I Finally Cracked the Dictation Code
When Technology Actually Works as Promised
Last week, I wrote about my ongoing struggles with dictation on the iPhone. The built-in dictation function was driving me crazy, cutting out between one and three minutes, often without that telltale tone to warn you, or at least I don’t hear it. A writer would carry on dictating, thinking everything was fine, only to discover it had all vanished into the digital ether. Frustrating doesn’t begin to cover it.
Author’s note: All of my experiences with dictation are based within the Apple ecosystem. For Android users, you may be in the wonderful position that you don’t have any of these difficulties. I wouldn’t know, but if that is true, drop me a line and let me know.
I also experimented with the Record Audio function in Apple Notes, but honestly, the transcription quality was abysmal. It’ll improve eventually, of that I have absolutely no doubt, so I’ll revisit it when the next update comes in a month or so.
The last thing I tried was dictating directly into Ulysses, which seemed to last quite a bit longer, just over five minutes, but even that eventually cut out. So I started thinking: what are my other options?
I have heard that dictating directly to the laptop doesn’t have the same problem. But that’s a different form of dictation and not what I’m trying to achieve right now.
An interesting note about this image, taken on an older iPhone model by my sister. There was an Electricity Pylon right in the middle of the image. I asked ChatGPT 5 to remove it and the cables. This result is the first attempt. Stunning.
The Voice Memo Breakthrough
Listening to Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on a couple of podcasts, including Kevin Tumlinson’s Wordslinger, she briefly mentioned using Voice Memo. I thought, ah, that could be a possible solution. Yesterday, I gave it a try.
The first attempt wasn’t so good. I started the voice recording while driving home in my car, not far from the house. The phone had a Bluetooth connection to the car, so as soon as I turned the car off, the connection dropped, and that seemed to interrupt the recording. The change of status appears to affect it.
Second test: I just had the phone sitting on the table on the terrace, wandered around as I usually do, talking nonsense. Well over five minutes later, it was still going strong. This is looking more positive, I thought to myself.
Then I had to take the doggies out for a walk. Taking them out one at a time, I took our West Highland Terrier out first. Started a new voice memo and began recording. For the entire short walk, which lasted only about 15 minutes, it worked a treat. What’s also good is that the transcript seems to be pretty top-notch. A few minor issues, but nothing major, and not as severe as the Record Audio function.
The November Challenge Beckons
So what does this bode for the future? Well, I can see this leading me to the second part of this newsletter: Novel November. The novel challenge from ProWritingAid is really a direct replacement for the old NaNoWriMo, which I never had the guts to take part in. This is the second bite of the cherry.
In response to a valid comment from a colleague on Substack by Jack Harmer about rushing things. From previous posts, it seems I don’t want to rush the books, which is true. I want to enjoy the process. However, I’m setting myself up for a 50,000-word target in 30 days in November, which does seem like rushing it.
Well, that’s not how I’m looking at it. 50,000 words – if I make it comfortably, and there’s the keyword, it has to be comfortable, has to be a pleasure – then great. If I don’t, that’s also fine. The whole point of the exercise is to find my sweet spot. When and how much do I feel comfortable writing? Dictating, should I say? And if the quality of the transcription is good enough, then it will save me time, which I think it should do.
The Two-Part Process
This means the first draft process will be split into two parts. There’s the dictation and the transcript, and then the second part, the most important, is the editing. That’s where the real fun starts. It’s going to be a hoot to dictate, but it will also be great fun to review the mistakes, reformat, and get the scene just right, then paste it into the project and move on to the next scene. Maybe not the next scene chronologically in the book, that’s not so important, but a scene nonetheless.
I think, learning from Kevin J. Anderson, a prolific dictator (by the way, a shout out to Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer for coining the term “fictator,” which is quite cool and sounds a lot better than dictator, doesn’t it?), if I remember correctly, he has notes on a few scenes which he briefly familiarizes himself with, and then dictates the scene. He revisits the next scene, knows his notes, knows what he’s trying to achieve, what the arc of the scene is, and then dictates that one. I think that’s quite a smart move. When a man has dictated so many books, you can’t really argue with that, can you?
Getting Organized for November
So that’s the long and short of it. I’m looking forward to the November challenge. However, before that, I need to get myself organized. The last thing I want to do is wait until November 1, 2025, and then start writing. What I need to do is set up and organize things so that I have a routine and a process to work with.
You have to consider that I have a day job, only three days a week, thank goodness, but that also has an impact. Typically, for the three days I commute to work, I get up at 5:00 a.m., potter around, have a cup of coffee, read the news, solve Wordle, and do various other things. However, I could also dictate a scene, which might mean getting up half an hour early, by having a scene prepared and dictating it before I shower, get ready, and leave for work. That would help towards the weekly goal.
Fifty thousand words, that’s about 1,666 words per day. So, doing the maths, the weekly amount is going to be around 12,500 words over four weeks, with a couple of days extra for unforeseens. Sounds doable? Maybe, maybe not. Gulp!
The Family Factor
The other problem I have is convincing my wife that it’s a good idea for me to be writing every day for an entire month. Something that I’m very sure she won’t be all that keen on. And especially as I’ve never written a book yet, this should be the first one. It’s understandable why she should be a little bit upset. So, anything I can do to mitigate the friction, I’ll do, and dictation seems to be a really good scenario for that.
The Two-Book Dilemma
Last thing: For two weeks or so, I’ve been wondering why I have to pick just one book to write. Why can’t I work on both books? Not, of course, at the same time, but work on one until I reach a certain stage where I’m happy with it and need a bit of a rest, then switch over to the other one.
The way my brain seems to work is that when I’m working on one particular book, towards the end of that session, as I’m getting tired (not bored, just tired), I have ideas about the other one. So, I don’t see the harm in trying, at least, to switch over to the other book at a convenient point and start working on that.
The big difference between the two books is that one is a discovery-driven narrative, it’s organic (I hate that term, but it seems to be the most appropriate). The other one is plotted. I’m not too sure how that’s going to work together, but it could be fun. There is a certain amount of discovery writing involved in the plotted book as well. I don’t have to write all the scenes and chapters linearly. I can, if I choose, focus on an area I need to work on and work on that. When I return to that book in a week or two, I can then focus on another area to work through.
I think the important thing is to get to the stage of having a completed first draft, either one or both, of course. Typically, one book will take priority over the other. That’s likely to be what I’ve termed my passion project, for which I already have 30,000 words. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of some of the writing; it was pretty cool. Still needs a lot of work, though, but we will see. The whole point: first draft.
That book will likely be the one that reaches the completed first draft stage before the second book. But that’s okay. I’ll put it away, mull over it for a few weeks, and meanwhile, I’ll continue with the other book.
Final Thoughts
In summary, I’m very curious to see where I’ll end up in the next few months. I did mention that I’m also going to the Self-Publishing Conference in London next June. So I really want to have at least one book well past the first draft stage and well into the editing stage, possibly both, before I go there, so I don’t feel like a complete idiot. A wannabe, and that’s just me.
Voice memo seems to have solved my dictation woes, at least for now. The transcript quality is solid, it doesn’t cut out after a few minutes, and I can finally see a path forward to making real progress on my fiction projects. November’s challenge is looking more achievable by the day.
Final, final note: for the first time, the entirety of this post was dictated, from start to finish. A few polishes, and it’s ready to publish. Super cool.