Sunday check-in

This week was very eventful. How have you been getting on? While I haven’t made my goal this week in word count, I have made many strides in other areas. In the last 10 hours, I have been getting to know my new software: Dragon Dictate. So far so good, but it needs a lot of training. We’re feeling each other out though.

I’ve been really encouraged by all the wonderful posts, twitter encouragement, and supportive comments on this blog and around the web. The round of words challenge is in full swing and I hope everyone is doing well. I can’t believe how much time is passed already. I have some personal deadlines to meet over the next week and a half so will be keeping a low profile. This new software is going to take up most of my time.

The most startling event of all is that my oldest son has suddenly shown an interest in journaling.  He sat over my shoulder and watched me a go through intensive word training with Dictate. Something about it really triggered his interest, and all night he has been writing furiously in a journal I bought him for Christmas. For a kiddo who has, until now, shown no inclination toward language arts in any form, this is a quiet miracle. I won’t draw attention to it, because I don’t want him to be self-conscious about it.

It’s been a pretty cool week.

Summary of the week:

• completed edits on the first chapter of a future submission and progressed into chapter 2
• helped my critique partners with two of their works in progress and  got a little love out of that myself.
• received my new software programs: Scrivener, Snow Leopard for Mac, and Dragon Dictate
• took time off from work to get my writing stuff on track, and take a (much needed!) break from work.
• completed 3800 words before I got my dictate software (Not bad if I do say so myself).

I have two other friends who are submitting to the same publishing house I am, and another who submitted for a wonderful anthology.  I’ve also been asked to participate in a charity anthology on behalf of a very very dear friend.  I hope the week has gone well fellow writers, and look forward to seeing your updates.  I’m still learning the ins and outs of this dictation software, so please forgive any strange word mistakes in this text. I hope I caught it all!

Keep writing!

Dawn Montgomery

Check out the other Round of Words in 80 days participants!

Adventures in Dragon Dictate

This is my first adventure in Dragon Dictate. I am writing this post using DragonDictate 2.0. It was quite an adventure to get here.

As most of you know, I was waiting on software that was backordered. Today was the two week mark, and my husband convinced me to contact the local Best Buy. Luckily, they had it in stock. So my husband, being the wonderful man that he is, drove me to Best Buy to pick up my new software. Two hours later, and after some interesting side quests involving new personnel, we were finally able to get our software.

Upon our arrival home, I found that I had made a rookie mistake. I have bought software without checking compatibility. My amazing husband, and hero of my world,  turned right around and bought me snow leopard 10.6 for Mac. It took the sales associates half an hour to figure out how to use a new software program at  Best Buy. Even then, my hero remained stoic. I’m sure he was cursing me in his mind. Truly, I can’t say that I blame him. When he brought it home, he told me that he had suffered stupidity so that I may be a best-selling author.  It made me laugh, as I’m sure he intended.

This is not the first time I used dictation software. At work, for the very same reasons, I have been forced to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to maintain my reports, e-mails, and other administrative work. The linear thought process is far easier for me. I don’t feel foolish, arrogant, or afraid of getting it wrong. Writing fiction, however, is proving to be a much different kind of challenge.

Lynn Viehl has given me some amazing pointers. Here are a few I would like to share with you:

• Use the software for everything. The only way it feels natural is by constant usage.
• Don’t get frustrated with yourself. You are training the computer to listen to your voice, and your voice alone. Not as easy as it sounds.
• It helps to visualize the scene before you begin writing it. Imagine it’s like a movie. We’ll see how well that goes.

I hope you enjoy my introduction to Dragon Dictate, and I can’t wait to find out how much more I’m going to learn in the next 48 hours. My kids sure think it’s neat.

Keep writing,

Dawn