Quandary,
quandary, quandary and I need some input. I listen to a lot of books on
Audible. It’s become increasingly clear that a narrator can make or break an
audio book (to me). I’m listening to a book now by a well-known author (one of
my favorites), whom I will not mention, and I find the narration boring. I
heard something the other day that stuck.
You don’t have to have perfect
enunciation to be a narrator.
I have to
say I agree. This current narrator is so precise with her words I see visions
of Snow White sweetly talking to the animals in the forest. Too
perfect.
And…it
sounds as if she is reading the book. Maybe that’s what narrators do, but I
want someone to be the POV, take on
the personality traits, be able to switch tone levels for different characters.
In my mind I
envision a good narrator approaching the microphone with the intent of
being a good storyteller instead of merely reading the words on the page.
Am I asking too
much?
One thing I
did learn after having Saving Gracie, my first book, put on Audible. As a
newbie to this end of the industry, I had a narrow vision of what I sought in a narrator. Turned out she did a great job, except for the fact I’m from the
south and she’s from the north. This may not sound like much of an issue, but not
only did the timing turn out different in her delivery, but the tone of the POV came across
way sharper than what I intended.
Lesson learned...
Thoughts please...
This is
April’s blog post for Insecure Writer’s Support Group created by Alex Cavanaugh. To join or learn more,
click here.
Till next
month, over and out, and be safe, it's a jungle out there...
One last mention-my favorite narrator is Simon Vance who narrates The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series. Now he's a story-teller.
