog. You must be imagining things. (No need to call Guido.)

Linda Leszczuk said...

Thanks, Dru. I appreciate your coming back to watch it. I really did have serious butterflies before I started. After that I just focused on telling the story. I'm glad you liked it.

Mason Canyon said...

Linda, you did a wonderful job and I love the story. Thanks so much for sharing. BTW, the Groaner was cute.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Linda Leszczuk said...

Thank you, Mason. I'm glad you liked it. And - yay - another kind word for my groaner.

PoiLovinKris said...

I was lucky enough to have been there! I LOVED your story (sorry I can't offer any constructive criticism!)! It is wonderful to hear such a humorous story, that is also so touching (I teared up!!). I am very grateful that you shared!

PoiLovinKris said...

Aww, poo! I forgot to add how much I enjoyed your Groaner!! LOVED IT!!

Linda Leszczuk said...

Kris - Thanks. It was good having you there. I hope you had a good time. And thank you for the kind words. I'm glad you enjoy my story. (Another Groaner lover. Unite and arise!)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I've been a speaker for years, and here's the best advice I can give - if you mess up, how is your audience going to know? Unless they're holding your notes, they don't have a clue! Just keep moving forward.

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm not a fan of looking at myself on tape - it's hard!!! Good for you - you should be very proud of yourself!

Linda Leszczuk said...

Diane - Good point. As long as I don't get flustered and give myself away, I can blow past most goofs.

And thanks for becoming one of my Followers.

Linda Leszczuk said...

Jemi - Absolutely hard. It took me several tries before I could get past picking apart my body and concentrate on the story and my delivery.