Post: #1

Hey guys,

I recently read the book "5000 words an hour", which is a strategy book on how to write 5000 words an hour.

One of the tips the author described was to use speech to text software. The average human being can talk at 120 words a minute, whereas the average typing speed is probably at the upper end of 80.

The author recommended Dragon Dictate. I got a copy of it, but it seems the speech to text software censors swearwords.

A half hour of googling yielded no decent results, it seems like most speech to text software engages heavily in censorship with no way to turn it off.

Do you guys know of any good speech to text software that doesn't censor anything? Dragon Dictate seemed like a winner because it would adapt to your voice (my voice is very low and flat), but I don't want to have to sift through mountains of dialogue to find out where I was swearing when it says (damn near) anything else.

Post: #2

I've got Dragon Naturally Speaking and a hundred dollar microphone. (The Mic makes a difference, don't get if those fifty dollar "I work at a call center" headsets)

There's a learning curve that I haven't mastered yet. But I could easily punch out five hundred words in four and a half minutes.

It's a very different way to write. I realized that I do a fair amount of mental editing when I type.

Interestingly, one of the stumbling blocks for me was running out of things to say. I ended up writing an outline.

Write a script to dictate a piece.

But you need to have your thoughts organized to really get a good 10,000 words per hour.

I honestly think I could write a three hundred page manuscript in two weeks if I knew what I wanted to say.

WIA

Post: #3

I've just been speaking into the laptop. Does it still censor swear words?

https://www.amazon.com/000-Words-Hour-Fa...oks&sr=1-1

The author for this book said to practice "word sprints" where every day you sit down and write, uninterrupted, for 5 straight minutes. Over time, you can bump this up. The author does half hour "word sprints". This is for typing.

Practicing the word sprint is to practice forcing your mind into a flow state. You're going to stumble around and it's going to look like shit for a couple weeks, but since you're putting out so much volume, your writing will get better much faster because you have more to work with.

The author said he'll do a 7 minute word sprint with Dragon Dictate on his phone so he can cram an extra 500 words in a day. This right here is why I want to get the speech to text software rolling.

I can write a rough outline for a book while going for a walk, instead of sitting in a stuffy room while staring at a computer screen.

Post: #4

You can teach it anything. Like Swype, it doesn't come with swear words preloaded.

WIA

Post: #5

Hannibal, I make audio recordings and hire people from upwork.com and craigslist to transcribe them. It is quite cheap.

One day the software may be good enough to replace those jobs but for now this is the best choice.

Post: #6

I was messing around with Dragon Dictate last night for a couple hours (just bought the software).

Didn't know it at the time, but it actually learns from your voice. So I uploaded it today after it synchronized the voice recording with my profile and it's way more accurate.

I actually wrote this post with it.

I went outside for a twenty minute walk. Got ten minutes of recording which equaled a thousand words of unfiltered crap. Works pretty good, I can tell this will be a real game changer.

Post: #7

(05-10-2016 11:05 AM)storm Wrote:  Hannibal, I make audio recordings and hire people from upwork.com and craigslist to transcribe them. It is quite cheap.

One day the software may be good enough to replace those jobs but for now this is the best choice.

I'm going to give Dragon Dictate an honest go for a couple weeks, but I'm mightily impressed with how well it worked a little while ago. I'd rather keep my overhead cost as low as possible.

The best part is that I can record it directly into my phone, then send the MP3 to my computer and have Dragon Dictate transcribe it. I don't have carpal tunnel but I could see this preventing it over time.

Post: #8

(05-10-2016 11:05 AM)storm Wrote:  Hannibal, I make audio recordings and hire people from upwork.com and craigslist to transcribe them. It is quite cheap.

One day the software may be good enough to replace those jobs but for now this is the best choice.

Cheap enough to turn podcasts into print?

I'd like to read more than listen to audio or watch video

WIA

Post: #9

I have the Dragon software but It is still in the box, I bought it when I had a writing gig but never got around to installing it. I should have a Shure 57 laying around somewhere.

Post: #10

I haven't had the need for this type of software, yet.

However, my step dad, who is very clever, but computer illiterate, gets really great results with Dragon. As mentioned.

He even installed it himself. It's opened up a whole new world to him and his failing eyesight. It does what he wants it to do, not that different from what you are after.

Oops, just saw you got it all set up and working. I'll just leave this here as a sort of (proxy) recommendation.

Post: #11

I'm considering getting the mobile version after reading this thread. I've written two ebooks this week which totalled just over 15k words, and I thought I was doing good for typing 5000 words a day (let alone an hour). I think that it will also aid in my public speaking, as I will be forced to pause and not say "umm" otherwise that will be in the transcript.

Do you guys run the full desktop version or just the mobile?

Post: #12

I must ask other writers. I have learned to type using the proper method however, I still prefer to hunt and peck. I make less mistakes. Im not as fast but I spend less time correcting mistakes made while speed typing. Why dont I use the more effective method? Is it because I feel beta when typing like a secretary?
Let it be known I hunt-and-peck fast as shit and have less carpal tunnel problems that way, yet I still wonder. Anyone else have 2 cents to give? A penny for your thoughts?
Hunt and peck, proper typing method, or dictation preferred?

Post: #13

I tried writing with speech recognition software for a few weeks. I ended up spending so long editing and re-writing that it didn't save me any time or increase my output.

The problem is that speech is unstructured, full of half-sentences and jumping around various topics. What makes writing so hard is the task of putting your thoughts down in a logical, easy-to-follow sequence using simple and clear language.

I know people who have got their typing speed up to 120-150wpm, so you could (with practice) be able to type as fast as you speak. Online games like Typeracer are good tools to get faster.

Post: #14

Did anyone compare Dragon Dictate with the free speech to text that comes with every Mac? I started to use MacOS speech to text for foreign languages such as Spanish and French since it works pretty well for emails *and* it saves me from typing all those special characters ñ etc. I recommend it. Quite some latinas were impressed so far :-)

Don't want to start a PC/Mac thread at all, but I actually bought the cheapest Mac Mini I could find years ago to go the other way around, text to speech for web casts (since I am not a native speaker I thought a machine voice will sound more professional than my own accent). Even this works ok. Still noticeable that its machine speaking of course, but non-native speaking friends asked me whether I hired a professional speaker for those webcasts.

Both text-to-speech and speech-to-text has made dramatic improvements over the last year. This is due to massive machine learning networks behind Google and Apple. Also it will further improve imo. I wonder if "static" software like Dragon Dictate can keep up with it.

Teenagers typically talk to their mobiles most of the time.
Do you?

(05-10-2016 09:14 AM)Hannibal Wrote:  Hey guys,
...
The author recommended Dragon Dictate. I got a copy of it, but it seems the speech to text software censors swearwords.

Post: #15

(05-16-2016 08:14 AM)el conquistador Wrote:  I tried writing with speech recognition software for a few weeks. I ended up spending so long editing and re-writing that it didn't save me any time or increase my output.

The problem is that speech is unstructured, full of half-sentences and jumping around various topics. What makes writing so hard is the task of putting your thoughts down in a logical, easy-to-follow sequence using simple and clear language.

Speech-to-text for first draft, writing for editing.

If you've got an outline and know your material, then it really helps maintain the stream of consciousness that comes out to make a good first draft.

Post: #16

Has anyone tried just google speak to text? Seemed to work pretty well for me. I even just turned it on while listening to a webinar play in the background and it transcribed it pretty well.

Post: #17

(05-19-2016 07:10 PM)killthebeta Wrote:  Has anyone tried just google speak to text? Seemed to work pretty well for me. I even just turned it on while listening to a webinar play in the background and it transcribed it pretty well.

Agreed, I thought I posted basically this exact same thing but I must've forgot when this thread first started. Google speech to text stuff isn't perfect but it does a great job on my voicemails and things like that. I don't even listen to my voicemail anymore, I just read the transcript Google generates.

Post: #18

It's a skill you'd have to learn, I think. Kevin J Anderson is well known for using dictation as a composition method. He pays people to transcribe for him, which can get expensive for good quality work.

I tried dictation as a composition method a while back, but now I just use a voice recorder for brainstorming and planning while I'm driving or doing something that doesn't require a lot of thought, and stick to writing on my laptop. I can write 1000-1200 words of fiction an hour, and it has nothing to do with my typing speed: I type 80 wpm on cruise mode. Usually I write in short bursts with pauses while I think about where the story is going.

Dictation is not just about efficiency, though. At least in my case, my brain runs in a different gear, so to speak, when I'm talking out loud vs just typing on a computer. Writing with a pen is also different from those two things. So, that's why I use dictation as a form of brainstorming. For some reason I find it easier to consider options and plan things when I hear myself say stuff out loud. On the other hand I do my best design work with pen and paper, whether I'm sketching out something I want to build or designing a database schema. Far and away my best writing is done on a keyboard, whether it's a laptop or a typewriter.

The different methods are just tools in my toolbox.