Day 785: Dictation, day 2
So I'm back to trying dictation for my fiction. I pulled out books on dictation which I had read before, and I started rereading them last night.
One of my favorite books is Dictate Your Book: How To Write Your Book Faster, Better, and Smarter by Monica Leonelle. I'm not sure exactly what it is about this book that I really like, except that maybe I just like her writing voice and writing style. In my opinion, her advice is very practical.
I especially like one of her early pieces of advice which is to ease into dictation slowly. She suggests that instead of using dictation right away to work on your book, which I think is what most writers would expect to do, she suggests using dictation for other things so that you get used to the procedure of dictation and what it feels like to speak text. She suggests dictating emails and blog posts and lists and other small things instead of your book.
I think I agree with her. I forgot to mention yesterday that this is my third or fourth time trying to get into dictation, but I noticed that it's easier this time than it was last time.
(Part of the reason, I know, is that I'm physically feeling much better this time. Last time, I was having some major health issues with my allergies and IBS. This time, I managed to figure out how to mostly eliminate my allergy headaches, and I am starting to also get a handle on my IBS. So I think I have more physical and mental energy to work on dictation this time than I did last time.)
I think it's easier this time because last time, I spent time using dictation for non-fiction writing things, and it helped me get used to the physical and mental sensations of speaking my words rather than typing them. It's still very awkward, but I can tell that I don't feel as awkward as I did when starting dictation the other times that I have tried it.
As with many of the books I have read about dictation, when the author starts talking about apps and programs and equipment, I have to take it with a grain of salt because equipment especially always has new versions out or old versions are no longer manufactured. The equipment recommended in Monica Leonelle's book is I think a little outdated. She doesn't talk much about digital recorders, which I think would give as good results as the elaborate set-up she did when she wanted to dictate while on a walk.
However, her recommendation to use a podcast microphone if dictating at the computer is a good suggestion. I noticed a huge difference when I used just a relatively inexpensive podcast microphone versus a cheap general headset.
Monica and some other articles on dictation also recommend limiting the dictation commands you do to only the few that you will really use, and I agree with this. The number of commands is a bit overwhelming, and to be honest, there just isn't a lot of punctuation that I use when I write my blog posts or when I write fiction.
Monica says that she is not a fan of dictation drills, and I have to say that I agree with her. I would rather practice dictation on blog posts and emails and other random things rather than doing dedicated drills.
However, I also read The Productive Author's Guide to Dictation: Speak Your Way to Higher (and Healthier!) Word Counts by Cindy Griggs and she has tons of dictation drills. While the drills didn't particularly interest me, I could see how the drills that she gives would be extremely useful to someone who is trying dictation for the very first time. Cindy's drills are really good to give small snippets of experience in various aspects of dictating fiction, such as description and writing emotionally. I tried doing one or two of the drills, but they just didn't interest me and I was very bored. On a whole, I personally prefer Monica's book.
So my warmup today was dictating this blog post. Now I’m off to try dictating my fiction.
*
I admit I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to get done today because I was feeling really fatigued. I didn’t sleep well last night because of IBS pain, and right when I started my writing session, I was exhausted.
However, I now totally understand now why people like to walk and dictate.
I started off dictating at my computer into a recording app, and I did three 15 minute sessions. However, when I took a break, I found myself dawdling before getting back to work.
I didn't feel I had gotten enough work done, so I decided to take a walk and to continue dictating the chapter into my digital recorder. I copied my blocking notes onto my phone, and while it took me a few minutes to get out the door, I had already set up a carrying case for my recorder, extra batteries, earbuds, and my phone, so I left the house relatively quickly.
I only intended to walk and dictate for about 45 minutes, and I walked on a quiet path near my house, up in the foothills. To my surprise, I found myself dictating for more than 30 minutes before I realized it was past time for me to turn around. I ended up dictating for 90 minutes because I must have walked slower on the way back.
Dictating while walking was GREAT, because there was nothing to distract me from the dictation, and I just kept going. When I was dictating in front of my computer at home, as soon as I stopped, I had to battle procrastination. But when I was out walking, there was nothing else for me to do except dictate.
The only problem is that I came home late, and I had yet to finish the transcription and editing of the messy dictation. I transcribed everything after dinner, but I only got a little bit of editing done before I started having IBS issues (it was already past time for me to go to bed, too).
So I spent a longer than I had intended to in doing writing work today, and while I recorded my numbers below, they’re inaccurate because I still haven’t finished editing the dictation. There’s TONS I will have to delete, so my words per hour rate will be a lot lower.
But I'm practically astounded at how much I was able to get done. I got three quarters of the way through a scene! I’ll still need to take time tomorrow to continue editing it, so I’ll have the final numbers tomorrow as to words per hour pace and total number of words, but in terms of sheer productivity, I think I actually got a lot done. And this is even taking into account that dictation still feels incredibly awkward and horrible!
I’m a bit peeved that my computer slows down so much when I run Dragon. Part of it is because I have a Mac, and so in order to run my Windows version of Dragon, I am running Parallels and Windows 10 in addition to Dragon. I also need to have Scrivener open so that I can access my blocking notes as I dictate, as well as my recording app on my computer. My computer is old, so having too many apps running makes it grumpy.
Writing streak: 264 days
Regency series:
Editing: Time spent: 25 minutes
Writing: Time spent: 4 hours, 49 minutes (includes dictation, transcription via Dragon, and partial editing. Still need to edit more tomorrow.)
Writing: Total number of words: 5067 words (will need to edit more tomorrow)
Writing-related business:
Regency research reading: time spent: 52 minutes
Email: time spent: 31 minutes
Marketing: time spent: 1 hour, 1 minute
My takeaway for today: Walking and dictating is great since there’s nothing I can do except dictate, I’m not tempted to take a leisurely break and then have to fight the resistance in getting back to work.
One of my favorite books is Dictate Your Book: How To Write Your Book Faster, Better, and Smarter by Monica Leonelle. I'm not sure exactly what it is about this book that I really like, except that maybe I just like her writing voice and writing style. In my opinion, her advice is very practical.
I especially like one of her early pieces of advice which is to ease into dictation slowly. She suggests that instead of using dictation right away to work on your book, which I think is what most writers would expect to do, she suggests using dictation for other things so that you get used to the procedure of dictation and what it feels like to speak text. She suggests dictating emails and blog posts and lists and other small things instead of your book.
I think I agree with her. I forgot to mention yesterday that this is my third or fourth time trying to get into dictation, but I noticed that it's easier this time than it was last time.
(Part of the reason, I know, is that I'm physically feeling much better this time. Last time, I was having some major health issues with my allergies and IBS. This time, I managed to figure out how to mostly eliminate my allergy headaches, and I am starting to also get a handle on my IBS. So I think I have more physical and mental energy to work on dictation this time than I did last time.)
I think it's easier this time because last time, I spent time using dictation for non-fiction writing things, and it helped me get used to the physical and mental sensations of speaking my words rather than typing them. It's still very awkward, but I can tell that I don't feel as awkward as I did when starting dictation the other times that I have tried it.
As with many of the books I have read about dictation, when the author starts talking about apps and programs and equipment, I have to take it with a grain of salt because equipment especially always has new versions out or old versions are no longer manufactured. The equipment recommended in Monica Leonelle's book is I think a little outdated. She doesn't talk much about digital recorders, which I think would give as good results as the elaborate set-up she did when she wanted to dictate while on a walk.
However, her recommendation to use a podcast microphone if dictating at the computer is a good suggestion. I noticed a huge difference when I used just a relatively inexpensive podcast microphone versus a cheap general headset.
Monica and some other articles on dictation also recommend limiting the dictation commands you do to only the few that you will really use, and I agree with this. The number of commands is a bit overwhelming, and to be honest, there just isn't a lot of punctuation that I use when I write my blog posts or when I write fiction.
Monica says that she is not a fan of dictation drills, and I have to say that I agree with her. I would rather practice dictation on blog posts and emails and other random things rather than doing dedicated drills.
However, I also read The Productive Author's Guide to Dictation: Speak Your Way to Higher (and Healthier!) Word Counts by Cindy Griggs and she has tons of dictation drills. While the drills didn't particularly interest me, I could see how the drills that she gives would be extremely useful to someone who is trying dictation for the very first time. Cindy's drills are really good to give small snippets of experience in various aspects of dictating fiction, such as description and writing emotionally. I tried doing one or two of the drills, but they just didn't interest me and I was very bored. On a whole, I personally prefer Monica's book.
So my warmup today was dictating this blog post. Now I’m off to try dictating my fiction.
*
I admit I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to get done today because I was feeling really fatigued. I didn’t sleep well last night because of IBS pain, and right when I started my writing session, I was exhausted.
However, I now totally understand now why people like to walk and dictate.
I started off dictating at my computer into a recording app, and I did three 15 minute sessions. However, when I took a break, I found myself dawdling before getting back to work.
I didn't feel I had gotten enough work done, so I decided to take a walk and to continue dictating the chapter into my digital recorder. I copied my blocking notes onto my phone, and while it took me a few minutes to get out the door, I had already set up a carrying case for my recorder, extra batteries, earbuds, and my phone, so I left the house relatively quickly.
I only intended to walk and dictate for about 45 minutes, and I walked on a quiet path near my house, up in the foothills. To my surprise, I found myself dictating for more than 30 minutes before I realized it was past time for me to turn around. I ended up dictating for 90 minutes because I must have walked slower on the way back.
Dictating while walking was GREAT, because there was nothing to distract me from the dictation, and I just kept going. When I was dictating in front of my computer at home, as soon as I stopped, I had to battle procrastination. But when I was out walking, there was nothing else for me to do except dictate.
The only problem is that I came home late, and I had yet to finish the transcription and editing of the messy dictation. I transcribed everything after dinner, but I only got a little bit of editing done before I started having IBS issues (it was already past time for me to go to bed, too).
So I spent a longer than I had intended to in doing writing work today, and while I recorded my numbers below, they’re inaccurate because I still haven’t finished editing the dictation. There’s TONS I will have to delete, so my words per hour rate will be a lot lower.
But I'm practically astounded at how much I was able to get done. I got three quarters of the way through a scene! I’ll still need to take time tomorrow to continue editing it, so I’ll have the final numbers tomorrow as to words per hour pace and total number of words, but in terms of sheer productivity, I think I actually got a lot done. And this is even taking into account that dictation still feels incredibly awkward and horrible!
I’m a bit peeved that my computer slows down so much when I run Dragon. Part of it is because I have a Mac, and so in order to run my Windows version of Dragon, I am running Parallels and Windows 10 in addition to Dragon. I also need to have Scrivener open so that I can access my blocking notes as I dictate, as well as my recording app on my computer. My computer is old, so having too many apps running makes it grumpy.
Writing streak: 264 days
Regency series:
Editing: Time spent: 25 minutes
Writing: Time spent: 4 hours, 49 minutes (includes dictation, transcription via Dragon, and partial editing. Still need to edit more tomorrow.)
Writing: Total number of words: 5067 words (will need to edit more tomorrow)
Writing-related business:
Regency research reading: time spent: 52 minutes
Email: time spent: 31 minutes
Marketing: time spent: 1 hour, 1 minute
My takeaway for today: Walking and dictating is great since there’s nothing I can do except dictate, I’m not tempted to take a leisurely break and then have to fight the resistance in getting back to work.
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