Why I'm Rapidly Becoming a Dictator
And No, I Don't Mean Ruling With Total Power
This week, I'm revisiting the developing art of dictation. Perhaps you've tried it several times and decided it doesn't work. Read on; with practice, it will significantly increase your writing productivity.
?I just finished reading "On Being A Dictator," co-authored by prolific dictator Kevin J Anderson and Martin L Shoemaker. Although the book is concise and possibly overpriced, the ideas and techniques explored inspire me to keep plugging away.
The Quest for the Perfect Dictation Tool
As some may know, I've been using Otter AI for dictation and transcription for a few months. However, it seems Otter doesn't recognize voice commands for punctuation. For example, 'Period,' 'New line,' or 'Comma' are directly transcribed as text. Perhaps I'm missing something. If not, I'll probably change to something else and stop my auto subscription.
Again, this week's post is dictated, but it takes me far too long to edit it into a usable format. Something has to change. This process is just about doable for short-form posts, but it won't be worth it for anything longer.
The requirements are pretty simple. The process must transcribe voice, preferably in real-time, and should recognize basic punctuation and formatting voice commands. Figuring out which of the dozens of available Apps is the one for me is not so simple. I suspect I may return to the built-in Apple dictation (if I can get it to handle dictation of more than a few minutes).
Another option may be to purchase the latest version of Dragon Anywhere, championed by the co-authors mentioned above. I'll experiment with the free trial over the next week and will keep you posted.
The Learning Curve of Dictation
Whatever solution I eventually settle on, the dictation results will remain terrible, pending much more practice. If you've tried dictation, you will know how disjointedly we usually talk. Our brains filter this out, so we're unaware of it during a conversation. Consider how often you may repeat redundant words; what do I mean? Depending on your culture, you may repeat 'Like' in almost every sentence; another oft-repeated phrase is 'You know?' or 'You know what I mean?' Training ourselves to talk briefly and be disciplined is easier said than done.
The Potential of Dictation in Writing
I aim to use dictation to help me write the first draft of my books as quickly as possible. Experienced dictators may knock out thousands of words daily, often more productive than typing or handwriting. I want to use the time I have available as productively as possible.
For example, three times a week, I commute in the car; each way takes around an hour. That's 6 hours each week where I could be writing. Based on the 15 minutes I spent dictating the 1500 words for this newsletter, that's 600 words for each commute. OK, not all of it will be useful, so let's cut that estimate by half, say 3000 words per commute. That's 18 thousand words weekly, with a first draft of between 80 and 100 thousand produced in 5 to 6 weeks.
Imagine going for a walk and thinking of a scene. The point of view is first person, dictated from the antagonist's perspective. So, I put myself into the antagonist’s mind and spoke as though I were him (or her). The antagonist's motivations will become apparent during the conversation, improving the depth of the character and the narrative.
The Editing Process
Of course, every transcribed dictation session will require some fairly heavy editing afterward. But that's all right, as long as the editing sessions follow directly on the dictation sessions when everything is still fresh. Download the transcriptions and import them into your project. I use Scrivener, but your preferred writing process may be in Word or Google Docs—whatever you are comfortable with. Then edit it; don't delay.
As they say, practice makes perfect. Once this process runs smoothly and the dictation quality has sufficiently improved to reduce the editing required, I can see no reason I couldn’t arrange for several scenes to be dictated in a single session.
Plotting vs. Pantsing: Finding the Middle Ground
I'm still debating whether I'm a plotter, a Discovery Writer (Pantser,) or some form of hybrid. I'm almost coming to terms with the idea that I'm a hybrid. I would love to know where the story is going, but I am leaving as much wriggle room as possible.
I was listening to a podcast interview with J.D. Barker—a well-known and experienced author who, at one point, considered himself a confirmed Pantser. However, since co-authoring with James Patterson, he's developed a hybrid technique where sometimes he's a pantser and, often, a plotter. His plots, or story outlines, are generally 30 to 40 pages long, which is quite significant.
The advantage of this approach is that you can prepare notes or a synopsis for several scenes when planning a dictation session. Incidentally, this is how Kevin J Anderson works. Once they're imported into the project and edited, you can then pour out the notes or synopsis for the following two or three scenes.
My Approach to Chapter Length
For me, a scene equates to a chapter. I prefer to keep each scene/chapter between 1500 and 2000 words. Some writers like their chapters to contain several individual scenes, which is fine as long as each scene in the chapter is delineated by some form of visual break.
When I'm reading in bed, I'll likely read through to the end just before lights out if a chapter is 1500 to 2000 words. But if the chapter is very long, I'll have to stop reading at some arbitrary point and try to pick up the narrative the following day. In my mind, this impacts the fluidity of the story. Anyway, this is just my opinion.
Final Thoughts
Diving deeper into dictation, I'm excited and overwhelmed by the possibilities. Mastering this skill could revolutionize my writing process, potentially turning those commute hours into productive writing sessions. But like any new skill, it'll take time, patience, and a fair bit of trial and error to get it right.
Every writer's journey is unique; finding what works for you is key. That might mean becoming a "dictator" in the literary sense, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this path leads.
I’ll share my findings as I experiment with different tools and techniques. Until then, I'll keep practicing, refining, and, most importantly, writing.
The goal isn't perfection – it's progress. It doesn’t matter if you're typing, handwriting, or dictating; creativity matters most.