Week ten of the Tech Savvy Writer posts. As we come to the end of this series of blog posts, I've saved the best to last.
Getting words on the page is hard. Creating entire worlds, and people and throwing them into precarious situations so they can grow takes time and skill... and more time.
I've had periods of time where picking up a pen, or putting my hands on a keyboard, was physically impossible, as I'd done too much the day before.
When that happens, it's time to find another way to fill that blank page.
That's where dictation comes in.
Dictation:
Dragon Dictate is probably the best known dictation software around. Starting at $240, but there is a free 7-day trial for Dragon Anywhere. I know of people who do the majority of their writing using this software. It's progressed a lot since the early days, and continues to get better.
If you're flinching at the price tag, Dictation.io is a free option on Chrome. The only difference between the two is that you can train Dragon to recognise your voice. Dictation.io doesn’t seem to have that option yet.
One that I'm currently trialling on mobile is Otter. The basic plan is free, and Premium starts at $8.33 a month. With the basic plan, you get 600 free minutes - or ten hours of transcription.
But, what about the fun stuff?
Creating fonts:
I always thought that fonts were super tricky to make, and that only programmers would be able to create them. I have learned that I was wrong. There's a great website called Calligraphr that enables you to download a template, fill it out and upload it again to make your own font! For those of us who are wanting special fonts for our off-world cultures, this is a brilliant way to create a customised font.
Of course, anything done by a designer will be a thousand times better, and it's not something you can publish an entire book in, but it is super fun to play with.
You know what else is fun? Games!
Gaming:
I'm a gamer from way back. I have my husband to thank for that! He built my first PC for me, and handed me a copy of The Sims. I created a world for Shari and the gang, and was hooked.
I mostly play RPGs (Roll Playing Games), and have been crowned the Tetris Queen by my family, although writing leaves little time for that these days.
But sometimes, it's hard to get motivated to write, and it'd be so much nicer to just play a game for a bit. Sound familiar?
What if I told you you can do both?
There are a few really great ways to gamify your writing tasks.
4thewords is a gaming platform where you defeat monsters by writing. Now, if you’re a gamer like I am, it’s the perfect combination of writing and playing. Worth having a look at their free account if it sounds interesting. Use my referral code to get free crystals: JYLZL28778
If you like tracking your word count, WriteOMeter could be just the thing for you. You can set up your goals and track it on a daily basis. You can also set goals and reminders to kick your writing day off.
I hope you’ve discovered something new over this series of blog posts. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line.