Yet more keen links one might want to share

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by hot_pastrami

The main thing I struggle with is eliminating wet mouth noise. The only thing I've found that helps is to munch on apple slices between takes. That's part of why I haven't done any discussion-style episodes--munching apples on-mic is off-putting, but without them my voice can sound like a cat trying to escape a bucket full of gelatin dessert.

Before you open your mouth to start a sentence, separate your teeth and drop your tongue off your palate inside your still-closed lips. That keeps the sucking noise inside. In slow motion it is three steps, teeth-tongue-lips, at full speed it's opening your mouth from back-to-front instead of front-to-back. Practice enough and it just becomes the way you open your mouth, you won't even think about it anymore. It helps train the muscles if you try to keep your teeth slightly separated within your mouth throughout the day, even when you're not talking. This also, incidentally, can help with overall anxiety levels.

Originally Posted by hot_pastrami

If it's a shortage of ideas or material, I may also be able to be helpful since I have a surplus of both.

If you mean you have a surplus of nonfiction ideas that need to be written about and/or spoken about, I'd happily write a few for you. I remember looking into your website several years ago, but the contribution guidelines said you had more writers than you could cope with, so I didn't pursue it further. That might have been before you were doing podcasts though.

[hot_pastrami]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Before you open your mouth to start a sentence, separate your teeth and drop your tongue off your palate inside your still-closed lips. That keeps the sucking noise inside. In slow motion it is three steps, teeth-tongue-lips, at full speed it's opening your mouth from back-to-front instead of front-to-back. Practice enough and it just becomes the way you open your mouth, you won't even think about it anymore. It helps train the muscles if you try to keep your teeth slightly separated within your mouth throughout the day, even when you're not talking. This also, incidentally, can help with overall anxiety levels.

Thanks for the detailed instructions! I'll see if I can master the process with any success.

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

If you mean you have a surplus of nonfiction ideas that need to be written about and/or spoken about, I'd happily write a few for you. I remember looking into your website several years ago, but the contribution guidelines said you had more writers than you could cope with, so I didn't pursue it further. That might have been before you were doing podcasts though.

Well, I do have such a surplus of non-fiction topics, my "write about this someday" folder tests the endurance of the scroll wheel. But here I was referring to a surplus of ideas/concepts for podcasts. If I didn't have to work a day job, I'd be tempted to launch a couple more podcasts, because there's such huge potential for niftiness. In fact, I'm working on a limited-run side podcast idea in my "spare time," likely to see the light of day approximately when podcasts fall out of style.

In regards to your interest in writing with us, it is still true that our problem is not too few skilled writers, it's too little editing bandwidth. But we do still occasionally welcome new writers who demonstrate considerable skill and interest. The challenge is helping them maintain that interest as they wait for their works to wind through our slow-moving machine. I essentially work three part-time jobs, so I am the bottleneck. But the good news is I *may* have found a way to whittle it down to a mere two part-time jobs, which will free up some time and energy.

I'm rambling. In short, if you really are interested in participating, and you possess a surplus of patience, there's a good chance we can make it happen. I have a Google Doc outlining our process and such, I can share it if you send me a Google Doc email address.