Speech to Text: How I'm Writing Fiction

Dictation can add
words to your WIP

A few weeks ago, I signed up for Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer’s Dictation Bootcamp. In this course, you learn who can use dictation to write fiction and how best to do it. I’ve long been curious about dictating at least some of my writing but despite this curiosity I had done nothing about it. Oh, sure, I had tried it once or twice, found it impractical, and given up. 

But I know myself pretty well. If I pay for something, I’m going to put in the effort to make it work. 

If you don't know about dictating your writing, instead of keying in your text, you speak it. You can do it either using your computer or your phone. Microsoft Word has a speech to text feature called Dictation, and both your email and the notes app on your phone probably have a speech to text option. Look for the image of a microphone. 

That isn’t to say that it is easy. But that’s okay, writing fiction generally kicks my butt. 

There's a lot to learn to dictate your fiction. For one, you have to learn to work with your program or app. Here are a few of the things you will need to practice. 

• Speaking clearly at a consistent speed. I have never managed to speak too fast for Word. Does that mean it isn’t a problem? All I know is that it isn’t a problem for me. 

• Unique names. You may need a substitution for an unusual name. Sarah had a male character with a Choctaw name. The dictation software never even came close, so she called him Kirk. Then she did a search and replace. 

• Speaking punctuation. Most programs will punctuate for you, but it is often more accurate to speak the punctuation you want. This means learning what to call things within your program or app. Do you say “new line” or “enter” and “quotation mark” or “open quote”? 

• Learn your quirks. I cannot dictate first thing in the morning. Cannot. My allergies mean my morning voice is too raspy for the app to comprehend. So I dictate in the afternoon. 

No matter how well things are going, there are going to be strange moments. One afternoon, I was chatting to Word and said “comma.” The program keyed out “c-o-m-m-a.” And then it changed it to Karma. “No, comma!” Karma. “Cahm-ma.” Karma. “Comma, damn it.” It got damn it right. 

Oh, that’s something else. A fellow student said that if you are writing a character who swears, the dictation program may refuse to comply. That’s not a huge problem for me given that my primary audience is young readers. If this is a problem for you, make up a phrase it will key in and then do a search and replace later on. 

I know this sounds like a lot of bother.  But most new skills take time and effort to learn.  Is it worth it? I’d say so. Last Friday, I had a book related deadline. I met that and dictated about 5,000 words that week. 

Dictation can be a great way to get words down if you are having troubles with your hands or wrists or, like myself, have developed a vision-related migraine symptom. If you are having troubles finding your voice, try dictation. It will help you write the way you speak. Most of us in the class also discovered that we dictated faster than we typed. 

Even if dictation works, it will probably never be your only way to write. Still, I’m finding it a great way to get a rough draft onto the page. Why not give it a try? What have you got to lose? 

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of 40 books for young readers.  

• To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.  
• Click here to find her newsletter.

She is also the instructor for 3 WOW classes which begin again on December 4, 2023. 
She teaches:

• Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work 
• Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults 
• Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults