ANDRE BEGIN

A secondary part of the writing journey seems to be the constant hunt for the perfect writing tools.

While committing words to paper is a pretty simple concept, the multitude of ways one can capture, retrieve, store and rearrange story ideas is astonishingly impressive with today’s technology. The moment when I find ways to make things run more smoothly, spending more time actually creating than maintaining becomes a joy in itself.

Audio recording devices have always interested me. I have often thought that a recording device of some sort could be helpful in trying to capture those random writing ideas that seemingly hit at the least opportune moments.

When I think of prolific writer Dame Barbara Cartland who dictated to a secretary and was able to produce some 723 books and 160 unpublished works over her lifetime, I dream of how much more efficient I could be if I could incorporate some sort of dictation tool in my process.

A couple of decades ago, when I was first aware of my leaning toward creative writing, I got a good deal on a microcassette recorder. I admit that I had grand visions of capturing ideas on the run like some sort of secret agent writer. It seemed like a good idea at the time but unfortunately the only thing that ran were the batteries, as it sat in a drawer, mostly unused.

While in principle a microcassette recorder made a lot of sense, when I hit the record button, I froze up. I don’t know why it is, but over the course of many attempts, I only captured a few words and the tidal wave of ideas I was hoping for produced only a scattered shower.

A few years later, I tried dictation software to see if the stage fright might have passed. A good friend suggested I give it a try since the software had evolved from its earlier days.

While I seemed more comfortable with the microphone this time, what caused me grief was seeing my words popping up on screen a few words behind what I had just said.

My mind was trying to move forward to logically develop an idea, but the visual distraction of seeing what was said a few words ago was slowing me down. It was like trying to drive forward but getting distracted by something happening in the rear view mirror.

I tried looking away from the computer screen and let the software do its thing. When I turned back to the screen and saw words that I hadn’t said and that made no contextual sense whatsoever, my exasperation started to build.

I have been told that I speak pretty clearly. As a result, I have been called upon to speak in public on a variety of occasions. As long as I contain my nervousness and don’t speak too fast, or lose my breath and speak like Minnie Mouse from the top of my lungs, I am not prone to mumbling or contracting my words together. So how is the software interpreting these into random words?

Even more perplexing was trying to remember what I had said to go back and recreate the brainstorm.

To try to remedy that situation, I tried speaking even more slowly with clearer delineations between words which only seemed to inhibit the flow of ideas even more when talking in robot mode.

Between the clean-up work and the interruptions in my train of thought, I had to put dictation software aside, with the sincere hope that the technology would evolve further.

A few years later, in an episode of the TV show “Madam Secretary”, I noticed reporters talking into their pens, a new spin on recording devices. I wondered if a rematch with the most current generation of recording devices and dictation software was in order.

Opportunity knocked shortly thereafter.

It was while taking Ivy the Wonder Cat for her supervised leash walks that I wondered if there was a way for me to make good use of that time for myself. With the recent purchase of a latest generation iPhone, and a head full of blogging ideas just waiting to be captured, I decided to give the dictation capability in the Notes app a try.

What a revelation! The technology had indeed refined considerably!

The functionality is able to keep up with the flow of my ideas and words. The accuracy of the transcription is impressive. And with so few words needing correction, the thoughts as they were dictated are all there and form a solid first draft.

And isn’t that half of the battle with writing? To get that first draft committed to paper or computer, offering us a product to edit, polish and then release to the world.

Over the course of a twenty minute walk with Ivy, I can ramble off the top of my head the ideas that have been percolating in my subconscious on a given topic into a 500 to 1000 word first draft. If I have to be honest, it would take me longer than that to type it out myself.

What is interesting to me is the resulting tone. Given the spontaneous nature of dictation and speaking into the microphone as if I was talking to a friend, it lends itself to a first draft that sounds more convivial than if I was sitting and thinking at the computer.

What a delight it is when someone says, “In that last blog, it’s as if I could hear your voice.” If only they knew how that happened! Well, now the secret’s out!

While I certainly don’t think of myself as the next Dame Barbara Cartland, any tool that can help me download the ideas and stories from my brain more efficiently is a welcomed addition into my tool kit.

(originally published in 2019, updated in 2023)

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Have a great day,
André