Reading your Work – Aloud

I am preparing for a late afternoon soiree. In my own home. The household might have questions, I may feel nervous about giving a public reading, invited guests might feel ‘iffy’ about what is required of them. Who knows. But, nevertheless, I shall proceed.

The reason? I want to develop certain memoir pieces to the point where I feel comfortable reading them aloud. (To people who are not me!) I’d like to get a feel for the room. Mark Twain notably said: ‘Nothing so focuses the mind as the prospect of being hanged’. Or, as in my case, a public performance.

Lately, I’ve been editing scenes from draft manuscript about my father. My plan is to fine tune and sharpen them. I’ve written previously about the importance of creating scenes in one’s narrative, as drilled into us during my MA at Wilkes University. You can read my blog post, Making a Scene, here.

Luckily for me, I am surrounded by a wonderful group of writers – especially Elwood Writers – who I’ve asked to join me in readings of their own work, thus adding chutzpah to the event.

I’ll keep you posted on the Spoken Word event.