What makes a fic podficcable or unpodficcable?

[paraka]

I want to know, is there anything specifically people look for when choosing fics to podfic (other than rare pairings/fandoms right now since amplificathon is currently running :P). I mean, obviously people go for fics they like but are there elements of the writing style that will draw you in or have you backing away?

If an author wanted to write something specifically with podfic in mind, how could they go about that?

I think the obvious ones for me would be basic spelling and grammar (and few typos) just because I'm hesitant to change the author's words even if they don't make sense. If a fic doesn't have those things down, I don't even consider podficcing it.

Most of the other things that get to me are harder to pin down before a recording and it's not until I'm reading into my mic or later editing that I notice these things.

Dialogue tags: or something to help indicate who's speaking. Visually you have line breaks and text formatting to help show when speakers have switched off but that's not there in podfic. There are things podficcers can do to help (doing voices, longer pauses when speakers have switched of, etc.) but it's definitely nice.

Repetitive words: they're really obvious in podfic. "Sara jumped off the bed and looked under the bed" even look a bit wrong written but it really jumps out when read aloud. Or "John said... Cameron said... Reilly said...Derek said..." all in a row, on paper it can almost be ignored when you replace the "..." with speech but if it's used in the same spot every time someone speaks it's very noticeable in a podfic.

Vocabulary: There are a lot of words whose meanings we know but may never have heard spoken aloud. I know I've found myself rushing to a dictionary more than once in the middle of a recording. And while the odd word off won't scare me off if every second word isn't one I know would probably intimidate me into giving up.

What actually can scare me off before I even start is if you combine vocabulary with repetition. If some word I'm not confident in my ability to pronounce is featured throughout a fic I might not want to try recording it. Or it can cause problems while I'm recording, my last podfic heavily featured the word "masseur" and by the end it didn't even sound like a word to me any more :S

Language: Lots of fics can be written in one language but still feature another language within it. I don't know which is worse, a story with a human language I'm not all that familiar with or a made up alien/supernatural language. Conceivably I can look up how to pronounce a human language but, that way lies making native speakers cringe at my butchering. At least no one can tell me I'm screwing up a made up language, however since it's made up, the author may have felt things such as vowels or something are unnecessary making it super hard to pronounce.

Embedded asides: Have you ever run across sentences where mid though, the author will go on a tangent and by the time the get back to the sentence on hand you forget what was originally being said? At least when reading the words on screen, your eyes can wander back to the beginning of the sentence to see where things were left off but with audio, it's a lot harder to stop and rewind.

Huh, I was able to come up with more than I expected on my own. What do you guys think?

Comments

[choosetolive]

I agree with all the items on your list, and would like to add sex noises and the like. I don't mind reading porn aloud, but definitely feel awkward/uncomfortable when the gasps, moans, pleas and other noises are actually verbalized. Mainly, I feel those things are hot in the text where we have the choice of imagining the character in our heads, but as a reader I find it problematic: reading it straight is awkward and potentially silly, as often they're sounds and half-formed words. Performing it, however, is also problematic, as it makes me feel self-conscious and I'm sure that bleeds out into the fic, making the listener self-conscious, and hello to un-sexy.

This can also be applied, of course, to other instances of noise - screaming, for example.

I also agree with podcath's comment on experimental stories - some of those styles can be exquisite in text form, but I doubt much of it would translate well to spoken word. (however, now that I think on it some more, some of it might translate *very* well, since some of the stories I'm thinking of rely heavily on pacing and emphasis to get the feel across. Hmm. There's one for podfic_bingo...)

[paraka]

I don't mind reading porn aloud, but definitely feel awkward/uncomfortable when the gasps, moans, pleas and other noises are actually verbalized.
I squicked myself the first time I tried to do sex noises. I've gotten more used to it now though (umm, you might not want to listen to my latest podfic if sex noises bother you, I swear 50% of the dialog was sex noises :S).

Oddly enough, it's dirty talk that scares the shit out of me now (but I've been squicked by how other podficcers have done dirty talk so that could be why). It's just... there are somethings that sound awesome in the heat of the moment or when you're reading over them but sound completely ridiculous when said aloud. Or, now that I think about it, it's the dirty talk that has that derogatory edge that can throw me out like whoa. Like calling someone slutty or similar. I can totally find it hot in a fic but the wrongness of the statement stands out when it's spoken out loud.

however, now that I think on it some more, some of it might translate *very* well, since some of the stories I'm thinking of rely heavily on pacing and emphasis to get the feel across
I think that's definitely happened (although I guess it depends on the definition of "experimental stories"). Written by the Victors comes to mind. (The musical podfic I'm planning will hopefully fall into the "success" column)

[choosetolive]

Ah, ITA to dirty talk - honestly, even in the "heat of the moment" reading the fic, a lot of the time I'm not a fan. Definitely can't see myself pulling it off as a podficcer.

I'll let you know how I feel about your jeyhawk reading. ;)