Old Tech, New Tricks: Using Standard Tools to Enhance Writing and Editing

While so much of writing and being creative has remained the same over the millennia, the tools we use for writing and editing have changed dramatically in just the last century. While most people use technology for writing and editing, many are using it differently, allowing increased productivity and improved self-editing.

Today, we’ll take a quick look at ways authors can use standard technology tools to enhance their writing and editing. Continue reading “Old Tech, New Tricks: Using Standard Tools to Enhance Writing and Editing”

Voice-to-Text Dictation Software

talk to text dictation for authors LISTEN DUMMY Just how much progress have computer systems made in understanding the human voice? I don’t mean recognizing specific commands, like the hands-free Bluetooth in your car. I’m looking for a tool an author can use to write a book without typing. I want to know how well a computer can understand people when they just talk to it. And the answer is, “not very well.” Continue reading “Voice-to-Text Dictation Software”

This is Your Brain on Writing

I used to write first drafts longhand. Yes, with my actual hands using a device they once called a “pen,” which is not the same as that stylus-thing you use at the bank or on your MaxiPad. And paper: lots of paper in lots of marble composition notebooks, at least fifty of which are currently on a shelf in my closet. Many trees died for my filthy habit. But I was not ashamed because they were bad trees, bad, misbehaving trees that jumped into traffic and collided with people’s cars. Bad, naughty trees.

Continue reading “This is Your Brain on Writing”