I also had an emotional encounter with my main character. I decided after all to dictate today, as I don’t have to look closely at the computer screen at all times. So I wrote my character into his crisis and up to a certain epiphany that he had to come to, or the story couldn’t go on.
I found myself sitting there with my headset on, with tears dripping onto my lap as I told the story. I could hardly believe it. Is this normal?
But on to other things. The following is an experiment at Billy Teabag’s request. Here is a paragraph written by Garrison Keillor in answer to a question from a listener of “A Prairie Home Companion” on whether she owned too many books and journals.
Following it, will be the same paragraph dictated into Dragon Naturally Speaking with no corrections to see how accurate it is. (At least how accurate with me dictating!)
Okay, Garrison Keillor:
What to do? Well, don't strain your back, my dear. A person can handle only so much luggage. If you love to buy books, then you should also learn to love to give away books. But if you are actually using the pens to write on the paper, then buying them isn't a fetish. It's simply the sensible pleasure of writing, including the sensuous feel of a lovely pen in the hand and the point against the paper. A person can take a lifetime of pleasure in this. You pick up a sheet of handsome paper and your favorite pen and pick up a book to use for a writing desk and hold it on your knees and proceed to improve the page with a few paragraphs and thus you leave your mark. A noble enterprise, nothing to be sheepish about.
Garrison Keillor according to Dragon Naturally Speaking :
What to do? Well, don't strain your back my dear a person can handle only so much luggage. If you love to buy books, then you should also learned to love to give away books. But if you're actually using the hands to write on the paper, then buying them isn't a finish. It's simply the sensible pleasure of writing, including the sensuous feel of a lovely pan in the hand and the point against the paper. A person can take a lifetime of pleasure in his. You pick up a sheet of hand some paper and your favorite pan and pick up a book to use for a writing desk and hold it on your needs and proceed to improve to pay each with a view paragraphs and the best you leave your mark. A noble enterprise, nothing to be sheet dish about.
Not exactly word perfect. However. When you have just had enough typing for the day, or your eyes are tired it’s not such a bad tool to have in your computer toolbox. And it is possible that someone else would have better enunciation than myself and thus get better results.
Anyway, there you have it. Straight from the mouth of the Dragon…..
P.S. I rather love to see the last sentence of his answer is underlined with green grammar gremlin lines, as MS Word is scolding that it considers that line a sentence fragment, or some other grammar faux pas. I use them all the time. Glad to know I am in good company.