Sunday, April 27, 2014

The voice of the author

My grandson Mark had started a blog of his own some time back. He only did one posting. Yesterday I questioned him about that. He told me that he disliked typing and that it took too long. He also said he didn't feel like he could get the proper emotion into his writings. As he said, what can you do, use an exclamation point ? I understood what he meant and had to agree, somewhat. I did tell him by continued reading , with practice, the emotions of the characters can come through. His response was, yes, but the spoken word is much better. You can't argue that point.
I remember getting a tape recorder. It was a small reel to reel one and I thought it was amazing. You could speak into the built in microphone and instantly play back whatever it was you said. I thought it strange that my voice didn't sound anything like what came out of that speaker. Something had changed. I remember thinking it must be that tape, that not all of my voice stuck to it. I soon found out it was that way with everyone's voice. Singing only made it worse. Well, at least in my case it did anyway.
That was probably fifty years ago or more. Now we don't use tape, we use a digital format. I can't explain how it works but it has the same problem. Even with all this advancement in recording technology my voice still doesn't sound right.
I was thinking about that when Mark mentioned doing a podcast. I'll be honest here and say I don't like the way my voice sounds when recorded. I wish it sounded more like James Earl Jones or someone like that. Now it sounds more like Tiny Tim ! I wonder how others here it ? Judging by my sister and others it must not be very good, I have seen their reactions. Although most have been kind or polite enough to not say much, I can see it.
I do wonder if you are recorded using professional equipment, by a professional, if it would make a difference. Or is it, ( gasp ) that is what I really sound like to others. I am often accused of having an accent but I know that isn't true. I have heard people with an accent and I'm not one of them. It could be that the recording of my voice is similar to that phenomena. People are hearing something that is just not there.
I am considering doing this podcast thing with Mark. Soccer season will end soon and free up some of his time. I do want to keep him engaged in writing or at least authoring some works. Everything is being recorded and in most cases accompanied by video. I wonder if in the future children will read books at all. And if they do, will they experience the excitement that we did ? I remember reading Treasure Island and I could see the pirates and almost feel the sea. Books came alive for me and I am sure they do for many others. Now we can just listen and watch. Doesn't exercise the imagination as much, in my opinion.
I know they have a computer program that will type for you. You just speak the words and viola it types. I haven't seen one of these in actual use and am curious how well they work. That could be a good thing. Maybe I'll look into that for Mark. You have to stay up with the times you know. Of course if he doesn't have issues with the sound of his recorded voice, the point is mute. The whole recorded voice thing is my problem. When I write something you read it. What voice do you hear ? If I recorded it and you listened would the story change ? 

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