NaNoWriMo Update: I’m Behind, But I Have A Secret Weapon

Posted by: Michele Tracy Berger on: November 12, 2018

• In: creative writing | creativity | writing
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I’ve attended two conferences during the past two weekends. Last week, I attended the North Carolina Writers’ Network Conference. I hosted a NaNoWriMo meet and greet on Friday night and then a ‘Shut Up and Write’ session on Saturday where writers could come and just write for an hour and half. Both events went very well and I managed to get close to 2,000 words completed on Saturday.

This weekend, I attended an academic conference. I had hoped to get a lot more writing done but only managed to squeeze out about 1,000 words one day.  I also conducted some useful research. My current NaNoWriMo project is a continuation of a novel concept that my sister and began last year. Although I thought I had a decent outline to work with, I find myself unsure about characters, character motivations, plot threads, etc. Not a great position to be in when trying to write fast. I’m way behind where I should be which is 18,000 words. However, I’m not panicking quite yet. I’m about to employ a secret weapon– which is dictation software.

My Groovy Amazon Link

There has been a ton of buzz about writers (especially indie writers) using dictation software and drafting their novels in a matter of weeks. Podcaster and author, Joanna Penn has had several writers on her podcast to talk about using dictation. I invested in Dragon Naturally Speaking last year and really love it.

I have used it to draft talks and lectures I give and when I feel stuck on a project. It takes a little while to train the software to your voice, but it is worth the effort. I use the headset in conjunction with my laptop. Some people use the app on their phone and dictate while taking a walk.

I’ll start using the dictation software this week and I think it will help my word count. Why? Well, some people think that we tap into our ‘inner storyteller’ when we tell our story aloud. I feel like I get into a natural creative rhythm speaking aloud after just a few minutes.

In my writing workshop just three weeks ago (whew! it’s been a busy few weeks), I encouraged my participants to try dictation as a way to bring some more play into the drafting process. Also, if you use the app then you can get more walks in which most us desperately need.

Maybe dictation might serve you well, too, for drafting new material.

Until then, I will just

 

Tags: dictation, dictation software, Dragon Naturally Speaking, fiction, goals, Joanna Penn, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, the writing life, word counts, writers, writing