It’s All About The Audio
Ex Black Library editor Laurie Goulding was kind enough to commend my skill at writing stories for audio*, in a recent (very interesting) Track of Words interview, so I thought it might be useful to highlight some of my blogs on writing for the audio format.
“Gav was one of my go-to audio writers, he’s done so much of it and I think he’s got a real feel for the medium, a real flair for seeing those sound design opportunities.”
* despite rumours to the contrary, I’m not blackmailing Laurie with photos of him in a compromising position with a copy of Horus Rising, a rubber mitt, and a near-empty pot of Fulgrim Pink.
Before you start writing your audio drama it’s worth taking a moment to think about whether your story actually matches the audio format. In this blog post, I talk about the challenges of writing long-form and short fiction – as well as audio – and how you can manipulate your story to fit the intended format.
Great, you’ve decided that audio is the correct vehicle for your story. If you’re completely new to writing for audios I’ve published a couple of original script extracts, for The Thirteenth Wolf, and Asurmen: The Darker Road, which include sound direction and formatting. The Darker Road extract matches the audio extract on the Black Library website, so you can read along and see how the script was interpreted in the final version.
Next, have a read of my Top Tips for Creating an Audio Drama blog post. There is obviously more to writing for audio, and I’ve got several related topics on my ‘blogs to write’ list, but hopefully this post will give you a good start. It would be remiss of me not to mention here my go-to book ‘Screenwriting 101‘ by Neill D Hicks. Although tagged as ‘The Essential Craft of Feature Film Writing’, it is a book I return to again and again for all types of writing, and I would heartily recommend it.
Finally, to read about an integral part of the audio process, you can read this interview with Penelope Rawlins, the voice actor for the Farseer Shar-telion, in The Darker Road. I hope to have an interview with producer Matthew Renshaw in the near future, to learn more about the audio production process, so keep an eye on my blog for that.
Hopefully this whistle-stop tour will give you the basics of writing for audio. As always, if you have any questions, just let me know in the comments.
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