The Spoken Word, by Annmarie Miles

A good friend (who has sadly passed away since) once told me he thought I was funnier in person than on paper. I took the comment in the spirit it was meant, and have thought a lot about it subsequently. This friend was from Ireland, so it was not an accent issue, as he sounded pretty much like me. (Though he was a bit posher. :D ) He told me I didn't always sound like myself on paper. He was not talking about fictional characters as they are supposed to sound like themselves. He was referring to my non-fiction articles and blog posts. 

In writing group recently, we decided to blindly swap stories and read each other's work. No one knew who was reading whose (except the writer once the reader started) and we had to guess whose it was. No one got it right. One person said they didn't even recognise their own piece until half way through it. It was amazing. I was sure each time I heard the pieces read, but was wrong. I also thought everyone would guess mine, but no one did. It was a fascinating experiment and got me thinking more about the spoken word. 

So much so, that I have decided to start a podcast. I've wanted to for ages but never had the confidence until the leader of a module in social media training I'm doing, encouraged me to give it a go. I have to say, the bug bit me quick and I can't wait to get started. It has challenged me however... Is a speaker still a writer? Is a Podcast still a story or article? Is it lazy to say rather than write? It does have to be crafted, that is for sure, and I'm learning on the job, but loving it. 

It's due to be launched at the beginning of August and it is called
'Words, Wobbles & Wisdom' 

Words - talking about writing, both fiction and non-fiction

Wobbles - talking about weight loss struggles, food and eating problems I've had, and also emotional and mental health problems I'm going through

Wisdom - I want to bring God into it. All wisdom is his and anything good I can bring to the table is from him. 

I want to keep it light hearted and hopefully humorous, but it in a sensitive way. I am not an expert in anything except my own experience (even then, I'm not sure).

I'll be sharing the link on social media channels and would love your feedback - whatever it may be.

Annmarie Miles is from Dublin, Ireland.
She lives with her husband Richard who is a pastor in the Eastern Valley of Gwent, in South Wales. She writes short stories, magazine articles, devotional pieces for Christian radio, and blogs about her faith at www.auntyamo.com Her first collection of short stories published in 2013, is called 'The Long & The Short of it'. Her second collection, 'A Sense of the Sea and other stories,' was published in 2018 and in December 2019 she published her first novel, Gorse Lodge. She is currently editing a non-fiction book about being an overweight Christian called, 'Have mercy on me O Lord, a slimmer.'