Does anyone dictate their text?

[Old Hack]

I have a problem with my hands and can no longer type much (which is how I've always written non-fiction), or write longhand for more than a few pages (which is how I've always written my fiction).

I'm trying to change over to dictating my work into a voice recorder, for transcription later (either by my husband's brilliant secretary, or by voice recognition software). The trouble is I'm finding this transition, from the written to the spoken word, incredibly hard. Hearing my voice as I speak distracts me from the flow of the text and I'm very stilted.

Has anyone else out there made this transition? Or do you know of any writers who have? And if so, what were the results?

(Typing this, when I know I shouldn't!)

[mistri]

I think I've posted about this before, but I've got a copy of DragonNaturally Speaking 8 (voice recognition software). I've only used it occasionally, so haven't really tested it to its full potential.

When I do use it, there are three problems I have to overcome.

a) I don't like 'talking' my novel/work when someone else is in the room - I feel silly and awkward. If they're occupied with something it's easier.

b) It feels more natural for me to type than talk. I can also type faster than I talk. However, one benefit of this is that by the time I've finished one sentence I've already thought of the next - I rarely get stuck. Also, sometimes you recognise horrible prose/dialogue more easily when you're talking out loud.

c) Voice recognition software isn't always accurate. At the moment, I need to correct DNS in every sentence. However, you can train it and eventually (so I've been told) it does get much better. Also, I need to save my wrists - awkward software is better than not being able to write at all.

Those are my (limited) thoughts. I'm sure plenty of people here have had different experiences.

[Old Hack]

Although Dragon v8 is meant to be very good, I too am concerned about it's accuracy. Which is why I'm recording my dictation, for transcription later. No matter how good Dragon gets I don't think I'd trust it with my first draft if my spoken version weren't recorded in some way.

[mistri]

You can correct Dragon 8 as you go, of course. You just say 'Select that', the words that are wrong, then choose or say the right words. It does take up time, though.

[Aconite]

Old Hack, I found DNS clunky, but still better than trying to type when I wanted to chew off my own hands. It does get better as you become more familiar with it and as it becomes better trained. Speaking anything but dialogue still feels weird, though. I suppose anyone who really, really hated it could try shorthand and get further with what writing they're able to do.

[Julie Worth]

I have a problem with my hands and can no longer type much (which is how I've always written non-fiction), or write longhand for more than a few pages (which is how I've always written my fiction).



Amazing how many ways sitting at a computer can kill you. A year ago I developed a swollen bursa from slouching (hyaluronic acid, MSM and ginger root fixed me up) and for the past couple of weeks my little fingers have been falling asleep. God, is it MS??? Is this IT FOR ME, and I haven’t even been published??? Finally I realized what was happening. It was my stupid chair. I’d bought a new chair, and it has something my old chair didn’t have: armrests. Resting my elbows on those cushy armrests was pinching the (ulnar) nerves in my elbow, putting my pinkies to sleep.



So here I am, sitting with military precision, stomach full of hyaluronic acid, elbows floating in the air like a conductor...yes, that’s how I write.

[Jamesaritchie]

I, too, have severe problems with my hands, so I've tried dictation and Dragon. Neither works well for me. Dictation doesnt work because I absolutely must be able to see what I've already written in order to keep writing.

Dragon doesn't work because the errors drive me crazy, and even more because of the way you have to control your voice in order to get good accuracy.

I do control my computer with VR, but I can't write fiction this way. Maybe in three or four or five years, Dragon will be good enough so I won't have a problem with it, but for now it just doesn't work.

I'm stuck with writing in longhand, so I use the lightest mechanical pencil I could find, along with the most comfortable slide on grip. I moan and groan quite a bit, but for now that's how the writing has to get done.

[pconsidine]

Of course, this would be a great opportunity to get yourself a hot young assistant to take dictation in person. I can see it now:

"But honey! I can't help it if she looks like a Victoria's Secret model. She's the only person who'd take job."

Yeah. That's the life.

[Carlene]

I, too, have Dragon and just don't use it for most of the reasons stated above. I have arthritis in my hands and can't type for very long, but I'd rather limit my typing than "talk" my books. It just doesn't seem natural. Plus, I talk very fast and get some really, REALLY werid text. THen I have to spend time correcting all of that! Oy, it's frustrating!

Carlene
"Friends help you move. REAL friends help you move...bodies."

[Old Hack]

Thanks, all, for your comments.

I got RSI soon after Easter this year, and have now also been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I can type for VERY limited periods (RSI is improving) but the arthritis is far more serious: I physically can't grip a pen after about 30 minutes' writing. So I'm stuck with dictating, and it's a nightmare.

Dragon is good, but limited, even now. So I'm recording my dictating, then getting someone else to type it for me OR listening to it then dictating again into Dragon, a sentence at a time. Gives me a chance to edit but it's slwo going and terribly hard. Still, the alternative is to stop writing. Like that's going to happen!