It’s all about the stories

The podcast. That’s all I have thought about for the last few weeks, ever since I came across a new graphic nonfiction book called, Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio by cartoonist Jessica Abel.

You know how you try many things but they never feel exactly right, so you keep waiting for a sign? Maybe it’s just me. Well, as soon as I read the description of Out on the Wire, I knew.

Have you ever found yourself laughing out loud, or crying helplessly, while listening to the radio? If you have, you were probably listening to This American Life, or one of the other amazing shows that has burst upon the radio and podcast world in the last ten years or so.

And in Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio, I will take you behind the scenes of seven of today’s most popular shows in comics form. Inside, you’ll discover the nitty-gritty of how shows like This American Life, Radiolab, Snap Judgment, Planet Money, the Moth Radio Hour, Radio Diaries, and 99% Invisible weave their magic spell.

This was what I had been waiting for — an inside look at how the people behind these brilliant storytelling public radio shows and podcasts actually do it. Ira Glass, Glynn Washington, Jay Allison, and Jad Abumrad are just a few of the public radio superstars who take you behind the scenes.

I have been hooked on these shows for years, dreaming of getting one of my stories accepted. But I knew it wasn’t just a matter of writing the story, recording, and then submitting it. I mean, yes, you can actually submit your story to shows like Snap Judgment or This American Life — and I strongly urge you to do that. If they like it, they might produce it, interviewing you and adding music and sound effects and so on. Which would be awesome. I hope to hear your voice telling your story on a podcast or radio show soon! 🙂

But that wouldn’t be enough for me

I wanted my own show, and I wanted to put it together myself.

I fell in love with audio production way back in radio school in the 70s. Back then, we edited actual tape with actual razor blades. And for me, there was no better endorphin hit than to painstakingly cut out a phrase or a sentence and hear the seamless playback, so that the story made better sense. (The trick, I discovered, is to make sure to leave a breath in place of the missing words so it sounds natural.)

It’s the same satisfaction you get from hitting a line drive at bat or turning a perfect, easy-over egg without breaking the yolk or hearing your audience laugh at just the right moment when you give a presentation.

But when I started working in radio back in the day, I only got to do a little bit of what I loved most. I got sidetracked and, let’s face it, a bit bedazzled by the paycheck and the fame aspect of being a voice on the radio.

I loved writing and reading the news on the air, but I missed editing

Years later, listening to all these amazing shows and podcasts, I knew I wanted to do THAT. But I needed to learn more. Editing the spoken word is great, but I wanted to learn how to use music and sound effects in the background behind the words to create “sound pictures” in the listener’s mind, helping to tell an even better story.

Out on a Wire shows how it’s done — all of it, from how to interview someone to get the best story from them, to how to deal with the awful, creative “dark forest” everyone gets lost in each time they work on a story, as they try to make sense of the mass of information they have gathered.

(And here’s a tip I have learned over the years: the strength of the endorphin hit at the end is inversely related to the amount of struggle you have put into your project. Too easy? Sorry, no naturally generated oxy for you. On the other hand, if you keep trying and failing, and then you finally succeed… wow, what a rush! It truly does feel like walking on a wire.)

So, like I said, I knew

Just like when I came across the book that told me all about vandwelling, right away I knew that this was what I had been waiting for.

I bought Out on a Wire (the Kindle version, which, I have to warn you if you plan to get it, is almost impossible to read on an actual Kindle. Get the print version and save your eyes) and started on my first episode of Passing Through before I even finished reading it.

I knew that this was the work of my life, what I wanted to dedicate my remaining years to: sharing the stories I find on the road and learning how to use my innate talent and obsession with sound editing to the best of my ability. I can’t think of a better way to spend my time and energy.

And now comes even better news: Jessica Abel has started a podcast and Google+ group in tandem, as a workshop, so listeners who want to create their own stories can get and give feedback in the group and on the show. Exactly what I need: a community of like-minded people, helping each other do better.

(If you want to join in, just sign up for Jessica’s newsletter. Radio/podcast production is only one creative medium you might be interested in. There are also writers, comic book creators, and others — they are all storytellers. The workshop is about telling awesome stories. Oh, and there is a Patreon page too, if you want to support the workshop.)

Funny how procrastination doesn’t even enter the picture when you are doing what you love

This is the definition of a happy camper.

p.s. Subscribe to Passing Through: Stories from the Road and look for the next episode soon!