A few months ago during a visit to my family they suggested that I consider doing a podcast. They had very nice things to say about my speaking voice and ability (and affinity) for telling stories. I considered what they had to say, and was even told again to consider it during a more recent visit. And after much consideration and thought…
…it’s not something I want to do at all.
I’m going to pat myself on the back for a moment here. I’m good at telling stories and I enjoy it quite a bit. I enjoy reading written works aloud and, thanks to my experience speaking on panels at conventions and a short stint hosting a local burlesque troupe’s performances, I believe I’m skilled at oratory. By all accounts I could be quite good at making a podcast! Heck, maybe some of you would want to listen to it!
But the more I thought about it, the less it appealed to me.
Even for someone like me who enjoys talking and rarely struggles for things to say, recording a podcast is a lot of work.
I’d have to purchase good recording equipment, then take the time to listen back on my rants or live readings and edit them so they’re pleasant to listen to. I’d have to find a good place to record, which in my small house is nowhere because my eight-year-old is a curious only child who always wants to be involved in everything I’m doing. (Wait until he goes to sleep, you say? Fine. Then I’m exhausted from having to wait for his energetic butt to actually fall asleep and I’m sounding like a zombie.) And what about those days where I’ve actually run out of things to talk about, or I’m reading aloud written works and I’ve hit a writer’s block? I have a hard enough time dealing with that when I’m making comics, and now I’d have to deal with the stress of those obstacles for a podcast?
My family, with all good intent, tried to convince me that making a podcast is less work than making comics and I’d create/upload things faster. Even if that were the case, and nothing I’d just mentioned above was an issue, there’s still the love of the process of making comics. Does it take forever some days? Absolutely. But making comics is something I’ve done for the past twenty years because I love the artistic process, even when it’s working against me. I enjoy spending time on something, sitting back when I feel like I’ve nailed it, and relishing that feeling of pride for work well done. Giving that up to make a podcast is something I simply cannot fathom, and the absence of it would make me depressed. Just thinking about it makes me sad.
And on top of all that, the last thing the internet needs is another white boy with a podcast.