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Tip Tuesday #126

Tip Tuesday features writers' tips on craft, research, querying, blogging, marketing, inspiration, and more. If you'd like to send in a tip, please e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com.

The winner of last week's tip giveaway is... Megan! Congrats Megan. Send me your address and I'll forward it to Sharon. 

Today I have a tip from Charmaine Hammond, author of two books including On Toby's Terms (in development for a major motion picture!) and Toby the Pet Therapy Dog & His Hospital Friends. Please visit her author website as well as her resource site, How To Sell and Market Your Book.  Here's her tip!

You can TALK your book or TYPE your book. I discovered that my books were much richer, emotive and engaging when I TALKED the writing. I purchased Dragonspeak Software which types into a word document as you talk. This made the process of writing easier and more enjoyable for me.
~Charmaine Hammond, Professionals Speaker, Author, & Radio Host

on Tuesday, May 08, 2012

17 comments:

  1. Old KittyMay 8, 2012 at 5:45 AM

    OH wow - this sounds like a great device too for when the keyboard isn't much good if you have arthritis for instance!

    Take care
    x

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    Replies
    1. Charmaine HammondMay 8, 2012 at 2:33 PM

      Hi there! You are absolutely right, it helps with arthritis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. And for me it helped my story be richer. :)

      Charmaine,
      www.ontobysterms.com

      Delete
  2. Theresa MilsteinMay 8, 2012 at 5:53 AM

    I have never tried to do this. Maybe I should. I bet it makes dialogue more authentic. Thanks for the tip, Charmaine!

    And congratulations to Stina!

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    Replies
    1. Charmaine HammondMay 8, 2012 at 2:35 PM

      Hi Theresa, you are most welcome. In fact our editors picked up right away that when I submitted my draft (where I had "talked" some of the chapters). She asked "what are you doing differently, sounds like there are two voices telling/writing the book. When I told her I was talking the book, she said "keep doing it!" I think we all tell our stories differently, so finding out what works for you is key. Happy writing.

      Charmaine
      www.ontobysterms.com

      Delete
  3. Andrea MackMay 8, 2012 at 9:02 AM

    This is an interesting idea. I'd like to try this sometime!Thanks for sharing.

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  4. cleemckenzieMay 8, 2012 at 10:32 AM

    I've heard of DragonSpeak, but never tried it. Thanks for reminding me that it's out there.

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    1. Charmaine HammondMay 8, 2012 at 2:36 PM

      There is also a free version of Dragonspeak that you can download on your iphone.

      Charmaine

      Delete
  5. J WashburnMay 8, 2012 at 12:05 PM

    I love this concept—you could go hiking while writing a novel. But does it really work well, or do you just have to re-type and re-edit it all?

    Ya'll run a great blog here. Thanks for keeping it interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Charmaine HammondMay 8, 2012 at 2:38 PM

      The new version of Dragonspeak is fabulous, you hardly have to "train" it to understand your voice. You still have to edit as often it will mistype a word (e.g. mouse instead of house), so the key is speaking clearly.

      Delete
  6. Carolina M. Valdez SchneiderMay 8, 2012 at 1:31 PM

    Great suggestion! I don't have any special software, but I found just reading my writing aloud makes a difference.

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  7. Elana JohnsonMay 8, 2012 at 2:10 PM

    I have this software too, and I found it difficult to use. It kept getting my words wrong and I'd have to go back and spend so much time fixing that I didn't save any time by talking my book instead of typing it. :(

    But I'm glad it worked for you!

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    Replies
    1. Charmaine HammondMay 8, 2012 at 2:41 PM

      Hi Elana, I found that when I had an older version of Dragonspeak too, but the new one I have few issues with. The key for me was doing the tutorial and then it understands your voice, and how you pronounce words. It still makes mistakes but I find they are fewer. Also when it mistypes a word, you can resay the word so it understands it for next time. I found that doing this has really helped and hardly any errors now. I think the key is really finding and doing what works for you. Happy writing. :)

      Delete
  8. Angela BrownMay 8, 2012 at 3:18 PM

    This is a wonderful tip. The Dragonspeak software is supposed to be really good at distinguishing words well to minimumize word mix-up.

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  9. Sharon K. MayhewMay 8, 2012 at 5:32 PM

    Congratulations to Stina!

    What a cool tip! I hadn't heard of Dragonspeak software before.

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  10. Angela AckermanMay 11, 2012 at 12:14 AM

    I've used this software to critique, but never to write...er, talk with. I should give it a try!

    Angela

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  11. AnonymousMay 18, 2012 at 7:36 PM

    This article is showing good representation regarding software overviews. But do you know every steps of developing should be taken carefully by us. We are introducing eCommerce platforms Magento, prestashop and others. It allows users to enable their customers to access their eCommerce sites on mobile platforms. With Magento there is an obvious solution - Multi-Store. This is where you split your inventory up into two or more stores, all being run from a single Magento instance.

    ReplyDelete