Open Mic Night at Borders Books every 3rd Wednesday of the Month

Description

SF/Peninsula Writers Club Presents Open Mic Night at Borders 7:30 pm on the third Wednesday of every month at Borders Books and Music, 2925 El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA, 1 mile south of Highway 92, across from the Hillside Shopping Center
Phone: (650) 615-8331 CWC hotline
Branch website: http://www.cwc-peninsula.org

10 Writers Read, for 10 minutes each
Moderator: Jim Hanna
When: Third Wednesday of every month
Time: 7:30 pm
Cost: FREE!
Each reader is given a choice of whether or not they wish to receive feedback.
Sign up: Advance sign up is required.
To reserve a slot, contact OpenMic@sfpeninsulawriters.com

A great opportunity for authors to get exposure and to practice public speaking skills. Open to all writers and listeners, including California Writers Club (CWC) members and non-members.

Need some tips for reading at an open mic?

SPEECH COACHING TIPS FOR WRITERS
Prepared specially by GERI SPIELER

1. Select your material to read and estimate the amount of time that will take about ten minutes. Adjust the material to the time, leaving about one minute to do an “announcement” to the audience of what you are reading to them. For example: “The title is Dead Aim. It is a non fiction book about the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford by a middle-aged woman in San Francisco in 1975.” Keep your announcement short and simple.

2. Once you have adjusted the material, go through it and edit the work to make it easy to read aloud. Shorten long and awkward sentences. Remember, you are now reading something that was written for the eye that is now being read for the ear. What you are reading is not going to be submitted to a publisher. This is for a listening audience.

3. Bold words for special effect. Put in the word “pause” for a reminder. Underline. Make special notes that will help you read with affect. And, mark where you should slooow dooown when you need to.

4. Type the piece in double space with two-inch margins, 14 or 16-point type. Don’t forget to number the pages. Do not staple the pages together. It is too noisy to flip them over. Professionals let individual pages fall to the floor, or put them aside. Much cleaner and easier.

5. Practice, practice, practice. You MUST look up at the audience. You have ten minutes Think about looking up four to six times. Start by looking to the left, then center then right. You must make eye contact with one person each time. You will be surprised that the entire audience will think you have looked at all of them. Use your thumb to hold your place or mark a word with a highlighter so you won’t loose your spot. You can stop reading and hold your thought. Look up. Look down and continue.

6. Try and practice in front of a live person before Open Mic night. It will get you over the worst of it. It makes a huge difference before the event. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PRACTICING. Practice is where you will hear the awkward moments and sentences that just don’t work. Fix them. This is your piece. You do not have to keep them. Take them out. Cut and paste. Make it work for you.

7. Be sure you have timed yourself properly. You don’t want to get cut off. It is best if you are just under ten minutes. By looking up, you see the timer and will therefore appear very professional.

8. Try opening your reading with an original idea; an anecdote related to your piece, a quick joke, and very short philosophical phrase, something different. It will set you apart. If you play a portable instrument, bring it along, strum a few cords, or sing a few lines.

More Info

Link

http://www.cwc-peninsula.org

Call

650 615-8331

Email

Contact Form (account required)