Pick up a book. It has to be fictional. Preferably one you like. And it has to be written in the first person, i.e "I was/I am/etc". Read two pages.
After you've done that: read the same two pages but read them out loud.
You'll probably notice a big difference. When you just read it, it sounds perfect in your head. When you read it out loud, it's likely to sound a bit fake, a bit detached, even a bit over the top.
This is the challenge! Keep Reading it out loud until you are satisfied that it sounds as good as in your imagination. Keep doing it both ways-- why does the version in your head sound better? What is it doing differently to the spoken version? How can you make them the same?
Let me know how this excercise goes. You don't need to be a pro actor to do this!
Great advise - I had an actor teacher who required all of his students to read the morning paper out loud - at least three articles with three different authors - every single day.
ReplyDeleteIt really does help in finding each author's individual voice, regardless of whether it's first person or third person.
Oh, and pertaining to your Women in Film posts - here's a link you might enjoy if you haven't already read it:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i7c717df4a3ba58eb79d196e0a44fafb0?pn=4