Category Archives: literary readings

Balancing a blamanche on a stick (or squeezing a writing life into a regular one)

Posted by Lynsey May on

Writing is awesome. There’s a bit of a moan about several things up ahead, so I wanted to start off this post reiterating that.

That feeling when a story starts to finally come together? Priceless.
The moments when you’re trying to cram writing into a life that’s already fit burst? Fairly expensive.

So the writing part still feels great, but all the time you’re busy doing other, less enjoyable, so often seems to add up to far more. I’m so jealous of anyone who’s managed to hit a good balance here, who doesn’t feel as though they are propping their life up on a stick and watching it slop and slide about to threaten to fall off in one big pink, gooey explosion.

This girl’s gotta work and, most recently, do stuff like organise a new place to live. And then there’s the need to at least making a passing appearance at social functions every now and then. As well as checking in with the family to prove continued existence. Of course, if you’ve got your own kids this list must just multiply like crazy.

But it’s not only non-writing tasks that eat into your precious time-savings, there’s also all those hours that might go into a website, blog or online network, as well as the actual real life literary meet-ups that crop up every now and then.

Between living a relatively normal life and trying to make a few friends in the writing world, it’s pretty difficult to find time to do that awesome thing you’re always wanting to do. But it’s not like there’s much room for cutting back – you already turn down a bunch of invites, you need to pay your rent and if you don’t go to any lit events you’re not doing a great job of supporting the cause.

4’33” – audio stories and reading aloud

Posted by Lynsey May on

I conquered one of my pet fears this year, I read a story aloud to a group of people. Not just any story, but one I’d written myself. Sitting terrified in the Forest audience beforehand, it seemed like more of an ordeal than anything else. But as I walked off the stage again I realised how much I’d enjoyed it. So much so I volunteered to read again not long after, for the Bugged launch in Manchester.

To celebrate the idea that I could join the ranks of those people not too scared to let their stories be heard as well as read, I also applied to cool new audio magazine 4’33″. Luckily for me, they said yes and I set to work recording myself reading Two Dancing Doves – the same story I’d read at the Forest. God knows how many takes later, I was about happy with it (I did it with iMovie, and had to cover the camera up with bluetac to stop distracting myself as I read).

Now that story is up there on 4’33″ for anybody to hear and somehow I feel a lot more vulnerable knowing my voice is up there along with my words. If you prefer to read rather than listen and have an iPhone/pod/pad, you can also download Two Dancing Doves and several other short stories of mine from the Ether app.

I’m really chuffed about these two publications. I know I’m a bit old fashioned sometimes and not exactly cutting edge (fountain pen anyone?) but listening to stories on my laptop or reading them on my phone does make me feel a bit like I’m in the future. Now for 2011 – if I can have a robot monkey butler or a hover board that would do just nicely!

A Bugged Manchester adventure

Posted by Lynsey May on

Only a few days after Ink and I returned from our adventure in NYC, it was time for me to set off again – although it was to somewhere slightly closer to home this time.

Still reeling from the flight and holiday fun, I grabbed my good friend and we boarded a Megabus (I’m sorry for that 5am start by the way) bound for Manchester. After a not very pleasant journey and a distinct lack of sleep – especially as I hadn’t managed to drop off at all before leaving – we arrived a little bleary eyed and ready to drink a lot of coffee before hunting down the City Library, where I was reading as part of the Bugged book launch.

After much walking in circles, we made it and in plenty of time to run off and eat some veggie fried breakfasts. While this was decidedly tasty, it was perhaps not the best choice for someone who was feeling a little nervous about her second ever public reading. Luckily, I got over the nausea and we made it back to the library in time to find all of the other readers and a nice selection of listeners ready to enjoy the event.

Lynsey May reading at Bugged Launch in ManchesterHaving already read most of the Bugged pieces online already, I was expecting a pretty high standard overall. Everyone lived up to my expectations – even though a few of the folks were giving their first readings – and it was cool to be a part of it. A big thanks to Jo Bell for her enthusiasm and also to her and co-editor David Calcutt for putting the project together.

Once it was over, we joined a group of readers and retired to a nearby cafe for yet more coffee, and grilled people for suggestions for our one and only night in Manchester. Typically, the locals struggled (the same thing happens to me, even though everywhere I look I’m surrounded by pubs here in Edinburgh) but we lucked into a great restaurant and some memorable places to drink.

The night was packed with silly posing and photo taking (Bugged pics courtesy of the lovely Martha – who is showing us her oneness with the medium of TV) and we filled the next day shopping and seeing Despicable Me (which was SO CUTE and lovely) before catching the bus back to Edinburgh. Overall, we decided we liked Manchester a lot and I’m really glad the Bugged reading inspired me to take the trip – yay for literature.

Confidence is a grower

Posted by Lynsey May on

Last week I did something I honestly didn’t know if I could, I stood up in front of a crowd of people and read them a story of mine. Not people in a crit group or on a creative writing course (oh god that was bad enough), but people who were out drinking and having a good time and were there to hear bands and people reading.

As you may be able to guess, I was totally terrified – especially as the wonderful A L Kennedy was also on the Golden Hour bill (albeit hours before me and long gone before I took to the stage). Although at least I didn’t have long to get worked up, as I was a bit of a last minute replacement.

Much to my surprise, it went fine! I was nervous, but didn’t stumble over my words too badly and managed to even keep myself from reading like an android. I’m still asking myself how I managed it. The only explanation I can come up with is that your confidence can be steadily improving and growing without you even noticing.

In my head, I’m still the teenager that can’t even ask for a bottle of juice when on holiday in Portugal and has to get her friend to do it for her. But in the real world, I’m head of a copy department and give training presentations to clients pretty often.

These two things seemed impossible to reconcile, until I was up on the stage and able to say to myself ‘this is the same thing, you want to explain something the best way possible – it’s just that this time you’re explaining the emotions in your story instead of how to write good copy’.

Whether this is a trick that’ll bear repeating or whether it was blind beginners luck I have no idea. But I love the idea that self confidence can very quietly bloom and that you don’t have to be one of those naturally loud people to do things like that. Do any of you read often? Do you enjoy it or do you find it scary like me?

Do you prefer your words aloud or in silence?

Posted by Lynsey May on

Deep down, I prefer words on the page and I think I always have. It’s true that when I was small I had a very soft spot for some of my Roald Dahl audio books, but as my reading skills progressed, so did my desire to recreate the voices for myself – internally that is. I’ve not listened to a book on tape in years and years now, and I’ve got no desire to. What I have experienced quite a few of recently however, are literary readings.

The Death og Bunny Munro book cover Nick cave I made myself a promise that this year I’d make a concerted effort to turn up to readings and literary nights and, true to my word, I’ve been to quite a few. From the amateur to the professional – with Nick Cave’s spot at Canongate’s Irregular being a particular highlight – I’ve sat quietly and respectfully (unlike some audience members but that’s a different moan), with a drink in hand and ears open and ready.

The problem is that I find it very, very hard to concentrate on someone telling me a story. Short, punchy poetry I can usually follow, but as soon as I start trying to engage with a wall of prose my mind wanders horribly – even when the readers are very talented and the work something I know I’d likely enjoy in the privacy of my own room. When I realise I’m doing it, I’ll give a little guilty shake and focus on the front again, but it doesn’t normally take long for me to fail again. Sometimes I also find myself sending sneaky looks around the room to try and see how many of the other listeners are getting decidedly glassy eyed too.

Nights like these are some of the very few times authors get the chance to see a physical reaction to their words and I think they are invaluable for both writers and readers, but it does all make me wonder whether the words of novels or long pieces of prose are actually better off on paper. That the silent communication between the author and reader – the moments of interpretations, even the misreadings that forever skew the author’s intentions – is one of the most valuable aspects of novels, and something not so easily found in many other art forms.

Readings allow you to understand the author’s emphasis and the motivations that drive them wonderfully – just listen to find which words are stressed, which sentences glossed over – but do they dampen the joy of discovery? Maybe only for me. But I’d love to know how other people feel about listening to their favourite authors read or their opinions on readings in general. Have I looked over a vital point? Or am I just missing a trick?