The benefits of speech to text as a writer.
Speeding up your writing. Get all your thoughts down at once. not having to be slowed down.
Ask any writer and they’d tell you they have a million thoughts running through their head as they try to write their novel. Either in the beginning stages or 2nd draft. From plot, characters, arcs, scenes, chapters, it can be too confusing when starting out. It’s impossible to keep it all straight in their head. It’s like a hurricane.
The worst part is forgetting something important they wanted to add to their novel. Something they know would’ve been amazing. A major scene or plot twist. But with so many thoughts running through their mind how could you expect to remember them all.
In this blog, we will be looking at a way to stop that from happening. we will be looking at The benefits of speech to text as a writer...
THE BENEFITS OF SPEECH TO TEXT
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Some writers will try to write everything down as fast as possible so they do not forget. then go back and expand on what was written. Throwing everything down on paper while brainstorming. This is a good idea it can help, however, there is another option most writers are not aware of, it’s called speech to text.
It gives the author the ability to speak your thoughts out loud and everything you say will appear on the screen of your laptop as you write. This way all your thoughts can be captured at one time.
IT WAS TOO TIME-CONSUMING
Back in the “olden days” (before the computer). A writer could carry a small recording device in their pocket and when they had a new idea they could speak it out loud, play it back later and write down what they hear. It did work but it was time-consuming, trying to write down what you heard. And had to rewind and listen again if you missed anything.
With speech to text on your computer, everything you say will appear on the screen as fast as you can say it. Eliminating the idea of having to playback what you recorded earlier.
THEY HAVE TOO MANY THOUGHTS IN THEIR HEAD
For some writers, their problem isn’t being able to type fast enough. Too many thoughts in their head and their fingers not moving fast enough to keep up. Causing them to miss out on thoughts running through their head.
By the time they have finished one thought, countless others have escaped them. With speech to text, you can now record all those thoughts simply by saying them. Now they don’t have to worry about missing out on something important because of their slow writing speed.
YOU CAN START OFF BRAINSTORMING
Of course, you’ll have to go back and edit what you have recorded. Rarely does anyone uses speech to text and captures everything perfectly the first time through. There will be changes you want to make. But using speech to text allows you to get your thoughts on the screen so you can look them over instead of them being lost in your mind.
Most writers will start off brainstorming their novel idea. They may not know how the story begins or ends but they have many thoughts running through their mind about their new novel. Speech to text gives you a chance to put it all down. Then step back and look at what you have.
THE DIALOGUE CAN END UP SOUNDING FAKE
Dialogue can be tricky for a new writer. Some writers can hear the conversation going on in their heads and try to write it down. But the speed at which they write is too slow. The dialogue flys through their head and they cannot type fast enough to keep up. So they end up losing the natural-sounding conversation. What they end up writing is a half-mixed bag of good dialogue that sounds fake.
But with speech to text, a writer can simply say the conversation out loud as it runs through their head and it appears on the screen. They get the overall flow of the conversation down. Which might not have happened if they tried writing it. They can go back later and edit the conversation but the overall idea has been captured and not lost. Leaving the writer feeling bad that their overall idea is mist out on.
IT DOES FEEL FUNNY AT FIRST
Of course, it feels funny to use speech to text at first. The main reason people don’t use it is that it feels odd. Something they haven’t done before. It takes time to get used to the idea of speaking out loud in front of your computer. And having your words appear on the screen. But after a few times, you do get used to it. It’s odd at first but after a few times, you don’t realize it anymore.
It feels weird at the start, you find yourself alone in your living room talking. And it’s not something you’re used to doing so you want to stop. but in time you get used to it and it becomes second nature.
IT WILL NOT REPLACE WRITING
Some writers are bad at spelling. They’re slowed down as they try spelling each word properly. If they stop to go back and fix anything it disrupts the flow of the story running through their mind. However, with speech to text, the words will be spelled correctly. So the stress of spelling correctly will be taken away.
No one is saying the speech to text will replace novel writing fully. But having it to use in the beginning brainstorming stages helps out. In getting the overall flow of the novel down on a computer screen. Freeing up the writer’s mind to then look at what they have and move things around to form a storyline. One in which they can work on at a slower speed without having to worry about forgetting anything.
GETTING THE SKELETON DOWN
While writing a scene if they come up with a new idea on the spot instead of taking a long time to write it all out. They can click on speech to text and quickly say what they are thinking and have it appear on the screen. They can then go back to the original storyline without forgetting either one.
Speech to text is great for getting the skeleton down. This way you can step back and see your novel as a whole instead of focusing too much on a chapter. Like the old saying “can not see the forest from the trees.” Sometimes we need to step back to see something.
YOU WILL HAVE TO GO BACK TO EDIT
Of course, no one will finish speaking their novel and quickly send it off to a literary agent. They need to read it over and change things. Add periods, question marks, quotes, commas, when needed. The important part of speech to text is getting the main part of the story down. This way you free yourself from having it lost in your head and can and come back to it later.
Some writers talk of the beginning stages of writing a novel, how the idea comes to them. So many ideas all at once. They’re lost within the story, writing as fast as their fingers can move. Everything they write is amazing. They try writing as many chapters as quickly as they can, but the energy is lost a few days later. They have lost the flow of the storyline. they started off running but the story has stopped.
LOT LOSING ANYTHING IMPORTANT
This is where speech to text comes into play. They can say it all out loud, not losing anything important. Let their voice move as fast as your mind. This way the storyline is not lost. They can come back to it days or weeks later and still have the main idea in front of them.
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