Turn the radio on, turn the radio up -- Good stories for podficcing

[zvi]

What sort of characteristics make a story good for podficcing? Are there any specific writing techniques that make it easier to record? Or what about making it easier to listen to? Are there specific characters who, when listening to a story from their POV, make it easier to fall into the story? Are there any authors that you'd point a new reader toward because they're really achievable?

I'd love to hear about either specific techniques or, if you can't isolate the techniques but do have excellent examples, please trot those out.

Comments

[darkemeralds]

I love the challenge of non-linear narratives and embedded documents and stuff--at least, I love it conceptually, though I've never tried recording one. In fact, I disqualified one candidate for Podbang on that very basis.

But I want to mention an example from pro audiobooks that's been useful to my thinking: Simon Prebble's reading of the amazing Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

That novel tells a good one-quarter of its vast, subtextual story by means of footnotes, some of them digressions of considerable length. The reader does this simple, wonderful thing: he pauses at the point where the footnote is noted in the text, changes his voice to a very slightly more "scholarly" tone, and says, in deliberate, clear tones, "Footnote one." Then he gives the entire footnote.

At the end of the footnote, he pauses slightly, changes back to his narrative voice, and resumes reading, picking up in midsentence, etc.

It was extremely effective, and, I think, underscores the idea that sometimes quite a simple solution is available for what looks like a complicated podfic challenge.

(Sorry--I know my example isn't from podfic per se. Hope that's all right. If not, I will delete.)

[zvi]

I think an example from audiobooks is great! We have a lot to learn from other aural storytelling techniques.

[cofax7]

This is pretty much what Stephen Biggs does while reading Pratchett, as well. He notes the footnote, reads it, and then gives a short pause to mark the transition back to the rest of the narrative. It's quite impressive. And you know how many footnotes Pratchett uses.

(Good to hear about the audiobook for Jonathan Strange; I've been considering getting that from Audible.)

[darkemeralds]

If you like fantasy and the Regency period and wonderfully literary fiction, then I can't recommend it highly enough. There are reasons why it makes the lists of best novels of the Aughts, and the audiobook, which has also won awards, is absolutely superb. I've listened to all 48 hours of it three times.