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Hi Elena,

Audacity keeps getting better.  One of the things I like about it is the ability to Amplify areas of the vocal where the recording is lower to maximize the sound above the sound-effect lines and the music lines.  Also the ability to control the volume levels of each sound wave row using the Mixer function.  The background music is usually the last thing I add in.

There are many No Copyright/No Royalty-free cinematic music options on U-Tube channels. As long as the use is not monetized, you can use it for free.

There are some restrictions on these, however, if you want to monetize your resulting product, however. For instance, some require a nominal annual fee of support [ex. $60/yer] on Patreon if you decide to monetize the audio. And of course, you would need to give proper attribution for the creator.

[1 Cor. 9:9-10]

One of these I particularly like is: Argsound Background Music
The clips are relatively short (2 to 4 minutes), but they can dramatically enhance a scene reading and give you a sense of the mood of the text which may give you ideas for the tone cues you are setting.

The key for me has been to record the reading first without the music [amplify the low areas until they are pretty much uniform without distortion and cut out any word stumbles] and mark the areas [Ctrl+B in Audacity] where a subtle sound-effect might enhance the idea that the action is moving in the background from what is being stated in the foreground.  I also add an ambient weather sound-effect track below this to give the sense of atmosphere.  This helps me control the overall volume of the “winds”.  Sometimes I use the “Envelope Tool” to adjust volume as well.  The Vocal track should be the highest [without distortion] volume, for that is what matters most.  You can also experiment with changing the Pitch of your reading voice when you read the voice of different characters.  Make note of the pitch changes for each character so that you can consistently apply those setting-effects for each time that character speaks in your reading.  These principles seem to work for me. 🙂
I usually record and save 3 versions.
1 – Vocal Only
2 – Vocal with Sound-Effects
3 – Vocal with Sound-Effects and Music

This way if I decide later I don’t like the music I picked or am having trouble getting a license to use it for a monetized version, I can open the #2 copy and add in better music or a version with suitable music and all rights secured and needed to publish to a monetized channel.  Make note of any attribution you need in the notes section of Metadata part of the final #3 version so you will have that info later.  I usually save the final file in the MP3 format, since it seems to work on so many platforms.

This is something I certainly relate to.  I have a crippling pile of novel/story  starts that didn’t pan out or I  grew beyond. Hang on to those, though. Sometimes they can still bear fruit if you ever get stuck and want to review your writing journey.  They also can encourage you to see the true arc of your growth and progress as a writer.

I hope you do.  There is something very powerful about learning to “act” through your characters.  It helps to connect with them in a deeper way.  It helps also to not just know what they say, but to think about the nuances of “how” they say it with the sense of their tone and what about their voices make them unique from the other cast of your characters.  Its worth a shot. 🙂