HarryG

At Christmas, I was presented with a brand new, expensive voice recognition program from a well meaning and well-off close relative. Having tried an older version of the same program some five years previously, I nearly put the still boxed present on e-bay, but then, having a lot of spare time on my hands, I installed the thing, replaced the supplied microphone with a decent one, and read the instructions, gritting my teeth for quite a few hours.


Five years ago, I managed to get the accuracy level up to some 70%, before throwing the whole works into the dustbin.


This time, after much teeth-gritting, I got the accuracy level up to over 95%, and everything worked, from formatting to complete compatibility with Word, OpenOffice and the others.


Over the next two months, I completed the first draft of a 100,000 word novel, in my usual genre, hardly touching the keyboard, a task that would normally have taken me at least six months. For once, I didn't have to worry about tennis elbow.


I was going to sit down and sing the praises of voice recognition, especially for young writers with limited keyboard skills, but there's more.


Having completed the first draft, I read through it and, at first, felt elated. The grammar was robust enough, the spelling was perfect, and the story got told, and very quickly at that. I even thought that revision would take much less time than usual, it all looked perfect, in fact, too perfect.


I put the project away for a couple of weeks and read it again, this time with a more critical eye. Then it dawned on me that I had produced a bland, soulless story, full of verbose and flowering prose, with unreal dialog from the characters. The sentences, paragraphs and chapters melted into each other effortlessly, but boringly.


Revision is impossible, it will have to be a complete re-write, and I haven't got the heart for that now, I may never have.


I would still recommend voice recognition, especially for tennis elbow sufferers like myself, but not for any lengthy writing. Maybe the next program will be better? Maybe a mechanical voice will stop you halfway through and tell you to stop being such a pucking bore (the program doesn't recognise rude words).

archer88iv

I never considered that losing the keyboard would lose you your soul as well. Very interesting!

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Just Jim

I think when we write, our brain is doing work we don't think about. We are focused on "words on the page", which, after all, is what writing is about. Because we SEE it as we write, we can feel that we are babbling.

That's my experience.

Must admit I haven't tried voice rec in several years. I also had the 70% experience.

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HarryG

I think the few seconds delay between engaging the brain and talking aloud, and the slightly longer delay between engaging the brain and tapping at the keyboard, makes the difference. During those few seconds, we add perspective to what we want to say.


Using the voice recognition program, we would say, (I said) (for example, using dialog): He said, “ |If you say that again, you're going to make me angry”.


On the keyboard, with that few seconds delay, I would probably have written, “If you say that again, I'm going to knock your fucking head off”.


In context, of course, to prove a point.


Unfortunately, having installed the program, I can no longer sell it on e-bay. Maybe, once I've calmed down, I can think of a use for it, blogging comes to mind.

vikingligrveldi

I see what you're all saying but I have just one objection - the human species has a much longer tradition of oral story-telling than written. Many of my favorite writers claim to have gotten their skills from listening to tall tales and the like, so maybe VR could help develop new skills if you keep at it. Of course, I guess the difference is that in the "tale tale" there is a responsive audience rather than an isolated individual...

Remedy

I see that there's a defintine difference in oral story telling and writing stories. I've done both often enough, and I get good reviews on both, but if you were to switch them - make my writing into speaking/my speaking into writing - it wouldn't turn out well.

With oral story telling, you're adding in things that can't be transmitted in writing. Whereas you're switching tones and adding accents (perhaps) in the former, written words don't reflect that; they can look rather monotone without some indication on the page. And you probably add in movements and gestures to your oral tales, which also can't be picked up in writing.

It sucks that your tennis elbow can make writing painful for you.

CodeRed

Hehe, I've had a couple of those actually. I called them friends.
(Read what you have written out loud to someone over the phone - you'll quickly find out how boring it is...)

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rumpole40k

I've always found my inner monologue when writing is far different from anything I produce while speaking.

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mi is happy

You think more when you write than you do when you talk or so I do. I can never describe my ideas very well when speaking as I do on paper.

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lin

This sounds great. I do a LOT of my composition on a digital recorder, then have to transcribe it. And the don't put jacks for foot pedals in them anymore, so it's even bigger pain in the ass. I'd LOVE to just pump it thorugh and come out with raw text.

What program are you talking about?

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Swamp Thing

I spent my last three years as a lawyer without a secretary using Dragon Naturally Speaking. I'd used a dictaphone as a young lawyer. But I preferred the keyboard. That said, I'm intrigued by your story and want to try to dictate a short story into DNS and see what happens.

As an aside, both of my kids have reading deficits (why I'm retired) and we are using a reading program to help them with their school work. I may try to listen to it with my latest short story.

Back on point - you say you spent a month writing a novel that would normally take you 6. Perhaps you should now truly try to edit it and see if it takes you more than 5 months to do so.

good luck,

ST

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ash somers

an interesting topic
i'm researching voice recognition
for our documentation systems at werk

i see it as the way forward for staff entering info
currently we're using hand held palm pilots or computers
i'd like to revolutionise the whole information gathering process
i'm kind of pinning my hopes on voice recognition being the answer
although no luck so far, still waiting on decent software to be invented

StephenP2003

If I could speak as well as I write, I would be making a lot more money. I've tried those programs before, and one side of my brain eventually becomes frustrated and belittles the other.

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JosephB

Jorge Luis Borges, who was blind, dictated all his writing. I'd be interested to know what his exact process was.

With me it would be, "No wait, scratch that, uhm, ah, how about..."

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HarryG

Yes, I'm talking about Dragon Naturally Speaking, version Nine, I think. With a bit of application, it works perfectly, with an accuracy rate of nearly 100%, and all the bells and whistles.


But, as others have commented, transcribing thoughts straight on to 'paper', seems (to me at least) entirely different to using the keyboard, maybe it's like a firewall in reverse.


I've puzzled over the reason for my failed experiment. I had planned the story well in advance, my chapter discipline was in place, I was able to write (dictate) without much interruption in my usual writing place, I was keen and eager to write, perhaps too much so; there was no time-pressure, not too many contractual obligations to worry about, the story did not include any controversial material which required censorship . . .


It just didn't work for me and I'm back at the keyboard.