0700 – Post-Dialogue Attributions In Audiobook Narration

2022.12.01 – 0700 – Post-Dialogue Attributions In Audiobook Narration

Mark any ‘post-dialogue attributions’, where the name of the person who just spoke is written after their statement, (“Merlin said”, “Trayvon interjected”, “Marsha replied”, “Neville whispered”, “she said with a tremor in her voice”), so you know which voice to use for the preceding comment, and how to read it. You may also need to be aware that on occasion there may be a discrepancy between what someone says and how they say it: “I’m completely overwhelmed”, followed by “she said sarcastically”, so you know to say that in a sarcastic way (in this instance), before you get to the direction.

Think of what the character is doing when they are speaking in the text:

“Robin pulled the bow back as far as he could, struggling as the string cut into his inexperienced fingers. “He has to die” he muttered under his breath, and then with more resolve as the arrow flew from the bow “Die! DIE!”.

So, you have to show that the character is experiencing several emotions (exhaustion, focus and then fury), all in a couple of lines.

Your in-character breathing will also add to the visual for the listener: a sharp intake of breath in surprise or shock, an exhale of relief, in an action scene when someone is out of breath or tired, sounds natural. As a narrator, some editors may remove or reduce the volume of many of yours, especially those at the start of paragraphs, so they don’t distract the listener.

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