How To Be A More Productive Writer: Use A Voice Recorder

Elisabeth S. Craig, one of my favorite bloggers and authors, recently mentioned Katie Ganshert's post, The Secret To Writing Fast And Furious.

Katie Ganshert Used A Voice Recorder To Write Over 8,000 Words A Day

Just how fast are we talking? Katie writes:

Over the past three days, I wrote 25,000 words. By far the most I’ve ever written in so short a span.

While Katie mentions that several factors contributed to her burst of speed what she credits most is using a voice recorder. She writes:

When it comes to producing a massive output of words, this is my secret weapon.

Why?

Because I find the blank page incredibly intimidating. It is so hard for me to sit at the computer and create something out of nothing.

Walking on the treadmill and talking into a voice recorder, however, is easy-peasy.

So that’s how I started each day.

I spoke the scenes.

The beautiful thing about this method is that it completely silences the dreaded internal editor.

There’s no back space. There’s no flashing cursor. There’s no blank page. There’s no critical little man sitting on your shoulder, reading each sentence while tutting and shaking his head.

On a side note, Katie Ganshert's novel looks fantastic. Supernatural teens and Ouija boards, what's not to love?

Useing A Voice Recorder To Increase Your Daily Word Count

Elizabeth Craig, author of several mystery series, tried using dictation to increase her daily word count by speaking into a recorder when she couldn't be near a keyboard. Although Elizabeth didn't write 8,000 words a day she did add 1,000 words to her normal daily word count.

So what's Elizabeth's verdict? She writes:

I don’t use this method every day. But I’ve found that if I use it several times a week, it’s really pumped up my word count. Interestingly enough, I tend to make minor corrections (stronger verbs, better diction) when I type in the dictation…so I guess, in a way, I’m editing as I go when I use this method.

I use a free app that I downloaded on my phone. My phone is always with me (moms are the world’s emergency contacts), so I’ve always got my voice recorder with me. (Voice Recording as a Writing Tool)

I'm definitely going to try this. A friend gave me a recorder for Christmas last year, it's time I put it to good use!

Have you ever used a voice recorder, or voice recognition software, to write? Was it difficult to get used to speaking the words instead of writing them?

Other articles you might like:

- Writing And The Monomyth, Part Three
- Writers Beware of Authariam
- Chuck Wendig's Editing Plan: Edit A Novel In Four Months

Photo credit: "Misty and Daisy" by Stewart Black under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.