Wednesday On Writing - Writing With "Dragon"

I'm trying out this Dragon Naturally Speaking speech-recognition dictation program again. I haven't used it since Ian got his new computer, but just before New Year’s, he hooked it up for me and helped me with the set up. He also loaded it into my laptop, so ideally, I should be able to write anywhere and not just at this desktop computer. I hope it will help me to be more productive with my writing, especially since I've been having recurring pain and numbness with my shoulder, arm and hand. It figures that of all places for me to have pain it would have to be my writing arm.

It's definitely a little weird using this program. I have to train it to understand and interpret my voice and that's not easy because I tend to talk fast, and, with my long-time sinus problem, my voice is nasally. The last time I used the program, to type Michelle's first draft of her Blackboard book a few years back, there were all kinds of odd little typos and misinterpretations. It was pretty funny!

And it's also a little strange dictating my words into a microphone rather than writing them out in longhand or typing them. When I think of dictation, I picture some kind of retro-era businessman or professor or pompous autobiographer walking around his office, telling his secretary what to write in a business letter, classroom plan, or memoir., And the secretary furiously scribbling in shorthand or speed typing at over hundred words per minute.

But, with the recent developments in voice activation technology, anyone should be able to use it for any form of writing, as shown in the Dragon commercials currently on cable TV. And in many cases it can be easier to use Dragon, rather than traditional methods of writing.

After all, what is writing anyway but a form of communication? I guess I have to get over the idea that writing must be done with a pen or a computer keyboard. There have been some amazing works written with nontraditional methods, by authors who have been disabled in some way. Stephen Hawking has written many science books by twitching his facial muscle at letters on a computer screen until those letters make up words and sentences. The Irish author Christy Brown, who had severe cerebral palsy, wrote several books using just his left foot – as depicted in the biographical movie, My Left Foot. And Helen Keller wrote her many essays and books on a Braille typewriter and also used a manual alphabet to dictate her words into the hands of her editor.

I would never think to compare myself in any way to these remarkable and renowned people – I’m just mentioning them to back up the fact that writing can be done in many different forms. And I’m very grateful that my pain condition is not a serious disability.

But at the same time, I’m also glad there’s a program like Dragon, to make writing a bit more manageable and less frustrating, when I’m not able to use the pen or keyboard. And I hope I can become adept in using it, and that it will help me to be more successful in accomplishing my writing goals this year, and in the future.