#3: Reading at and setting up a spoken word event
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In this episode
I’ve talked before on Write for Your Life about how important I think it is to perform your writing. There are loads of benefits that can genuinely make a difference to your work.
Me and a group of colleagues, including co-host Manuela Boyle and Justine Gaubert from the wonderful Silent Sheffield, set up a spoken word night called Words Aloud in 2006. In part one of this podcast we talk about our experience of performing at and setting up a spoken word night. If you’ve considered doing either of those things, you should find our chit-chat pretty useful.
In part two I talk (via Skype, hence the change in audio quality!) to Donna Sørensen from the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin. After years of relative neglect, a group of volunteers have got the centre up and running wonderfully again, despite missing out on arts funding. Their story is an important one in these times of financial woe. Check out their blog too.
Finally, in part three, I’m back with Manuela to offer our thoughts on a post over at Peter Shallard’s website, called 7 Pshycological Tips for Getting in the Writing Zone. We get a little silly.
Technostuff
The volume levels are a little up and down during my interview with Donna and on the odd occasion me and Manuela get excited and move either towards or away from the microphone. We are learning as we go, so do bear with us.
Also, at the start of part two, I refer to having just listened to the end of part two. I meant part one. I’m a podnit.
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Hi Iain,
One of my favorite things to do as a substitute teacher is to read to the kids, I feel as if I have a natural gift for it and the elementary school kids seem genuinely entranced when I read to them.
This has been a tremendous help as I write a children’s picture book manuscript. I read aloud what I have written just as if there were a group of kids listening. This has helped with phrasing, pace and flow.
Now I need to find that kind of thing for my adult fiction!
George
@George You’re abosolutely right George, the more you read your work (especially to other people) the more you understand its ebbs and flows. It’s an extremely useful process. And though of course we’ve never met, from your online personality alone I reckon you would be an awesome spoke word night organiser!
Hi Iain,
Thanks for the dissection of my seven tips
It’s nice to see that even pros like you guys have trouble selecting and sticking to outcomes
Good stuff.
@Peter Thanks for stopping by Peter and I hope didn’t mind our rather quickfire approach to looking at your article! And yes, outcomes are a problem for everyone I think, no matter what our best intentions might be!