Support for Indie Authors discussion

Aloha, Group:

I'm curious if people here who produce their writing these days by dictation notice a difference in its quality or their ability to even write it that way at all.

I am an author who has been podcasting for years. Talking into a microphone for an hour or more, even as a solo act, comes naturally at this point. I thought this would translate into being able to write books via a dictation program, but I find that harder than writing longhand or typing. Is it that creativity flows differently through the hands than the mouth, or is it something I just need to get used to?

It's not like I'm a great typist. In theory, it would be far easier to speak it out. But there seems to be a space, a silence, that needs to exist in the mind, between my direction and what wants to come out naturally that doesn't exist when I speak. Speaking makes it feel like there's more pressure to fill the void with stream-of-consciousness blather than letting it flow naturally, if that makes sense. Sound is the opposite of silence, obviously.

Anyway, just wondering if any writers here have noticed a difference in how mind-stuff pours out between the different organs or if it's all the same to you.

There's something to be said about typing or handwriting. I find that I can dictate short ideas and scenes, but I need to have it flow from my fingers when it comes to the main project.

I took a voice acting course with a view to eventually narrating my books. I started with my short story collection and found it was much harder than I anticipated (new respect for voice actors/narrators) - no doubt practise improves.

Anyway, I found that when speaking, time and again I bogged down on conveying the ‘feeling’ of the words with the way I spoke them. For example, one sentence: ‘keep going, Bauman, I’m listening,’ I narrated that one sentence dozens of times and even though it’s a throw away line in tiny scene, I never conveyed the feeling.

For me, narrating (to date) has been counter productive. When writing (typing) the feeling and emotion flows unchecked from my brain and out onto the page. I don’t have to interpret it into sounds and then back into printed words.

As I say, new found respect to narrators.

I use dictation for making notes about the wip but I need to type the actual script.

I am an author who has been podcasting for years.

And that might just be the problem. Because you’ve spent so much time working with that medium, you might be expecting the elements of your vocal performance to reach the page. A lot of the fiction I see from hopeful writers is a transcription of them telling the story aloud.

The trap in doing that is that when the author reads it, all the tricks of performance that they used when dictating are there as they read, since the words are acting as a pointer to the performance in the author’s mind.

But, when the reader takes their turn, the words are acting as a pointer to the performance in the author’s mind. The reader has only what the words suggest, based on their life-experience, plus whatever punctuation you supply.

One quick way to find out if that’s your problem is to have the computer read it to you. It’s a great editing technique, in any case, because it picks up awkward phrasing, screwed up punctuation, and more.

Terry wrote: "I took a voice acting course with a view to eventually narrating my books. I started with my short story collection and found it was much harder than I anticipated (new respect for voice actors/nar..."

You are right about audio books. I thought I could narrate my novella, but it proved too hard. I had to give it to a narrator. Speaking and writing are different skill sets.

There is a book out there called 5000 words an hour. That is how you can "write" 5000 words is by dictation. I'm one of those people who can't dictate anything that makes a ton of sense. I'ver tried--more than once. I can type a whole story, but to dictate it, I can't. Now I can read aloud, but that means I have printed words infrong of me. If it works for you, go for it. You'll still need to do revisions and editing, etc, but it will save on typing and you can go faster than any stenographer.

one of my sisters actually went to school with a guy that could type faster than she could speak. and that's even with her being in choir for years.

Diana wrote: "There's something to be said about typing or handwriting. I find that I can dictate short ideas and scenes, but I need to have it flow from my fingers when it comes to the main project."
same - i use a note pad to write down key dates, character attributes, and situation ideas. but once I get going on the keyboard, everything comes together

Jeremy wrote: "Aloha, Group:

I'm curious if people here who produce their writing these days by dictation notice a difference in its quality or their ability to even write it that way at all.

I am an author who..."

I tend to write in longhand, pen and paper, old-skool stylee, if it's something of importance to me, particularly fiction. Don't know if this helps.

I'm also a podcaster, but I like to type out my intro and so forth and read from it aloud on the show. Again, not sure if this answers your question.

By the way, what is your podcast about?

I sometimes use dication but only to get quick thoughts down. it requires cleanup and is never final. I do find it useful for dialogue. It can help you get out performative dialogue.

Different parts of the brain are used when typing vs talking. Your storytelling ability is tied to typing if you've done it for a long time. That's why natural storytellers can necessarily write their stories.

I have been trying Google's Voice Typing tool lately, and indeed, I was surprised to realize that it didn't make my "writing" faster. I stumbled through my own thoughts/words and had to make many revisions. However, like with most things, practice makes a difference. I take a moment to think before I "click to speak" and it's going a bit smoother now.

Due to physical restrictions I tend to write ideas and some content longhand then dictate. I do this very slowly and I always edit what I’ve spoken but it does help me achieve a better word count these days!
Obv. I then edit longhand too but I like the idea of getting the computer to read it for me!

I think I just use a different part of my brain to type/write than to speak, in the same way I use a different part of my brain to sew or draw. My verbal skills are significantly lower than my written skills, imo. I also edit as I write, putting the sentences together bit-by-bit, so I'm not sure how that work with dictating. It's an interesting idea for someone who is very good at speaking though. Might also be useful for quick notes or to sort out your thoughts. I think I remember hearing that Stephen Colbert wrote his biography by dictating so it def works for some.

My observation from working in a law firm where many use Dragon Naturally speaking for dictation, is that the creates more work not less. While the words get on the page, the tone is off and requires editing, and the formatting is less than desired.

For me, personally, I would suspect the speaking brain and the writing brain are not the same. The art would be different.

Years ago, I worked for the great statesman and Kennedy cabinet member, George Ball. I was in his office once when he dictated an entire book chapter to his secretary, scarcely pausing. Incredible.

The problem with typing and modern word-processing is the temptation to go back and edit repeatedly while composing, which often leads to poor flow. If you type, you need to resolve not to go back and edit until you've completed at least a page, or possibly a chapter.

Whether you type or dictate, your work should always be read aloud--multiple times--before it goes to press. I use multiple different text-to-speech programs to make sure the text flows.