The trouble with speech recognition...

As some of you may recall, I write my first drafts by hand. However, this has one major downside: I then have to type up this draft. Given I hate this, I had the idea of trying speech recognition software because, in theory, it should be quicker for me to read from my notes than it is for me to type up my notes... it's not. I ended up with this A Clockwork Orange style weirdness:

I snap my case nature.

Bottle, time, I burst in non-commitment there, that feeling of more Michael Vinn departments that best is me, sloppiness her. This is a crime punishable by extreme measures, is seen as the last person I detect a hint of love in him like in the girl when he found that she marry his spots, that it was all with profits overwhelmed. Except, I needn’t have treatment by administrative by him and how! I know his punishment will be severe in that ammunition getting his over, doubt she says there’s no love lost between me and him on that ground – space, you will meet thee.

"Go on then, enlighten in, and the pain of different," he says.

I guess this could be useful if I ever decide to make my writing dark, twisted and very odd, but I like happy writing that makes a bit more sense than the above! Looks like I'll have to stick to the pain-staking and horrible task of typing up my drafts myself. Yuck.

Does everyone else write straight onto a computer screen? Or, like me, do you write your drafts by hand? x

10 comments

  1. I remember when I "wrote" my first book - my first proper one - at 18, I wrote it all out by hand and then spent every waking hour for a week when my parents were away typing it up. What a nightmare.

    These days I can neither write for an extended period of time OR type for an extended period of time...

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  2. What software did you use??

    I write straight to the screen. A lot of outlining and scene scetches are done by hand in a notebook, as inspiration often strikes me when I'm away from home, but I use that as a starting point for writing fully on the computer.

    For some reason writing by hand I can only do the vaguest of outlines and I get lazy and skip details. So computers are the way forward for me!

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  3. Ha! I tried voice recognition software on my dad's computer once and it couldn't cope with my accent.

    Anyway...I used to write longhand. I wrote SO MUCH by hand when I was a teen and in my early 20s but now I have a computer I type straight onto the laptop. Longhand would drive me barmy these days. I want the story out now, now, NOW!

    However...when I get a bit tired or fancy a change of methods, I start writing longhand and before I know it I'm itching to get back to typing, so it can often kickstart me, or ease me into a new scene/chapter.

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  4. I remember when I tried out voice recognition software... It really is quite dreadful. It's just so much easier to type it out by the time you've corrected all the mistakes it has made!

    I think that editting by hand on a print out is so much easier and enjoyable, but because of all that paper used for print outs I tend to avoid doing it like that all the time if I can!

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  5. I write everything by hand first and then type it all out. Right now my laptop is toast, so I have been relying on my desktop. Not liking that very much.

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  6. I write my scripts longhand first and then type them up after a break. That way, it counts as a polish and opportunity to tweak as I go.

    For some reason, I find a blank page far less intimidating than a blank screen.

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  7. Hi Elle

    I can't find an email address for you, so please forgive me intruding on your comment wall. I’d like to invite you to write about your favourite books at www.bookdrum.com, where you can add information, images, video, music and links to illustrate and explore the books.

    Right now, we're running a £2,000 Tournament and we'll be offering contract work to the best entries.

    Best wishes

    Hector Macdonald
    Editor, Book Drum

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  8. I just keep trying different things - how I ever managed to write a 10k word dissertation I have no idea! I have a notebook that I carry around with me nearly all the time that I scribble ideas in and stuff like that. I guess Non-Fiction writing might be my forte lol.

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  9. What software were you using? I depend upon voice recognition software (I'm using it to write this and so far haven't had to make a single correction) and now write all my novels using it. I actually find that it allows the work to flow much more, for me, at least.

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  10. Thanks for all the comments everyone. :)

    For those who asked, I just used the voice recognition software that comes with Vista. I think I'm going to have to give it another go, though apparently it could have gone odd on me as I was just using the microphone built-in to my laptop ... I'll see what I end up with next time, but it would save me an awful lot of time typing up drafts, if I can get it to work!! :)

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