13229: True Or False: Non-Fiction Is Easier To Narrate Than Fiction?
Hey there, hero!
Characters. That word can strike fear in the hearts of narrators that feel that fiction is a whole ‘nother level of effort when it comes to audiobooks.
Same thing when the content involves accents or dialects.
It’s not necessarily true that non-fiction is easier (you might take on some scientific terms or geographic locations to see why).
But characters don’t have to be intimidating, and accents and dialects don’t have to be debilitating.
I have a go-to simple approach, one that narrators of any level can put to use, to make characters and accents and dialects easier. And maybe even fun!
And I’ll also remind you in this episode of the deeper fun you can encounter with non-fiction as well.
Do you shy away from fiction? How come? Let me know in the comments below.
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Raw transcript:
Raw transcript:
just a quick reminder don’t make the
mistake of thinking that a non-fiction
book is going to be easier to do than a
fiction book different but not
necessarily easier we make some
assumptions about fiction versus
non-fiction that I’d like to remind you
aren’t the best most wise assumptions to
make and we’ll do that in this episode
of the VO Heroes podcast
[Music]
i will hear new audiobook narrators or
audiobook narrators that are a little
frightened of doing fiction make this
statement i just do non-fiction i only
do non-fiction because I don’t do
character voices i don’t do accents and
dialects uh I’m not interested in
fantasy or murder mysteries or I just
like the facts ma’am and I just want to
remind you that a non-fiction book
doesn’t necessarily have fewer
challenges than a fiction book does it
may have you know chemical names and
scientific terms and medical terminology
and geographic locations and ways of
pveying information to the listener that
may be very different from uh a fiction
book and I also think that people are
unnecessarily frightened sometimes
because they’ve never done it before
they’re the fear of failure uh they’re
frightened sometimes of the character
work involved sometimes in fiction books
sometimes you are designing very
fanciful characters but most of the time
it’s just a simple nudge towards what
that character wants what that character
is trying to achieve in the case of a
villain what that character is trying to
destroy or stop another character from
getting or in the case of a of a
sidekick how they’re trying to help
another character get something done if
we pay attention to what the motivations
are of the character the character work
becomes almost second nature i swear to
God even if you don’t feel like you are
a terrific character voice kind of
person I just want to give you an
invitation just give it a shot
and don’t worry about being super
world-class spectacular at it just tell
a great story that’s all you have to do
the listener’s
requirements are that they understand
the story and that you’re sharing that
story with them in an entertaining and
informative way their requirements are
not that you understand the difference
between a West Texas accent and an
Alabama accent and a panhandle of
Florida accent and a South Carolina
accent and a Virginia accent those are
all southern accents to a
degree with various shades but the
average listener is not going to be
sitting there going I got to make a note
about that in the review and if they do
so what your job is to entertain not to
meet somebody else’s standards and I
just don’t want you to shy away from the
opportunity to do a fiction book because
you don’t think you’re good enough to do
it if you’re doing audiobook narration
and you’ve done non-fiction books you’ve
had dialogue you’ve had exposition
you’ve had drama and plot points because
an inventor struggles to bring their
product to market or a political
position is a a moment of of uh of
guidance or of persuasion all of the
elements that you think are not in a
non-fiction book but are in a fiction
book are in a non-fiction book a plot
and a climax and a day numa and all of
those things in storytelling that make a
great story whether it’s based in
fiction or based in non-fiction doesn’t
really matter give yourself a shot i’m
just saying take a chance you might be
really surprised at how good you’ll be
what are your thoughts let me know on
vioheres.com hit the like button if you
like what you’re hearing you can hit the
subscribe button subscribe to the
channel hit the notification bell and
you’ll be told when the next episode
comes out i’d love for you to do that
share this
link with some other voice talent
audiobook narrator that might be a
little hesitant to doing uh fiction
books and it also works in
reverse you might not want to do
non-fiction books because you’ve been
telling yourself a story that’s for
another episode i’m David H lawrence the
17th i thank you so much for watching
and for listening and I will see you in
the next episode of the VO Heroes
podcast
[Music]
(from YouTube)
Thanks, as always, for the clear, practical advice, David.
Thanks for putting every topic in it’s right perspective David, it gives us that “little push” that will make us try something new.
Great advice David! And something I’ve encountered in my own journey: I initially thought non-fiction would be preferable … easier. No surprise: I’ve had more fun with fiction, and fun is a very large part of why I do this work in the first place.
Keep the insights coming!
Jim
I adore character work… bring it!! But here’s a lil (vaguely related) question for ya… Erotica is largely frowned upon by the literary world. Many awards contests don’t accept it. Would it be a mistake to include an Erotica sample in one’s catalog of demos? I notice most Erotica is AI narrated, probably due to its lack of quality and funding, but is there anything wrong with promoting myself as a narrator who’s willing to take it on?
I’ve been intimidated by the idea of doing character voices. I’ll bet if I look at the voices I do for my Dungeons & Dragons podcast, there are probably quite a few.
David,
I just took a shot at a fiction audiobook after narrating 21 non fiction audiobooks. I am in the middle of it now after totally being sure I wouldn’t be chosen. I was and I was surprised. Doing the character voices for me is difficult but with the help and encouragement of many VOHeroes coaches and Pros, I am doing it and feeling more comfortable with each passing day. Thanks David for explaining the different types of “stories” within fiction and non fiction! That makes it much clearer!
Mare
I was open to narrating anything. My first book was non-fiction. However, it had 18 different women telling the story of how they discovered their purpose in life. So not necessarily different voices, definitely different perspectives and attitudes. Now I am in the middle of a young adult fantasy book with elves and fae and proper English and Scottish and Elven (you get the picture). I always thought other people were better at accents than I was. Jim Johnson and you showed me that I was mistaken. Thank you!
Maybe it is because I spent a long time doubting my abilities and now, I am open to most anything. Life is so much more satisfying now. And more joyful!
I say go for it!