Using Dictation Software to Write First Drafts

Greatly increase your writing production if you can get through the initial frustrations

What would increasing your writing output mean to you? You will experience some frustrations while learning the software. It will take some time to learn how to talk in a way that results in a clear first draft. You still have to edit. But if you have an hour or two walking in quiet areas as part of your life you can get an extra rough draft of an article every day. To get around the resistance, you just need to do a little preparation.

I was skeptical of using digital voice to text at first. First, I hate Siri. It sounds cool, but it just seems to add an extra layer of BS to using a device to get stuff done. Second, whenever I’ve tried speech-to-text before, it came out gibberish. And third, I'm more of a writer than a talker.

Then a friend opened my eyes. He simply opens Pages on his iPhone, presses record, talks into his lapel mic, and voila! His draft is there with 90+% accuracy.

The switch inside my head finally went off. I love walking. My new commute includes a lot of walking. I enjoy taking long walks in the evening. I could write a minimum of an article a day this way. I bought a decent lapel mic. But it didn't happen as easily as I thought.

First, the basic mechanics of how to do it. On an iPhone go to: Settings >General >Keyboard >Enable dictation. Open a document in any app you can write in (I’ve been using the Drafts app), tap the microphone symbol on the keyboard, start talking, and text will appear. The exact procedure may vary with different devices.

Second, you need an outline. There is nothing wrong with winging it if the feeling strikes you, but working from an outline will save lots of time later in the editing process. Bursts of 1–2 minutes talking on each point in an outline feels natural when dictating and produces much more useable drafts.

Third, I recommend a lapel mic. Of course, you can hold your phone up to your mouth or speak to your computer at home but to really benefit it helps to be able to dictate while you are walking or doing mundane tasks. A lapel mic picks up your voice clearly and avoids you having to hold the…

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