When I was a kid, I remember asking my grandmother when “the Great Depression” ended. She looked at me and said, “It never ended.” How was I supposed to pass my US History class with an answer like that?
Thanks, Dave! I don’t typically write speculative sci-fi—as I mentioned in your story, I find it one of the most challenging genres. There are so many talented writers who’ve really made it their own, but I wanted to give it a try.
The voice-over work was done through Eleven Labs. If you're considering doing something similar for one of your stories, be prepared to invest some time (and money) into finding the right voice. I recommend selecting three to five potential narrators and having each read a few paragraphs as a test. Eventually, you’ll find the one that matches the tone and style you're aiming for.
For this project, I was specifically looking for a narrator with a voice suited to a documentary tone, as though it were a historical event that we were listening to. This is about the 12th project I’ve done with Eleven Labs, so I’m familiar with many of the voices and what they can do. They haven’t perfected it yet, I must say. There are glitches in the system where the narrator suddenly mispronounces or emphasizes the wrong part of the word, so there is some trial and error with it. As mentioned, be prepared to invest time.
For me, it’s worth it. I know the attention span out here is limited. So it helps for someone with limited time to read … to listen. One last thing, I try to limit the narration to 20 minutes. If your story exceeds 30 minutes or so, break it in two.
Great dystopian cyberpunk!
🤙
My favourite line is: “New York fell into a depression unlike anything before.”
When I was a kid, I remember asking my grandmother when “the Great Depression” ended. She looked at me and said, “It never ended.” How was I supposed to pass my US History class with an answer like that?
This was great! Really resonating with what is happening in the world today.
May I ask how you produced the audio file of your story?
Thanks, Dave! I don’t typically write speculative sci-fi—as I mentioned in your story, I find it one of the most challenging genres. There are so many talented writers who’ve really made it their own, but I wanted to give it a try.
The voice-over work was done through Eleven Labs. If you're considering doing something similar for one of your stories, be prepared to invest some time (and money) into finding the right voice. I recommend selecting three to five potential narrators and having each read a few paragraphs as a test. Eventually, you’ll find the one that matches the tone and style you're aiming for.
For this project, I was specifically looking for a narrator with a voice suited to a documentary tone, as though it were a historical event that we were listening to. This is about the 12th project I’ve done with Eleven Labs, so I’m familiar with many of the voices and what they can do. They haven’t perfected it yet, I must say. There are glitches in the system where the narrator suddenly mispronounces or emphasizes the wrong part of the word, so there is some trial and error with it. As mentioned, be prepared to invest time.
For me, it’s worth it. I know the attention span out here is limited. So it helps for someone with limited time to read … to listen. One last thing, I try to limit the narration to 20 minutes. If your story exceeds 30 minutes or so, break it in two.
Hope that helps.