Day 14 / 2017 - Software Helping to Improve My Writing

While travelling, I have been documenting our jouney in pictures and words on our web site. I'm not a natural word smith, some days I would avoid writing a blog and opt for something else more interesting, ironing or washing the dishes.

I find it hard work just to write a single coherent sentence, let alone put a collection of them into a logical progression to make a story. I really envy those who, can sit down and get so involved in what they are writing that it just flows naturally. Don't get me wrong I still feel a real sense of accomplishment when I have completed a blog but at times, it feels like a chore. No matter how many times I re-read, I still find within it, meaningless sentences, bad grammer and spelling mistakes.

They say the best way to understand how well constructed your story, is to read it back aloud, but I still seem to hear what's in my head, not what's written on the page. Another way is to ask someone else to read it back to you, but they can also put in what they think is there. Also it is a challenge to find someone with the dedication to read it to you over, and over, and over again.

Looking on the web I discovered text to speech tools for the computer. You type in some text and the computer reads it back to you. Text to speech software has been around for a long time. In its early days, it was clunky but it has matured over time. I personally use a product called "Naturally Speaking", a windows based software package. After editing my story, I copy it into Naturally Speaking and listen as it recites it back to me. You can use a variety of voices of different nationalities to get a sense of what it will sound like.

Now after writing my blog and reading it a few times to myself, I run it through Naturally Speaking software. Because the software is reading back what is actually written, it helps me to better evaluate the syntax and semantics so the story hopefully sounds a little more coherent. Unfortunately it doesn't understand other aspects of story telling, such as comedy and dramatic pauses, it is more of just a monologue.

I still write badly, but this software has helped me take another step towards improvement.