Straight from the Mouth of 'Trading Vincent Crow' author D.C.J. Wardle

D. C. J. Wardle holds post graduate qualifications in development management as well as community water supply engineering. Over the past twelve years he has worked extensively in developing countries in Africa and Asia, managing emergency and development programmes. You can visit D.C.J. Wardle’s website at: www.dcjwardle.co.uk

His latest book is Trading Vincent Crow.

Inner Monologue.

For my latest book, ‘Trading Vincent Crow’, I invested in a podcast – not something I’d done before. It was an interesting process. Shortly after I committed to the podcast the producer rang me up, we discussed the book a little, and we talked about how the podcast would be put together. I then selected 3 short extracts from the book that would be used and sent them off, each with a short introduction. There were few more emails about the sort of accents the characters should have, which part of the midlands they were from, and the selection of the actors. A few weeks later I learned that the podcast was ready and I eagerly attached speakers to my laptop, sat back, and played it for the first time.

The epiphany I had over the next few minutes of the radio play, was that the way things sounded inside my own head when I’m reading, could apparently sound remarkably different inside someone else’s head. This was evident from the way the actors took the words I’d sent, for which inside my mind there was really only one very specific way then could possibly be delivered, and then added their own artistic interpretations. In my own inner monologue, what were often throw-away lines, the actor in the podcast drew out and gave a very different emphasis. I should stress that I think the podcast’s fantastic. Indeed I’ve listen to it a few more time and adjusted my own inner monologue accordingly. I love the way the actors did the different parts, particularly those of Vince and his nan. However, the experience has helped me arrive at the perhaps obvious conclusion that not everyone has the same inner monologue as I do, and this is something I have to bear in mind as I continue writing. It’s also something I should pay more far more attention to if I am to have podcasts recorded for my books in the future.