Recording an audiobook and the sound of friends
Pivots ahoy with this COVID business. It makes a person feel rather out of control in any and all situations. I had to pivot recently when there was the question of recording the audiobook version of Dear Paris. Order pronto. Thanks.Shameless plugs.Anyway, I never thought I'd be chosen to record my audiobook. Leave that to the professionals, like the talented Tavia Gilbert who recorded one of my previous books Paris Letters.
Just look at that face. That's the kind of face you can trust to handle your book.I remember listening to Paris Letters, the audiobook. I was on a midnight bus traveling through Poland, listening to Tavia say my words, grateful I didn't have to listen to my own voice. Do we all feel we sound like we have a cold?Anyway, the publisher brought up the audiobook and asked my opinion. I SHEEPISHLY offered up my experience and a sample of my voice and READILY forwarded Tavia to do the job once they discovered my nasal squeak.Turns out, they picked me. Thanks? But there was the problem with a closed border. So we recorded in Toronto.To my astonishment and delight, the sound person was the kindest, most patient person who played back a few recordings of my voice to show me that the nasal squeak was literally all in my head. Hearing your voice from inside your head is much different than the real deal.So for three days, Ashton the sound genius and myself recorded this audiobook. I don't have a picture of him. Imagine a guy with a face mask.Turns out, recording audiobooks is like sitting in the middle seat of a plane for three days. Don't move a muscle. In real life I don't fall over my words, but in front of a microphone I averaged three sentences, flubbed up, went back half a sentence, continued on. And we did that until it was done.Two steps forward, one step back. Half way through, the government announced a new lockdown, which was to commence about six minutes after the final sentence was recorded.People who record audiobooks for a living are amazing. I'm not saying I'm amazing. But Tavia and Ashton... amazing people.What if some of the obstacles we are dealing with these days are perfect timing in disguise? Because of all these pivots, I was able to record near home with the patient Ashton. I could walk my familiar (but barren) streets of Toronto. I could avoid sleeping in a hotel. All these things mattered when faced with COVID and not knowing how vulnerable I am because of that chemo situation a while back.These pivots are like bowling for children.When you start bowling as a kid, they put inflatable tubes over the gutters so your bowling ball bounces from one side to the other and eventually makes it to the pins.Best not to see obstacles as roadblocks, but inflatable tubes gently getting you down the lane. While all this recording was going on, I happened to be reading Julia Cameron's new book:
Yep. A book about listening. And that's exactly what I was doing while recording. Listening to the sound of my own voice for three intense days. I started by judging my own voice, but then there was just the desire to move the project along, one page at a time. There are 140 letters in the book, so when each letter was complete there was a delighted sigh from both myself and Ashton... okay, next one. So the previous judgements were replaced by feelings of accomplishment. Eventually, I was able to get into a groove, and talk from the cradle of voice in my chest rather than the fearful breathy nervous voice that I started with on day one.Isn't this where we all want to be? To be able to talk from the strong foundation of our true voice that comes from our chest and not from our nose?I suppose that's what my new writing courses are all about... finding that voice, but through a pen and paper. It's dawning on me that all the projects up to now: the books, the letters, the copywriting... they've all led me to teaching writing courses. And I'm starting to think this is what I was meant to be doing. You can start the courses whenever you'd like... like right now for instance.
With the Paris Letter project, I wondered... gosh... how long can I keep this up? With all these lockdowns in Paris, I truly do wonder how on earth I would have managed to write a positive and pretty letter at this point.But I don't have to because I'm writing sweet lessons with my writing course.When the students volunteer revelations about their own writing, it's like candy.If you feel compelled to adopt a consistent writing practice, join the course. You might discover that the sound of your own voice is also the voice of a good friend.
