As I have mentioned, I am experimenting with ways to slow down my reading. One of the things I started to do is to keep a log of the books I read, along with some analysis, in a thick-paper hard-covered journal. I write in it longhand with a fountain pen and I put only one book on each page. If nothing else, it's pretty to look at.
Now I have a new idea. Reading aloud.
I am a litigator by trade. I'm used to public speaking, used to arguing in open court and having people interrupt me to tell me they disagree with everything I'm saying. For some reason that is not intimidating to me. Yes, I get a little bit of butterflies in my stomach when I'm sitting in the courtroom waiting my turn, but the moment I get up and go to the counsel table, I forget about everyone else in that courtroom who is behind me and I only focus on the judge and the facts of my case.
But ask me to stand up in front of a friendly, supportive crowd of people and read two pages of my own creative work? Shaky voice, dry mouth, rushed words. It's amazing. It happens even when I'm in a workshop full of people I've known for years. I don't get it.
I've considered taking acting classes or joining Toastmasters to try to get more comfortable with delivering my own material. Maybe I will. But for now, I am going to read aloud. Just ten minutes a day. Get more used to the sound of my own voice and SLOW DOWN. Taste each syllable. Let the words roll on my tongue.
I'm starting with a set of short stories by Bernard MacLaverty. Just ten minutes. I set the timer on my phone and when it's time to stop a lovely trilling harp tone sounds. Then it's time to put down the book. No reading ahead of the class. I've only been doing this a few days so far, but I'm pleased to report that after just a few minutes I lose my self-consciousness and start to fall under the spell of the story and the language. I don't think about whether I still have a New York accent or if my voice is too low. I anticipate getting to read dialogue and can see the character come alive a bit.
This could be fun.
For several years now I've been trying to have a vibrant writing life, practice law, and travel as much as I can. I ask myself if the small-scale, character-driven things I want to write are important. I also wonder if there is even an audience for the things I want to say. But I still press on.
About Me
- Kathleen O'Hanlon
- California, United States
- Kathleen O'Hanlon lives in Southern California. She practices law and is intrigued by the written and spoken word. Excerpts of her memoir "Standing Room" are included in the Fallen Leaf Anthology. In 2013 she completed a novel entitled "Natural Time" that she considers her apprenticeship novel. She is now at work on something else. Follow her at @kathleeno29 on Twitter or as Kathleen.Caterina on Instagram (where she mostly follows cycling, ballet, French and Italian culture and Stanford football).
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