Goodbye Love draft annotated for an author reading
Reading a story outloud changes the way it was written as much as grinding your own coffee changes the way your coffee tastes. Experience heightens awareness.
I read Goodbye Love, an unpublished monologue, at the 2011 Tin House Summer Writer’s Workshop student readings because I wanted to feel what it would be like to be this character and tell this story.
I wanted to tell it really slow as if the character was editing her memory of the event before she spoke. If I did it right, it would feel like a poem and the audience would experience some discomfort as the character finished the story.
I constructed a quick backstory using the following factors which would influence and guide my tone:
- Time of Day
- Place
- Audience
- Time Elapsed Since Story Occurred
I read and re-read the story outloud four or five times prior to the actual reading, sometimes to other people in the workshop to get feedback on timing and pace. Underlined words got more of a pause. Certain words changed when I read.
I planned to stay flexible during the final reading, especially in the parts that didn’t seem to have a definitive wording.
After the reading, one of my fellow workshop participants whispered in my ear, “did that really happen to you?” I steal bits and pieces from reality, but the story happens for the character, not me.
