# Dragon dictation... are you a dragon rider?



## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

I'm not, but are you?


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Nope. I tried dictating prose into my little Sony voice recorder but I found it really hard to speak in complete sentences. I'm much more of a visual writer--I need to see the words on the page or screen as they flow out of the brain and out of the fingers onto the keyboard.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Jim Johnson said:


> Nope. I tried dictating prose into my little Sony voice recorder but I found it really hard to speak in complete sentences. I'm much more of a visual writer--I need to see the words on the page or screen as they flow out of the brain and out of the fingers onto the keyboard.


I thought so as well. Michael shows it flowing out as he speaks using Scrivener in the video. So maybe it would work for me...


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> I thought so as well. Michael shows it flowing out as he speaks using Scrivener in the video. So maybe it would work for me...


Yeah, that really wouldn't work for me. I do almost all of my draft writing on my Neo and import into Scrivener for editing and compiling.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Jim Johnson said:


> Yeah, that really wouldn't work for me. I do almost all of my draft writing on my Neo and import into Scrivener for editing and compiling.


True. I do all drafting on an old psion handheld, but I'm only 50. I'm not too old to keep up with the kids


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## SRWitt (Jan 4, 2011)

Dictation is 100% worth the time it takes to achieve fluency. The ability to knock out 5k or 10k words a day without crippling my hands is pretty amazing. I also find it works very, very well for plotting and crafting detailed beats prior to actually drafting a story. Dictation has changed my writing life for the better.

Everyone's writing process is different, but I think most writers could benefit from mastering dictation. The key, in my opinion, is to get past the initial frustration and learn how to best make it work for you. Start out using it for plotting, where flow isn't as important as it is in drafting. Use it for pre-writing or breaking beats. Try it for blog posts. Practice reading your own books to Dragon so it becomes more accurate and you become more comfortable with dictation. There are a ton of different ways to use Dictation, it's just a matter of figuring out what will work for you.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

SRWitt said:


> Everyone's writing process is different, but I think most writers could benefit from mastering dictation. The key, in my opinion, is to get past the initial frustration and learn how to best make it work for you. Start out using it for plotting, where flow isn't as important as it is in drafting. Use it for pre-writing or breaking beats. Try it for blog posts. Practice reading your own books to Dragon so it becomes more accurate and you become more comfortable with dictation. There are a ton of different ways to use Dictation, it's just a matter of figuring out what will work for you.


I use my recorder to take notes and brainstorm while I'm driving to and from work. Really nice way to be able to get my thoughts together. Then I listen to the recorder and type out the good parts.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

I might get Dragon to play with. My accountant will deal. It's a work expense... how much is it anyway, and come to think of it, where do I get it?


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> I might get Dragon to play with. My accountant will deal. It's a work expense... how much is it anyway, and come to think of it, where do I get it?


Right here.  (Also, Amazon.)


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Jim Johnson said:


> Right here.  (Also, Amazon.)


Ha! I was hoping for a discount code or something.  Typing dragon in Google will bring up all sorts of stuff. Amazon it is then. I have a really good podcasting microphone here. It will get some use at least.

EDIT: wow! The newest version is £115 while the 2012 is £37


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Okay I'm scared to buy it now. There are a lot of bad "crashes your PC" type reviews. Oh well.


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## elizabethsade (Feb 3, 2015)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> Okay I'm scared to buy it now. There are a lot of bad "crashes your PC" type reviews. Oh well.


Fwiw, if you have a good computer, you'll mostly be okay. I have the newest version (and because of bugs and stuff, I do recommend the newest version) and with 8GB RAM/1TB hard drive, it's never crashed my computer. Crashed itself? Yes. It gets temperamental sometimes. But never my computer.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

elizabethsade said:


> Fwiw, if you have a good computer, you'll mostly be okay. I have the newest version (and because of bugs and stuff, I do recommend the newest version) and with 8GB RAM/1TB hard drive, it's never crashed my computer. Crashed itself? Yes. It gets temperamental sometimes. But never my computer.


Okay, I accidentally slipped on the mouse button and ordered the premium version. We shall see.


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## jkwak (Dec 11, 2015)

I picked up Dragon about a month ago, but I haven't quite taken the plunge in using it for writing fiction. I use it for writing emails, and for writing this post.  It did take a while to get used to dictating with it, but I found it saves me a tough time with my freelance work. I'm a business copywriter, and it's pretty easy for me to dictate drier nonfiction stuff like that.

I would agree with the previous commentor that using it for plotting and other places where you don't need as much flow would be a great way to learn. I'm excited to use it to start writing fiction, because it's saved me so much time doing freelance work. Now that I've mastered that, I feel like I'd be able to master dictating fiction.

It can be a little bit buggy – or at least it is on my Mac – but it's word recognition rate for me is almost perfect, even after only a month of using it. I think it's worth the plunge – but the learning curve is pretty steep.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

I use Dragon and love it. Even if you adapt it to your own style, instead of using it the usual way, it's still a time-saver. For example, I have the bad habit of writing out my first drafts by hand (frees up my brain when I'm stuck). I used to type everything up afterward but now Dragon does that for me. Speaking is quicker than typing and gives my hands a break. I'm still working to make it a smoother experience so I don't have to do as much tidying afterward. And I'd eventually like to cut out the notes-by-hand altogether. But for now, Dragon is already shaving about a half hour off each of my writing sessions.


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## harker.roland (Sep 13, 2014)

I use Dragon quite frequently. I have two long drives for work and dictate out my chapter. After the kids go to bed, I edit my daily work. In 20 minute spurts I get to about 3500 words a day.


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## Chrissy (Mar 31, 2014)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> Okay I'm scared to buy it now. There are a lot of bad "crashes your PC" type reviews. Oh well.


Google Docs has a dictation function (it's free.) under Tools-Voice Typing.

It's a good way to practice dictation and see if it's for you and your writing process before investing in Dragon.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

My new Mac has a dictation tool. Haven't yet tried to use it. I would seriously have trouble finding time at home when 1. No one is in the room with me (because embarrassing scenes), 2. No one is playing/listening to an electronic device, 3. No one is playing a musical instrument.

IAW: too much background distraction.


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## amy_wokz (Oct 11, 2014)

You can get Dragon v12 or v13 Home Edition CD on ebay for $25-$40. I have both and there's very little difference between them. I recommend getting a CD, because the digital download version is v13 only, and it doesn't work on Win XP (if you happen to still be running it). Plus, CD's give you more control over the product.

I first bought v12 for $20 on eBay to try out on my Win XP operating system. It worked great (95%+ accuracy), and I fell in love with the process of writing so fast with it. Then I bought a new laptop with Win 10 and lucked into a $5.95 (for postage) copy of v13 from another writer who had an extra one to give away. I use the same 10 or so commands with it, and it ran even better when I ported my v12 user profile over to it. I'm a happy camper.


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## Joseph J Bailey (Jun 28, 2013)

I am totally a Dragon rider! I only wish the mobile version's subscription model were more affordable. 

I may do the annual mobile subscription in lieu of paying for future full versions on my computer from now on. I'll just pretend that paying for the year is like buying the next version.


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## thenotoriousjed (Aug 15, 2015)

I'm hoping to become one, especially if my wife got my hints with Christmas coming up. I have ideas bouncing inside my head sometimes but after 10 hours at my real job I don't always feel like punching the keys on my keyboard. I usually don't mind talking though so I think it could help if for nothing else getting the start of an idea down.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Joseph J Bailey said:


> I am totally a Dragon rider! I only wish the mobile version's subscription model were more affordable.
> 
> I may do the annual mobile subscription in lieu of paying for future full versions on my computer from now on. I'll just pretend that paying for the year is like buying the next version.


Oh no, did I do it wrong? I bought the full version, is there a subscription version like Office 2016?


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## harker.roland (Sep 13, 2014)

Joseph J Bailey said:


> I am totally a Dragon rider! I only wish the mobile version's subscription model were more affordable.
> 
> I may do the annual mobile subscription in lieu of paying for future full versions on my computer from now on. I'll just pretend that paying for the year is like buying the next version.


Have you tried using Voice Memos on your phone? I use them, then upload the file to Dragon to transcribe.


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## amy_wokz (Oct 11, 2014)

Dragon Home Edition now on sale at nuance for $49.99: http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm


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## elizabethsade (Feb 3, 2015)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> Oh no, did I do it wrong? I bought the full version, is there a subscription version like Office 2016?


No it's subscription for a phone/cloud version, not the computer version.


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## Michael Barbato-Dunn (Nov 25, 2014)

Mark,

This is a repeat of a post I made in the "1 Week Training My Dragon" thread.... which has lots of other user experiences.  I bought the premium edition on Amazon and used it for the first time in November for NaNoWriMo.  It was a huge frigging success.

These were my November results, dictating the first draft of an sf novel.

Total # words: 50,375
Total # days writing: 24 (Nov.1-27, took three days off, inc. Thanksgiving)
Total number of hours writing: 30
Average words per hour: 1,660

Total # days dictating: 22
Average words per hour dictating: 1713
Total # days typing: 2
Average words per hour typing: 982

Best day was the final day, fueled by having the finish line in sight, when I dictated just under 6K in two hours, with two five minute breaks.  So I hit 3K per hour.  Not trying to brag; just hope this helps inspire someone considering dictating.  It was a tremendous success for me.  If I had a good outline, instead of pantsing, I believe I could easily hit 2500-3000 wph regularly.

I have even dictated into a recorder while doing other mindless tasks, so being able to multi-task has been a huge boon. I helped a friend paint his house a two weekends ago and 'wrote' while I painted.  And at my desk I was able to just close my eyes and fall into the world of my story, rather than staring at the screen and feeling the urge to edit.  I feel more 'free'... and my story has gone off on tangents I didn't expect.  I will probably never go back to just typing unless I'm in an environment where dictating is not gonna work.  

The quality of the transcription is very good when I'm just sitting at my computer with the headset mic on. When I'm dictating into a portable recorder, it is less accurate because of more room noise, but only slightly. That drop in accuracy is balanced out by being able to 'write' while I'm doing other things; in other words, the lower accuracy is a price I'm willing to pay because I am getting more done.

This isn't for everyone, by any means.  For me, its a revelation.


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

I bought the Premium back in July with the Blue Tooth, but then my PC croaked, so I purchased a new one. The learning curve with Windows 10, Publisher, and Mark Dawson's classes, plus getting out five books since then, has kind of overwhelmed me to the point I haven't opened the box. It's on my list "to do" though.


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## ImaWriter (Aug 12, 2015)

Just an FYI for anyone thinking of buying.  Nuance always has crazy deals over the holidays.  Check their site boxing week and most stuff is half price.  They also use Google Interest based advertising, so troll their site several times over the next weeks.  You'll start seeing Google adsense ads for them and sometimes those deals are better than what's offered on the site.  If you do get an adsense ad, keep a copy of it. That way if you go to order you can tell them you've been offered a better price through an ad.  That's the only way they'll honor it. 

I found this all out several years ago when i was looking to buy Dragon and another Nuance product.  I knew someone on their sales chat team.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Michael Barbato-Dunn said:


> Mark,
> 
> This is a repeat of a post I made in the "1 Week Training My Dragon" thread.... which has lots of other user experiences. I bought the premium edition on Amazon and used it for the first time in November for NaNoWriMo. It was a huge frigging success.
> 
> ...


I've been in a bit of a writing slump due to illness and a lot of pain in my elbows. I had RSI before in my hands so I know what it is, but dictation could solve the problem once and for all. Walking at my desk and actually "writing" by voice will be the ult!


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Okay, now I'm excited. I'm writing this with Dragon, its flaming great. I was a bit worried about training it, but after I calmed down and just started writing some rough draft stuff it came easily.

I'm wondering now whether I should have bothered messing around with the training tutorial. Because I might have accidentally confused it. What I mean is after an hour of missing around doing nothing much, I found something in the learning centre that seemed to say I could make Dragon learn from my own documents. So what I did was choose a folder in my dropbox for Dragon to learn from and let it get on with it. It basically read my manuscript of book 2 of merki wars, and that was it.

I'm sure I'll have run into trouble at some point but so far so good. It's even spelling things better than I can. And in British English. What can be better than? If anyone out there is thinking of using Dragon I chose Dragon NaturallySpeaking premium 13. It was expensive but after only a few hours on already glad I bought it.


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## Goulburn (May 21, 2014)

I've used Dragon software for both Windows and iMac over the past decade, keeping it both Windows and the iMac updated to recent software versions. Now, having discovered iMac's inbuilt speech recognition system, those Dragons have been deleted from the systems. 

My current speech to text set-up is to use an external headset microphone for the older 21" treadmill iMac; that microphone helps improve voice recognition quality because there is the noise of a fan, and walking, plus distance to overcome as the iMac sits on a shelf behind the treamill.

With the new desktop 27" iMac, I use the built in microphone. It's perfect--unless the dog barks and it interprets the barks into words--makes for interesting reading.  
Both set-ups save me time and are less glitchy for me than Dragon.


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## W.W. (Jun 27, 2011)

Ryn Shell said:


> I've used Dragon software for both Windows and iMac over the past decade, keeping it both Windows and the iMac updated to recent software versions. Now, having discovered iMac's inbuilt speech recognition system, those Dragons have been deleted from the systems.
> 
> My current speech to text set-up is to use an external headset microphone for the older 21" treadmill iMac; that microphone helps improve voice recognition quality because there is the noise of a fan, and walking, plus distance to overcome as the iMac sits on a shelf behind the treamill.
> 
> ...


Can you speak right into Scrivener with that? I have a Macbook Pro, a couple of years old.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

W.W. said:


> Can you speak right into Scrivener with that? I have a Macbook Pro, a couple of years old.


You can with Dragon. Not sure about the built in Mac thing.


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## Goulburn (May 21, 2014)

W.W. said:


> Can you speak right into Scrivener with that? I have a Macbook Pro, a couple of years old.


It speaks into every program I've tried to use it on. I don't use Scrivener, but I can use it in external websites and in word and eMail. I simply hit the fn button when I want to turn it on and the same button to turn it off. It's as easy as that.


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## W.W. (Jun 27, 2011)

Ryn Shell said:


> It speaks into every program I've tried to use it on. I don't use Scrivener, but I can use it in external websites and in word and eMail. I simply hit the fn button when I want to turn it on and the same button to turn it off. It's as easy as that.


Thanks! I think I'll try that first.


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## batmansero (Oct 10, 2014)

W.W. said:


> Thanks! I think I'll try that first.


Works for me in scrivener, in forums, in IMs and chatrooms. Everywhere I've tried it


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## My Dog&#039;s Servant (Jun 2, 2013)

Anybody able to compare 13 premium working with Scrivener vs 12.5, which I understand worked better with Scrivener (for Windows)?


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## rachelmedhurst (Jun 25, 2014)

I'm in love with my Dragon! I got the headset with version 13 about two months ago. I do a 20 minute spurt, 5 min break and then another. I wrote/spoke 37000 words in a ridiculously short time (think it was roughly 8-12 hours, can't remember).

I'm a pantser, but I write pretty clean. I did worry about it's accuracy and dreaded the editing. I was pleasantly pleased to find that the accuracy was really good. It needed no more editing than my typed manuscript would. I'm so excited about the new year and what I can get done!

I've only used it on my laptop so far, although I have to face it away from me, otherwise I end up editing as I go along and that doesn't help with the flow. Dragon tends to hear sentences better than individual words.

I would recommend version 13! Takes some getting used to but once you're in the flow, it's easy.


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## My Dog&#039;s Servant (Jun 2, 2013)

Emily....Are you dictating directly into Scrivener?  I understand that 13 doesn't offer all the "correct" and quotes that it does in other programs (or did in 12.5). Is that true?  I know I saw something on Elizabeth Ann West's long thread about switching off the dictation box.  Does that then let it operate with full functionality?


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## valeriec80 (Feb 24, 2011)

I am now completely dictation-free, and I am much happier.

I really tried to make it work for me earlier this year. Two of my novels were fully dictated and then I did one session a day on another. This last novel is completely typed.

Typing is faster for me because of doing all the corrections in Dragon. Additionally, my copy is waay cleaner when typing than when dictating. There are so many things you just don't see your first run-through of the dictation. 

There's a chance that everything would be better with Dragon 13 (and that noisy environment thing might be a problem. Having a one-year-old chattering in the background while dictating might not help. I don't know, lol.) But since I wanted to dictate to write more quickly and to be able to spend more time with my son, I've found it wasn't worth it for me, and there's so much less stress in my life now that I'm typing again and not trying to make Dragon work. 

I'm so glad it helps so many other people. I may keep my eyes peeled for Dragon 13 deals over the holidays and give it a whirl. I'd love to be wrong.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

I have now tried dictating to recorder using a Rode lapel mic, and found it just as good as using the Rode Podcaster attached to this PC. I dictate into Word 2016 or scrivener. I used to type on a Psion handheld (internet challenged) then physically plug that flash memory into the desktop to paste into Word. I prefer editing in Word because of all the bells and whistles like track changes, but also the auto correct of weird names for things I have added over the years. I then would paste the edited version into scrivener for compiling.

I'm still learning my Dragon's ways, but I found the best way to teach it my style for 99% accuracy (just a guess) is to give it a fully compiled 120k book in Word (huge doc file made with scrivener) format to read and digest. After I did that, not touching any controls etc, I started dictating for a mostly error free hour.

Awesome!


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## RomanceAuthor (Aug 18, 2014)

hmm, okay, I'll give this one more try. I'm super confused as to what I have to buy. I use a PC, but I want to be able to dictate while I'm moving around the house or am I driving somewhere (I have an Iphone).

I assume I need:

1. http://shop.nuance.com/store/nuanceus/en_US/pd/productID.306077300
2. A headset or microphone? Can anyone recommend some?
3. Do I need something extra to be able to use it with my Iphone ? THe "Dragon Anywhere" options on their website is just for US and Canada, and I live in Europe. I've found some apps in the appstore: dragon dictation, dragon recorder and dragon remote microphone. Are these enough in combination with the premium 13? Do I need a special set of headset/microphone for my Iphone?

Thanks


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

RomanceAuthor said:


> hmm, okay, I'll give this one more try. I'm super confused as to what I have to buy. I use a PC, but I want to be able to dictate while I'm moving around the house or am I driving somewhere (I have an Iphone).
> 
> I assume I need:
> 
> ...


I can show you what I have, but beware they're expensive. You can just use your laptop mic, but I understand quality can suffer. If you watch Michael's vid in the OP you will see his mic.

[list type=decimal]
[*]Rode Podcaster Mic: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000JM46FY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
[*]Rode lapel mic: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EO4A7L0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
[*]Rode adapter: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L6C8PNU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
[*]Olympus digital recorder: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HH1P81G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00
[*]Dragon Naturally Speaking premium13: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LX0TQ3I?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00
[*]your laptop or PC or Mac
[/list]


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## RomanceAuthor (Aug 18, 2014)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> I can show you what I have, but beware they're expensive. You can just use your laptop mic, but I understand quality can suffer. If you watch Michael's vid in the OP you will see his mic.
> 
> [list type=decimal]
> [*]Rode Podcaster Mic: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000JM46FY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
> ...


This is just what I was looking for! Thank you! I foresee some business expenses :-D


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## My Dog&#039;s Servant (Jun 2, 2013)

emilycantore said:


> I dictate into recorder then set it to transcribe into the dictation box. Look through it, correct the worst bits (still trying to improve the accuracy). Then I paste into Scrivener.


Thank you. So can't dictate or transcribe directly into Scrivener and still have the full functionality. I thought that was the way it was working. Confusing when we all use so many systems, software packages, and combinations of equipment!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I must try this Mac dictation thing. Must wait until after the holiday season until everyone is out of the house and I can ramble on without raising eyebrows.

Sadly, kids only go back to uni in March...


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## AnaJ (Jun 28, 2015)

For what it's worth, I use a Dragon app to use my smart phone as mic and I get good accuracy. (Samsung Galaxy S4 mini)


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Even using the recorder is great. I can still do the... open quote I'm using Dragon Naturally Speaking 15 comma and it's great exclamation point close quote

And then if I connect the recorder and select Transcribe Recording on the Dragon bar, it works perfectly. It understands the comma etc commands, and looks exactly right. At first it felt weird, but already I am seeing those commands in my head as I work.


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## A. N. Other Author (Oct 11, 2014)

My Dog's Servant said:


> Anybody able to compare 13 premium working with Scrivener vs 12.5, which I understand worked better with Scrivener (for Windows)?


Each new Dragon improves a little. Jumping from one to the next isn't a huge leap. If you jump two or three it'll probably be noticable. My Mac version is current -1 version, and my PC version is current -3 but I'm happy with both. The PC one was less than £20GBP on ebay.


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## A. N. Other Author (Oct 11, 2014)

I found it very difficult at first, and it took me a fair bit of practice to get comfortable with it (two months of small sessions, actually). 

NaNoWriMo 2015 saw me make a real effort to just dig in and do it. I combined typing on trains, at work, and in public, with dictating in my home. I managed 90,000 words.  The same technique saw me do 70,000 in June with typing-only, so in terms of sheer word count, it's been effective. 

However - 

I get the feeling I'm spending a lot longer on the first revision. Those chapters I dictated have seen more extensive cuts to prose than the ones I typed, so I'm not entirely convinced that it's going to save me time in terms of the net expenditure on the novel overall. Perhaps I just need to practice and get the brevity down with dictation as I do with typing. I'll give it two more novels before I make my mind up fully.


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## ashopis (Nov 19, 2013)

Hello Dragon Riders,

Thank you for this thread.  I'm getting ready to start using Dragon Dictate (Mac) and have some questions.  I plan to write in my car on the way to work. I will record either into my iPhone or a high quality digital audio recorder.  I would love some feedback on these questions.

1. Should I be using a headset mic given the road noise during commute? Also, would a noise canceling set be helpful?

2. Follow-up to question one. Does anyone have some suggestions for a headset mic?

3. Would you recommend using a digital recorder for recording or will an iPhone do just as well?

4. Can anyone recommend a good set of tutorials?  Is the video in the OP the best?

5. Given my commuting setup and use of the mac version, can anyone recommend a work flow?


Thank you very much for entertaining my dragon noob questions!!!!

-Adam


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## 67499 (Feb 4, 2013)

All that's been said about Dragon on KB tempts me to buy and try (I see the latest version is on sale for $75).  But correcting multiple Dragon typos would drive me nuts.  For those who use Dragon, what's the problem like from your experience, ie, # typos per page?


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## harker.roland (Sep 13, 2014)

ashopis said:


> 1. Should I be using a headset mic given the road noise during commute? Also, would a noise canceling set be helpful?
> _*While it might be helpful to have a noise canceling headset, I use the ear buds that came with my iPhone and have never really had any issues with my transcription.*_
> 
> 2. Follow-up to question one. Does anyone have some suggestions for a headset mic?
> ...


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Steven Hardesty said:


> All that's been said about Dragon on KB tempts me to buy and try (I see the latest version is on sale for $75). But correcting multiple Dragon typos would drive me nuts. For those who use Dragon, what's the problem like from your experience, ie, # typos per page?


The more you use it, the better it gets. Also the mic and background noise is crucial. I forgot to turn off my music the very first day and wrote a page of lyrics  I made my Dragon eat one of my book manuscripts in doc format to learn my writing style. That made an amazing difference to teaching it. I more or less stopped training after that. It continues to learn as I write my next book. As for errors, I'm terrible at spelling. Dragon is way better that me.

Imagine every word you ever need to type is on a huge keyboard. All you need to do is hit the right key (say that word) that's what it's like. Very much like predictive without the hassles. It writes as if every word is only one character long. I have no idea how long the "average" English word is, but if it's 4 characters, Dragon is at least four times faster once trained.


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## ashopis (Nov 19, 2013)

Harker = awesome.


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

I went through a little flurry with it last year and I agree it has the potential to be brilliant, but I didn't have the patience to learn new ways of working at the time. I might give it another go in the new year with plotting. Does anyone know if you can dictate into OneNote?


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## harker.roland (Sep 13, 2014)

ashopis said:


> Harker = awesome.


Thanks! I really believe in the process helping my productivity.


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## RomanceAuthor (Aug 18, 2014)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> The more you use it, the better it gets. Also the mic and background noise is crucial. I forgot to turn off my music the very first day and wrote a page of lyrics


I laughed so hard at this


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## amy_wokz (Oct 11, 2014)

ashopis said:


> I plan to write in my car on the way to work.


For the safety of yourself and others, I hope you are a passenger and not driving.


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## amy_wokz (Oct 11, 2014)

Steven Hardesty said:


> All that's been said about Dragon on KB tempts me to buy and try (I see the latest version is on sale for $75). But correcting multiple Dragon typos would drive me nuts. For those who use Dragon, what's the problem like from your experience, ie, # typos per page?


Both Dragon v12 (really v12.5) and v13 can be found on eBay for $20-40; and both versions, which I have, are highly accurate. You can correct the very few typos during or after dictation. Correcting a few typos, to me, is certainly worth the increase in output.


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## Brevoort (Jan 27, 2014)

amy_wokz said:


> For the safety of yourself and others, I hope you are a passenger and not driving.


This is a good point but there appears to be considerable back and forth in academic research about whether dictation devices in cars are a major source of distracted driving syndrome.

If you dig around, you can find a lot of stuff on the Nuance webpage (Dragon) that naturally enough for them says there is little danger from using Dragon for dictation in vehicles. But a wider search will throw up a lot stuff that says dictation is as distracting and as dangerous as physical texting.

I personally do not feel safe dictating while driving on major roads. I found that I often arrived at destinations without a clear, or any, memory of the drive because I had been dictating. Now, I don't know if that counts as distracted driving but it leaves me feeling uneasy.

The few times, actually the only time, I tried dictating while piloting an aircraft quite simply scared me silly. I had the sense that I had lost all situational awareness, including ATC chatter and position reports of other aircraft, because I had been so wrapped up in dictating.

I do use it while driving on sparsely traveled secondary roads, but with caution.


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## harker.roland (Sep 13, 2014)

Brevoort said:


> I personally do not feel safe dictating while driving on major roads. I found that I often arrived at destinations without a clear, or any, memory of the drive because I had been dictating. Now, I don't know if that counts as distracted driving but it leaves me feeling uneasy.


1000% agree with traveling blackouts due to dictating, but have never once been distracted from actually driving. Granted, I am always driving between locations I have know for almost 10 years, but still...


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## portlandrocks (Jul 18, 2013)

Dictation is worth every painful moment it takes to get used to it. 

The thing that helped me was to do oral copywork everyday for about 30 minutes. 

I'd open up a writer I liked, then just read aloud their prose for 30 minutes straight. 

A few things happened: 

Tricked my brain into thinking it could write that fast. 

Learned how to "hear" the flow of words. 

Trained myself on using Dragon. 

Trained Dragon to recognize my dictation. 

Nowadays, I spend a lot of time with audiobooks. That seems to help as well.


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## Sean Sweeney (Apr 17, 2010)

Tried it, didn't like it. Just a little more freeing, to me, to type. Have I done dictation before? Yes, into a tape recorder. I did that while driving a few years back.


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## TonyWrites (Oct 1, 2013)

I don't go for dictating books, stories, etc.  I read what I write back to myself instead of try to "talk it out" before I start typing.


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## My Dog&#039;s Servant (Jun 2, 2013)

Lydniz said:


> I went through a little flurry with it last year and I agree it has the potential to be brilliant, but I didn't have the patience to learn new ways of working at the time. I might give it another go in the new year with plotting. Does anyone know if you can dictate into OneNote?


I've read that you can't. But I don't know if that's only the 13. I found a thread on another site talking about why it doesn't work in programs like Evernote, OneNote and Scrivener where it used to, and the programming choices Nuance made, but most of it went waaaaaayyyyy over my head.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

portlandrocks said:


> Nowadays, I spend a lot of time with audiobooks. That seems to help as well.


I did wonder if this is why I've taken to dictation so readily. I LOVE audio books with a passion. Also, I think we all know that hearing our work is a great way to edit it. You can hear awkward phrases easily, and find missing words or repeats VERY easily when your eyes often skip over errors.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

My Dog's Servant said:


> I've read that you can't. But I don't know if that's only the 13. I found a thread on another site talking about why it doesn't work in programs like Evernote, OneNote and Scrivener where it used to, and the programming choices Nuance made, but most of it went waaaaaayyyyy over my head.


Mine is premium 13 and it works so far in scrivener, word, Chrome, notepad, outlook, kboards ... Actually, I haven't found anything it doesn't work in on this PC. It also has a dictation box for programs that don't work. I haven't found a use for that, but apparently you dictate into the box. Then hit paste.


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## Bickernicks (Dec 18, 2015)

I mean I LIKE the idea of merely dictating ones prose, and I've had a copy of Dragon for years. But where does the THINKING part come in? I consider calling oneself a WRITER is a misnomer, we're THINKERS…we THINK of stories and characters first, then merely write it down later. With me, the first thing I tend to blabber out of my mouth would be a cliché, because that's the easiest thing that will come to mind. If I were dictating I'm not putting any significant THOUGHT behind it, other than 'let me form a complete sentence'. I know you can pause when doing it, but it only takes 15 seconds to come with something great?


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## CM Raymond (Jun 28, 2015)

I ride the dragon.

I'm new to it, and I am working out the kinks of relearning my means of story telling. Largely, I switched over because my super-fast hunt and pecking is taking a toll on my digits at 3k a day. 

My preferred method is dictating into "Smart Voice Recorder" (android) and then having DNS transcribe. I think I will get more accurate if I have some sort of mic helping the process. I've poked around on the old thread and scanned this one, but I have given up. Can anyone recommend a great hands-free set up for Android phone--> dragon? (A thousand apologies if this has been mentioned.)

Thanks.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

CM Raymond said:


> I ride the dragon.
> 
> I'm new to it, and I am working out the kinks of relearning my means of story telling. Largely, I switched over because my super-fast hunt and pecking is taking a toll on my digits at 3k a day.
> 
> ...


I posted earlier the full kit I have, but for my digital recorder I use the following:

Rode lapel mic: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EO4A7L0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
Rode adapter: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L6C8PNU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
Olympus digital recorder: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HH1P81G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

Also, to tech Dragon REALLY fast, I force fed it all my old manuscripts in .doc (1 file per book) This teaches Dragon your style of writing and what to expect, so when it hears a particular string of words it is more likely to get it right. I've found it unbelievably accurate.


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## CM Raymond (Jun 28, 2015)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> I posted earlier the full kit I have, but for my digital recorder I use the following:
> 
> Rode lapel mic: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EO4A7L0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
> Rode adapter: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L6C8PNU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
> ...


Thanks, Mark. I had seen that. I am looking into how it works with android.
And good encouragement to keep feeding the dragon Docs!


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

CM Raymond said:


> Thanks, Mark. I had seen that. I am looking into how it works with android.
> And good encouragement to keep feeding the dragon Docs!


I think the lapel mic and adapter works with any modern phone, though I haven't tested it. I've heard podcasters talk about using their iPhones etc to record while on the go. I see no reason why Android shouldn't work just fine with Dragon.


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## TestingEnabled (May 14, 2015)

Does anyone have issues with how you talk vs. how you think when you type?

I've been using the Dragon, and stopped for a bit because I think/talk differently than when I think/type. 

I'm wondering if it's because I subvocalize when I type/read. When I talk, I can get a generic sounding rough draft, but I still have to go over it to paint the scene better. For some reason, when I talk out the book, it doesn't read right as compared to when I just type it out. My 'writing voice' sounded completely different. 

I can use it for a rough draft. I find I'm going to have to go over it again to fill in details and stuff after.


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## Samuel E. Green (Nov 26, 2015)

Dictation is difficult for me because I dart around from sentence to sentence within a chapter, constantly chopping and changing. I've tried it, and love it, but my style doesn't seem to mesh with it. 

In the hopes that it will eventually, I'm practicing dictation with my favorite novels, about thirty minutes a day. Hopefully I can train my mind into a different method of storytelling.


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## KevinMcLaughlin (Nov 11, 2010)

I'm giving the new Dragon Anywhere app a try. It's $15 for the first month; and if I can get some time in on it and crank out numbers even vaguely like those I have been hearing about from others, then that's a steal.

Here's the main thing I will be tracking:

I generally write about 1200-1500 words per hour. Most people are reporting 2000-4000 words per hour dictated, with some approaching 5k an hour. But the drafts often require a bit more work to clean up. I generally type VERY clean first drafts which don't require much work before publishing, so anything that adds a lot of time to that process (additional dictation generated typos, for example) or lowers the quality of the finished product (more final typos because dictation errors can be harder to spot as the eye can skip over them) is a bad thing.

But so far my experiements with the Anywhere app have been flawless. Not a single typo. Which is REALLY amazing. I'm pretty impressed. Time will tell if that continues to hold up.


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## amy_wokz (Oct 11, 2014)

EF5 said:


> My bank account dictates that I stick to typing for the foreseeable future.


Well, then, Merry Christmas! If you PM me, I will provide you with a FREE license key for Dragon NaturallySpeaking v13 Home Edition. It comes with instructions on how to digitally download it. I purchased it on eBay recently for $10 and never used it. You must be running Windows 7 or later for it to work. - Santa Amy


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## ashopis (Nov 19, 2013)

Hey folks,

Chiming back in.  I did a session in my car.  Tons of road noise and other superfluous sounds really threw of the transcription.  I'm now looking into a headset mic.  Anyone have experience with this and can recommend?

-Adam


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## JayBrenham (Sep 11, 2015)

I picked up the Dragon Software and a headset tonight. I spent an hour dictating and got a little under 1,500 words. I average 1,550 words an hour when I type on the computer. Dragon kept trying to substitute the wrong word for me which was probably a mixture between the headset I am using and not speaking clearly enough. The software kept telling me it was getting poor audio quality, my accuracy improved when I re positioned the mic. The mic on the headset I bought is fixed and I will be returning it tomorrow for one that bends. 

One thing I noticed was my ability to focus solely on writing improved. A lot of the time I get sidetracked by looking things up on the internet. Having my hands off the keyboard helped me focus. This is a positive first use and I think it will help me get fully immersed in my story once I make it through the adjustment phase. I did feel a little self conscious speaking my story out loud but I quickly got over it. I also felt like I was getting words down very slowly because I was talking so much slower than conversational speed. 

I fed the software my short story, novella, and novel. Then I read to the software for thirty minutes from a book in the "Increase your accuracy section." This seemed to help. I'll be trying more tomorrow and I'll post my results.

The first thing I did after installing the Dragon software was to turn the mic on and say "Open Scrivener" and it went right to my current WIP. It's a lot more sophisticated than I realized when I bought it.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

JayBrenham said:


> I picked up the Dragon Software and a headset tonight. I spent an hour dictating and got a little under 1,500 words. I average 1,550 words an hour when I type on the computer. Dragon kept trying to substitute the wrong word for me which was probably a mixture between the headset I am using and not speaking clearly enough. The software kept telling me it was getting poor audio quality, my accuracy improved when I re positioned the mic. The mic on the headset I bought is fixed and I will be returning it tomorrow for one that bends.
> 
> One thing I noticed was my ability to focus solely on writing improved. A lot of the time I get sidetracked by looking things up on the internet. Having my hands off the keyboard helped me focus. This is a positive first use and I think it will help me get fully immersed in my story once I make it through the adjustment phase. I did feel a little self conscious speaking my story out loud but I quickly got over it. I also felt like I was getting words down very slowly because I was talking so much slower than conversational speed.
> 
> ...


I don't use a headset at all. I have a lapel mic connected via a long lead to the computer, or I use the Rode Podcaster on its stand when I use the treadmill desk.

Sound quality is extremely important, but I found the greatest benefit was giving Dragon some of my edited Word Doc files to read. It learns your writing style. Whether we know it or not, we tend to write in phrases that Dragon can detect. If you dictate in half sentences or even better, paragraphs, Dragon becomes amazingly accurate. Try to dictate in 1-3 words for any reason though... oh boy, you're better off having a wireless keyboard on the couch beside you. Those little corrections are far easier to type.


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## JayBrenham (Sep 11, 2015)

I think maybe on the first night I calculated the time incorrectly. Because last night I wrote 1,000 words in an hour and then tonight I wrote 1102 in an hour. It doesn't make sense that I would get worse because I've definitely gotten better with the dictation.

Even though my word count isn't as high right now I plan on sticking with Dragon for a while. My word count isn't that far off and I think that with some practice it will get better. In just three sessions I am already more comfortable speaking my story out loud. I can also do things with this software I couldn't do while typing. For instance, I can hold a restless newborn that won't sleep unless she is being held and write at the same time.

I write fairly rough first drafts and reading through what I wrote yesterday as well as the day before there are far less little errors in what I produced using Dragon. The new headset is working well. I have noticed increased accuracy when I speak in longer sentences. One thing that I am going to have to do is have a more detailed outline of what I'm going to write. More planning less pantsing.

As an added bonus I was able to write this post using the Dragon software.


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## ashopis (Nov 19, 2013)

Hey folks,

So I took the plunge, bought a headset microphone and recorded 500 words on the way to work.  Dragon's translation was nearly indecipherable!!! Now, granted, there was lots of road noise and the sound of the heater vents blowing, but still... I used a KOSS CS100 noise reduction microphone.  I had gotten better results with my iphone in my shirt pocket!

With this session I had to go back and listen to the original audio file in order to correct the translation. The audio quality must have been too poor for dragon do deal with. After two days of trying to train and correct Dragon, I ended up manually transcribing it myself directly from the audio file.  

I'll play around with it a bit more.  I haven't given up yet.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

I use "Hey, Siri! Take a note…" when I wake up at 2:30 in the morning with an odd dream or story idea from an odd dream. 

Yes, I have become that horrible stereotype author with a miniature recording device who constantly speaks into it: "Story idea: Col. Mustard, in the Library, with a Hello Kitty Vibrator…"

I have strange dreams.


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## thenotoriousjed (Aug 15, 2015)

My Dragon (the electronic one, not the cartoon one from my books) is shipping today from Zon. Says I will have Saturday. Can't wait to teach it a few tricks. Already have two new series planned for 2016.


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## JayBrenham (Sep 11, 2015)

ashopis said:


> Hey folks,
> 
> So I took the plunge, bought a headset microphone and recorded 500 words on the way to work. Dragon's translation was nearly indecipherable!!! Now, granted, there was lots of road noise and the sound of the heater vents blowing, but still... I used a KOSS CS100 noise reduction microphone. I had gotten better results with my iphone in my shirt pocket!
> 
> ...


I'm not having as much success with the software as Mark E. Cooper but I am still doing well with it and happy. All of my dictation has been done at home in relative quiet. My accuracy has definitely increased but I don't know if it's at the 95% level that Dragon advertises, but it's pretty close and my speed is increasing as well. Once you get used to speaking your story in full sentences the software really does a good job. To be honest my typing accuracy level probably wasn't at 95% and I have cleaner drafts with dictation than without. No matter what, I was going to have to run back through the draft and edit it so I don't think this will be any more of a hassle than how I was doing it and it's probably better.

With the new baby in the house there is just no way I could have written thousands of words by typing. For the last two hours I have been holding a sleeping baby in my arms and I am still able to produce content at a similar speed as I could before. As far as I'm concerned the software has really fulfilled its purpose but I'm hoping to increase my word count to the 3000 words per hour level I have read about.

I would be interested in dictating on the 20 minutes to and from work, but I wonder if that time could be better spent thinking about what I want to dictate when I arrive.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

ashopis said:


> Hey folks,
> 
> So I took the plunge, bought a headset microphone and recorded 500 words on the way to work. Dragon's translation was nearly indecipherable!!! Now, granted, there was lots of road noise and the sound of the heater vents blowing, but still... I used a KOSS CS100 noise reduction microphone. I had gotten better results with my iphone in my shirt pocket!
> 
> ...


Before you do anything. Give Dragon some of your edited work to eat. Any books already published that you can output as a word file? Make it eat that. Second, you need quiet. Background noise isn't a good idea, though I suspect your Dragon's lack of training might be to blame here.


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## smileyman (Nov 26, 2015)

The main reason why most people have a hard time dictating a novel is because, speech is controlled by the left side of the brain while the creativity comes from the right side.

So, basically it doesn't come from the same source. I realized that although I enjoy the comfort of talking rather than having to type, the end quality for now is not really the same. Just like another member mentioned, our brain chooses the most straightforward words first when we speak, so that we can talk fast and not stutter. 

When writing though, we think more about it since it takes more time to type than talk. So, our brain uses the extra time to think thoroughly to come up with better material. Plus, you have visual cues in front of you which helps you understand what you said last and where exactly you are. You don't have this if you are dictating to your phone or voice recorder.

Also, trying to use two parts of the brain at once, maybe a bit overwhelming for the brain so we may end up being a lot slower than we actually can. I saw how many words people can write and speak. It is comparatively low when compared to an average speaker.

We can say an acceptable speed of writing is 30-35 wpm. An average human being speaks their native language between 100-150 wpm. So, 6000 words an hour should be minimum and great speakers should easily pull 10,000 words per hour without a problem.

However, this is not the case at all. Some reported that they are around 1000 word per hour while the others are 2000-3000 using speech recognition. It's almost the same speed as writing, which is 1500-2000 words per hour for most people. 

Most likely, the problem arises from trying to use both the left side and the right side of the brain at the same time which is more difficult than it really seems regardless if you are a native speaker or not.

That being said, I still have hopes of improving my dictating skills and reaching to an acceptable level, so I can write more in less time. For now, it seems like I am wasting a huge amount of time for this, trying to make it work which could be more wisely used to write some good stuff.  Well, we will see. Happy writing...


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## spellscribe (Nov 5, 2015)

IT FINALLY LANDED! After an unbelievable amount of issues (my cd drive decided not to work, then my cd key was incompatible with the Download link, then they closed for 4 days due to holidays and time zones, then my Internet kept crashing while downloading the 3gb file, then the file was corrupt.... you get the idea) 

I HAVE A DRAGON! And nothing to do with it 😂 I'm editing two books before I start the next one which isn't even outlined yet. It'll be months before I can sink my teeth into him. I think I'll call him Barry. 

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


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## Michael Barbato-Dunn (Nov 25, 2014)

JayBrenham said:


> For the last two hours I have been holding a sleeping baby in my arms and I am still able to produce content at a similar speed as I could before.


That is awesome. Congrats.


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## ashopis (Nov 19, 2013)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> Before you do anything. Give Dragon some of your edited work to eat. Any books already published that you can output as a word file? Make it eat that. Second, you need quiet. Background noise isn't a good idea, though I suspect your Dragon's lack of training might be to blame here.


Thank you Mark. However, I'm struggling to figure out how to feed word files to Dragon Dictate 5 for Mac. Any hints you could give me?

Thank you!


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

ashopis said:


> Thank you Mark. However, I'm struggling to figure out how to feed word files to Dragon Dictate 5 for Mac. Any hints you could give me?
> 
> Thank you!


I have the PC version, but on the task bar, right click the dragon microphone icon>Vocabulary>Learn from Specific Documents. Choose a file for your Dragon to munch on. I gave it all my published books in word format. It didn't even get indigestion


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## TestingEnabled (May 14, 2015)

smileyman said:


> The main reason why most people have a hard time dictating a novel is because, speech is controlled by the left side of the brain while the creativity comes from the right side.
> 
> So, basically it doesn't come from the same source. I realized that although I enjoy the comfort of talking rather than having to type, the end quality for now is not really the same. Just like another member mentioned, our brain chooses the most straightforward words first when we speak, so that we can talk fast and not stutter.
> 
> ...


I have to agree with this. When I'm talking, it doesn't sound anything like my typing voice. I'm finding I can use it more for a very generic rough draft in the mornings. In the afternoons, I go over the same material and 'paint the scene in'. Or I spend a whole day dictating and save revisions for weekends.

It does make things faster, though. Like when outlining a scene before hand can highly improve your general writing speed. I talk the core dialog and action.

What I'm not liking is that on some days I'm not speaking the same way for whatever reason, but there's times when it seems every other word is wrong and I just have to stop and type instead.

It certainly takes practice. I am going to try feeding it some manuscripts and do a few other things mentioned here and see if it will 'understand how I write'.

I'm going to assume it might be like training your typing muscles, too. I didn't always think 'this way' and type it out. It took loads of practice to actually see what I was writing and not let my mind drift. Learning to talk and write might need to take some training for me.

But if I never get out of 'generic rough draft mode', that's still something I can work with, because then I can be doing other things while writing my drafts. That's really my goal. If I can draft while reorganizing a cabinet or just taking a walk, then I'm more than willing to put in some extra revision work near the end.


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## BrentNichols (Mar 18, 2011)

Does anyone else do this?

I get weird capitalized words because they're in the Dragon dictionary as people's names. Hunter, for instance. It'll get capitalized at random, and I don't have a character named Hunter. So I go into the Dragon vocabulary editor and I leave "hunter" alone but I delete "Hunter". Usually while I have it open I try to find a few other weird capitalizations and get rid of those too, pre-emptively.

Is it just me?


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

BrentNichols said:


> Does anyone else do this?
> 
> I get weird capitalized words because they're in the Dragon dictionary as people's names. Hunter, for instance. It'll get capitalized at random, and I don't have a character named Hunter. So I go into the Dragon vocabulary editor and I leave "hunter" alone but I delete "Hunter". Usually while I have it open I try to find a few other weird capitalizations and get rid of those too, pre-emptively.
> 
> Is it just me?


Did you feed your dragon your books? It learns things like that from them.


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## SaraD (Apr 11, 2014)

I'm not currently using Dragon, but it is one of my goals during 2016 to make this work. It will become a necessity as I have arthritis in the joints of my fingers so as that gets worse typing is going to become more difficult 

I came across this test where you can test your writing against Dragon. I was impressed!

http://www.nuance.co.uk/landing-pages/dragon/seedragon/how-fast-can-you-type.asp


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## JayBrenham (Sep 11, 2015)

Michael Barbato-Dunn said:


> That is awesome. Congrats.


Thanks, this dictation software has been a real blessing since I got it a week or so ago. Just today I had the Rodes lapel mic delivered that Mark recommended. I was curious to see if it improved my accuracy or if I needed to improve my dictation ability. After dictating for thirty minutes with it I feel that I can pretty accurately say that the mic has made a huge improvement in my speed and accuracy. In thirty minutes I was able to dictate 905 words with very few errors and then the baby started crying and I needed to get up for some dad duty.

If you look at my previous posts I was sitting at just around 1000 words for one hour with my other headset which I bought new at Best Buy for twenty dollars with the dictation software. If you do the math and double my half hour words per minute that's 1810 words per hour. That's pretty good in my book. Also with less errors I am able to feel like I'm a part of the story and write instead of worrying about typos.

To sum it up I would encourage anyone who gets this software to purchase the mic that Mark recommends. I wish I had purchased the mic a week ago because I could have nearly doubled my output. I would've been satisfied with the results from my original headset, but this lapel mic has really helped to exceed the expectations I had for the software.

If anyone is interested in the mic but doesn't want to go searching through the last few pages of this topic just search for "Rode smartLav+ Lavalier Microphone for iPhone and Smartphones" on Amazon and it will pop right up. It's seventy-nine dollars which isn't cheap, but I think it's worth it.


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## spellscribe (Nov 5, 2015)

Anyone used the in box mic? I can't even get past the opening tutorial 😐 I ended up quitting out, reading from a set text and now waiting for it to calibrate that. Silly thing, it's determined not to work for me since the day I ordered it!

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

spellscribe said:


> Anyone used the in box mic? I can't even get past the opening tutorial &#128528; I ended up quitting out, reading from a set text and now waiting for it to calibrate that. Silly thing, it's determined not to work for me since the day I ordered it!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


The in-box mic is junk. Also, forget the reading tutorial for now. Feed it some of your best work (finished books in word doc are best) and let it munch on that. Then using a good microphone, just dictate your book in a normal voice and speed. DO NOT say 3 words at a time. Try to do full sentences, or at the very least half sentences (natural break points would be comma, semi-colon, full stop) If you can do full paragraphs, that's the ULT.

Pasted from earlier, here is my kit:


> I can show you what I have, but beware they're expensive. You can just use your laptop mic, but I understand quality can suffer. If you watch Michael's vid in the OP you will see his mic.
> 
> Rode Podcaster Mic: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000JM46FY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
> Rode lapel mic: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EO4A7L0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
> ...


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## Arches (Jan 3, 2016)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> The in-box mic is junk. Also, forget the reading tutorial for now. Feed it some of your best work (finished books in word doc are best) and let it munch on that. Then using a good microphone, just dictate your book in a normal voice and speed. DO NOT say 3 words at a time. Try to do full sentences, or at the very least half sentences (natural break points would be comma, semi-colon, full stop) If you can do full paragraphs, that's the ULT.


People have such different experiences with this program! I've used the in-box mic, and it works great for me. I'm not crazy about how the earpieces feel after wearing the headset for an hour, but the mic seems to work very well for me, even though I often say only three words at a time. Even one word at a time almost always works. 
I'm sure Mark's suggestions for getting the best performance out of the program are correct and valuable, but the program just seems quirky. I have a neutral American accent, and maybe the program is biased in that way.


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## BlinkFarm (Oct 25, 2015)

I hope I don't get slammed for mentioning this, since I'm on a Dragon thread, but Windows has come with speech recognition since Windows 7. I just started using it on Windows 10 a few hours ago and like it so far. It was more than 90% accurate at recognizing what I said, right from the beginning. Correcting mistakes (which helps it improve recognition) has been pretty easy. It'll take a little getting used to, but I can see how dictating like this can improve writing speed. It also gives fairly robust control of Windows through its various built-in commands and integration with Cortana; not sure how Dragon handles all of that.

Anyhoo, thought I would mention it. Since it's free with Windows, it may be a great option for people who aren't sure if they'd even like to dictate or who do not have money for Dragon.


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## hunterone (Feb 6, 2013)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> I'm not, but are you?


No. My fingers move faster than my lips.

I dont have the time to train a dragon. I did it once and it never understood. i went back to fingers.


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## spellscribe (Nov 5, 2015)

Nope, I think there's something wrong with it. My mic, when I record and playback, sounds *crystal* clear on every word. The dots come up to say it's picking up my sound. When I try to dictate- a word, sentence, or just randomly speak, I don't get a single word. It just asks me to 'please say that again'. 

I could cry. 

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


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## BrentNichols (Mar 18, 2011)

> Windows has come with speech recognition since Windows 7.


I just made the switch from Windows speech recognition to Dragon and it was an immediate, huge improvement. Even before I did any training or let it analyze my documents. Now I want to go back in time and kick my old self for dithering.

YMMV, of course.


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## Awasin (Aug 7, 2015)

I have the latest version of Dragon Dictate (for Mac) and use a Blue Yeti mike.  It's pretty amazing - I can even use it while watching TV (a nod to Amanda Lee) - and much better than anything else I've tried.  

It's expensive - I already owned it for recording songs - but, if you can afford it, it's the bee's knees.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

spellscribe said:


> Nope, I think there's something wrong with it. My mic, when I record and playback, sounds *crystal* clear on every word. The dots come up to say it's picking up my sound. When I try to dictate- a word, sentence, or just randomly speak, I don't get a single word. It just asks me to 'please say that again'.
> 
> I could cry.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


I had that at the very beginning. My Brit accent I guessed. I ended up doing: "Spell: D A M N" "Choose One" hahah Then I gave it all my books to eat and it figured out something and started working.


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## amy_wokz (Oct 11, 2014)

Asher Ames said:


> I hope I don't get slammed for mentioning this, since I'm on a Dragon thread, but Windows has come with speech recognition since Windows 7. I just started using it on Windows 10 a few hours ago and like it so far. It was more than 90% accurate at recognizing what I said, right from the beginning. Correcting mistakes (which helps it improve recognition) has been pretty easy. It'll take a little getting used to, but I can see how dictating like this can improve writing speed. It also gives fairly robust control of Windows through its various built-in commands and integration with Cortana; not sure how Dragon handles all of that.
> 
> Anyhoo, thought I would mention it. Since it's free with Windows, it may be a great option for people who aren't sure if they'd even like to dictate or who do not have money for Dragon.


Not a problem to mention this. Whatever works. And if the budget is tight and you still want to try Dragon, go for v11 or 12 on eBay.


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## amy_wokz (Oct 11, 2014)

spellscribe said:


> Nope, I think there's something wrong with it. My mic, when I record and playback, sounds *crystal* clear on every word. The dots come up to say it's picking up my sound. When I try to dictate- a word, sentence, or just randomly speak, I don't get a single word. It just asks me to 'please say that again'.
> 
> I could cry.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


Someone on the knowbrainer forum may be able to help you: http://www.knowbrainer.com/forums/forum/ There are a lot of super knowledgeable Dragon users there.


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## thesmallprint (May 25, 2012)

Very interesting thread. I've considered dictation a few times, but always backed off. I might give it a try.

I share the concerns about the quality of writing; whether that's left brain/right brain or just the fact that I need to pre-plan a sentence before committing it, I don't know. I wonder if one way around it is to record everything on a good dictation machine which van be paused after every two or three words, if necessary? Then I could just transcribe everything, at least to start with.

I have the option of buying it for Windows 10 or for iMac. From what I read of Amazon reviews, Mac version seems the most buggy, but I'd rather use that if possible. But if the advantages of Win10 product outweigh the Mac version, I'll happily go for that - I'd be grateful for advice from anyone who has tried both versions.

One common thread in reviews is that Nuance customer service is deplorable.

Many thanks


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## C. Rysalis (Feb 26, 2015)

I wish I could do it, but I'd need time to get over the awkwardness of basically talking to myself. And my Swiss accent would lead to all sorts of funny typos.


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## JayBrenham (Sep 11, 2015)

Lucky for me I didn't need any help with the install process from the company. I bought a hard copy from Best Buy and they matched Amazon's price. As for getting used to talking out loud it didn't take me too much time, but there was a learning curve. I've only had the software for about two weeks and I'm already dictating more words per hour than I was by hand. I don't think I'm having any left/right brain issues.

I'm only using this as a rough draft and then I'll go back and edit just like I did when I typed by hand. I don't know if I would ever use dictation software for the final copy. At this point I don't think I'll ever be going back to typing my first draft by hand. The software is very accurate for me after about a week of mediocre results. I said in some other post that I have a new baby and it would've been impossible for me to type over the last couple of weeks. Any words that I could get down were more words than I would've had without the dictation software. In a way I was required to change my writing habits if I wanted to continue writing at the same production speed as before.

For the last couple of nights I have easily dictated 1800 words per hour. Before this I was averaging 1500 words per hour by typing and that felt like I was really pushing myself to write as fast as I could. I would only get 1500 words per hour when it was an undisturbed hour. The 1800 dictated words actually seem like a much more leisurely pace.



C. Rysalis said:


> I wish I could do it, but I'd need time to get over the awkwardness of basically talking to myself. And my Swiss accent would lead to all sorts of funny typos.


I wonder if the Dragon software would eventually learn to accommodate for your accent?


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## George Donnelly (Mar 5, 2012)

I tried dictation for the first time today on a Mac using the built-in dictation functionality. It turned out surprisingly well.

I resisted this for a few months but I realized the health benefits are too good to pass up.

I have the AT2005USB mic (got it for podcasting), an iMac and Scrivener.

In a 45-minute writing period, I usually do 200-600 words and I frequently get distracted.

In this first try this morning, I did 1065 words and only got distracted once when my son came in to show me something. The greater ease of focus for me is a huge benefit. The larger word count has got me ecstatic.

Mac Dictation doesn't make that many mistakes. A couple I noticed were "Rome" instead of "roam" and "paste" instead of "paced." I tried to correct that with different pronunciation strategies but no luck. And in fact, the words sound identical so how would any dictation software work around that? It would have to get a lot smarter and use contextual clues I think.

So I'm psyched. Less hand/arm stress, the ability to get out of the chair and increased productivity. Pretty awesome.

My first draft is messier now but fix-up editing is pleasurable for me, so I think the upsides vastly outweigh that downside.

Thanks to the pioneers in this thread and others. I wouldn't have tried it without so many people talking up the benefits.


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## spellscribe (Nov 5, 2015)

Ok, this is the response I got from Nuance re. Dragon not picking up a single damn word I say:

We are actually having issues with Conexant soundcard of the computer as well as Realtek soundcards. It happens when users upgrade to Windows 10 since soundcard drivers are not yet updated for a Windows 10 platform. It is not a problem with the computer nor with the Dragon/microphones. This is an issue with the soundcard of the computer wherein it is receiving a low quality of sounds from the end-user. For this to make it work, you have to bypass the soundcard of the computer and that is by using a USB type of headset or a USB adapter and then create a new profile in Dragon that uses a USB headset. Because any microphone jack or mic in jack that you will use will give you a same result.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

spellscribe said:


> Ok, this is the response I got from Nuance re. Dragon not picking up a single damn word I say:
> 
> We are actually having issues with Conexant soundcard of the computer as well as Realtek soundcards. It happens when users upgrade to Windows 10 since soundcard drivers are not yet updated for a Windows 10 platform. It is not a problem with the computer nor with the Dragon/microphones. This is an issue with the soundcard of the computer wherein it is receiving a low quality of sounds from the end-user. For this to make it work, you have to bypass the soundcard of the computer and that is by using a USB type of headset or a USB adapter and then create a new profile in Dragon that uses a USB headset. Because any microphone jack or mic in jack that you will use will give you a same result.


Okay, this might help or confuse the issue. I don't know.

My PC is Windows 10 it has RealteK HD Audio Manager on the task bar. When I'm dictating on my treadmill like this, I'm using my Rode Podcaster (USB) but when I want to sit for lunch, I can dictate using my Rode lapel mic (plugged in to the realtek) it all works fine.

So...

Double click your RealTek audio manager (mine looks like a red speaker seen from the side) and look at the settings in there.

Lastly. In windows 10 control panel>Hardware&Sound>Manage Audio Devices>Recording and look at the vertical sound bars. Is your mic responding? YOu might need to make it default.


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## spellscribe (Nov 5, 2015)

The mic responds fine, I can use the voice recorder program pr google hangout and it works perfectly. Still, I'll give it a shot with a USB set I have and see how it goes. 

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

spellscribe said:


> The mic responds fine, I can use the voice recorder program pr google hangout and it works perfectly. Still, I'll give it a shot with a USB set I have and see how it goes.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


If the mic is responding, I will stick my neck out and say your drivers are fine. It might be too quiet. Try with boost enabled. Lastly, try teaching your Dragon with finished files first. Then see if it understands you via the mic.


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## spellscribe (Nov 5, 2015)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> If the mic is responding, I will stick my neck out and say your drivers are fine. It might be too quiet. Try with boost enabled. Lastly, try teaching your Dragon with finished files first. Then see if it understands you via the mic.


I will. Thanks for the help 

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


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## CM Raymond (Jun 28, 2015)

Quick question (probably for Mark):
I just got a new lavalier mic for my Android phone that I use for transcription. I expected a big improvement in dictation to text, but actually it is worse than when I was using just the phone's built in. I assume I need to somehow retrain (by rereading), but for the life of me, I'm not finding a way to just reread the dragon script. I don't want to lose all of the old fine tuning I have done with vocab, etc. Is there a simple way to reread for the dictation input?

I am using dragon 13 (latest, right) on windows.

Thanks for any help,

CM


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

CM Raymond said:


> Quick question (probably for Mark):
> I just got a new lavalier mic for my Android phone that I use for transcription. I expected a big improvement in dictation to text, but actually it is worse than when I was using just the phone's built in. I assume I need to somehow retrain (by rereading), but for the life of me, I'm not finding a way to just reread the dragon script. I don't want to lose all of the old fine tuning I have done with vocab, etc. Is there a simple way to reread for the dictation input?
> 
> I am using dragon 13 (latest, right) on windows.
> ...


I really don't know. I'm not the expert, just a happy user. I wouldn't like you to lose your hard earned profile. I know you can backup profiles, so I suggest you do that first. It's found on the Dragon bar.


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## CM Raymond (Jun 28, 2015)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> I really don't know. I'm not the expert, just a happy user. I wouldn't like you to lose your hard earned profile. I know you can backup profiles, so I suggest you do that first. It's found on the Dragon bar.


Thanks, Mark.

I also might try to set it up as a new profile and re-feed the dragon...

We will see. I'm surprised it isn't easier just to do a re-read for a mic/device that's already set up.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

CM Raymond said:


> Thanks, Mark.
> 
> I also might try to set it up as a new profile and re-feed the dragon...
> 
> We will see. I'm surprised it isn't easier just to do a re-read for a mic/device that's already set up.


I found it best not to train by reading into a mic. I fed my Dragon all my finished word docs, then just started dictating. The errors were few because it could "guess" what I was trying to say better. It had a vast example of my writing style to draw from.


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## dmburnett (Feb 4, 2011)

I love Dragon. I thint better when I write things out long hand and I write out of order, so you can imagine the mess I end up with! I write my scenes and put them in order in a binder. When I'm done, I read it all into Dragon and print it out. It then goes through several edits. One thing that has been invaluable is how Dragon can read your book back to you. You find so many mistakes!  For one of my series, I got taken by a "friend" with a major in English who agreed to edit some of my books....Yeah, I'm still cleaning that mess up and Dragon has cut that time in half.


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## spellscribe (Nov 5, 2015)

I'm finally riding the Dragon. I figured out what the problem was with the microphone, set up a new one and I'm now dictating my kboards posts! This is amazing. The only problem now is that I have nothing to dictate. I am ploughing through edits on one manuscripts and not allowing myself to start any shiny new projects until I finish.


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## CM Raymond (Jun 28, 2015)

Took the dragon out for an experimental six mile run this weekend with lapel mic.

Needless to say, I was the crazy guy talking to himself on a run. 
Logged around 2k. 

Not nearly as accurate as when walking, but somehow running disconnected my overly conscious mind from the process!


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

I'm glad all you dragon riders are doing so well. It's time for me to ask a question again. As you know my Dragon is a PC little fellow. Well, it's time to fire up the big ol' MAC PRo desktop. I don't have VM or parallels to make my PC dragon happy.

Should I?
Buy Dragon 5 for MAC
Buy VM Fusion or parallels to use my PC dragon


Thing is. Dragon 5 for MAC is �139.00 but VM Fusion is similar. Parallels is cheaper, but would I be better just to get a MAC dragon? Who here is using Dragon 5 on MAC?


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## MikeMcEachern (Mar 22, 2015)

I just bought Dragon for MAC 5, no issues to date. When you all talk about training your dragon is there a specific option in the menus to do this? Or, are you just dictating and having dragon get more experience with your voice patterns naturally?


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

MikeMcEachern said:


> I just bought Dragon for MAC 5, no issues to date. When you all talk about training your dragon is there a specific option in the menus to do this? Or, are you just dictating and having dragon get more experience with your voice patterns naturally?


I use the option "Train using specific documents" My Dragon is PC. I don't know if MAC version has that. I hope it does because it makes things super simple. I just give Dragon all my finished manuscripts to learn from. It learns my style, my spelling of special words and names, and just makes the entire thing take 5 minutes instead of weeks.

So you think Dragon 5 rather than using a virtual PC on my new Mac is best?


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## DaniO (Oct 22, 2012)

I used to have Dragon Dictate 4 for Mac and switched to DNS 13. The windows version is so much better. I guess v5 may have closed the gap between the Windows and Mac versions, but I'd be tempted to stick with the PC version. 

I trained Dragon for Mac by giving it documents to analyse, but the accuracy from the Windows version of the software is way better IMO.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Carrie_Cox said:


> I used to have Dragon Dictate 4 for Mac and switched to DNS 13. The windows version is so much better. I guess v5 may have closed the gap between the Windows and Mac versions, but I'd be tempted to stick with the PC version.
> 
> I trained Dragon for Mac by giving it documents to analyse, but the accuracy from the Windows version of the software is way better IMO.


Interesting. I'm transitioning fully to MAC for work. My MAC Air is okay but I want more POWAH! Muhahahah. Seriously though. There's not much point in using my old PC for work since I have the MAC PRO desktop now. I have my scrivener on both PC and MAC, I have all the office programs on both via the 2016 sub, I have Adobe CC sub for everything. That just leaves Dragon in doubt. I either buy Parallels, VM Fusion, or Dragon 5 for MAC. If I go VM or parallels I can use my current dragon AND any windows progs like my Sage accounts.

If Dragon 5 isn't as good as my awesome PC Dragon, then THAT makes the decision infinitely easier.


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## C. A. Mitchell (Aug 6, 2015)

Well, I'm just back from my first dictation session. Was tremendous fun, tramping 8 miles through the hills blabbing into my dictaphone... however transcription on return was not so fun! 

To quote...

"Tomato

We begin with the telling the other nearly hand governors and wires, curriculum telling the true spirit and believe, Marcus shoots a disgusted alliance direction and because of this all mean death, will not give up Gator because if you voice the effects this does Marcus tell them?"

Ahh... fun times! I guess I need to train the beast before subjecting it to my puffed-out voice and the howl of winds.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

C. A. Mitchell said:


> Well, I'm just back from my first dictation session. Was tremendous fun, tramping 8 miles through the hills blabbing into my dictaphone... however transcription on return was not so fun!
> 
> To quote...
> 
> ...


Force your Dragon to eat all of your finished manuscripts before doing any dictation. The errors will dwindle to almost nothing.


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## C. A. Mitchell (Aug 6, 2015)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> Force your Dragon to eat all of your finished manuscripts before doing any dictation. The errors will dwindle to almost nothing.


Cheers! I've stuffed a few in there and also endured the voice training... Three days in and I tried prose for the first time today. Got 2k in 45 mins (50 overall once you count thinking time) and it took me about 20-30 minutes to correct once I got in. Mostly little things... I think there was only one sentence I had to rewrite because I had no idea what it meant! I'm getting a clip-on mic and will fashion myself a dead cat (or trawl the streets for one) to help muffle the wind.

Even if it's not all that faster than typing (and good grief, the prose is ugly!), I love it because it gets me out the flat and off my bum. I've walked 23 miles in the last three days. Not too shabby. 

Quick Q: Does anyone else find that the transcription training makes no difference (or actually makes things worse)? I correct the text and then the corrections don't appear in the transcribed text, and sometimes it has even more mistakes.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

C. A. Mitchell said:


> Cheers! I've stuffed a few in there and also endured the voice training... Three days in and I tried prose for the first time today. Got 2k in 45 mins (50 overall once you count thinking time) and it took me about 20-30 minutes to correct once I got in. Mostly little things... I think there was only one sentence I had to rewrite because I had no idea what it meant! I'm getting a clip-on mic and will fashion myself a dead cat (or trawl the streets for one) to help muffle the wind.
> 
> Even if it's not all that faster than typing (and good grief, the prose is ugly!), I love it because it gets me out the flat and off my bum. I've walked 23 miles in the last three days. Not too shabby.
> 
> Quick Q: Does anyone else find that the transcription training makes no difference (or actually makes things worse)? I correct the text and then the corrections don't appear in the transcribed text, and sometimes it has even more mistakes.


Yes. The video in the OP is why I gave up trying to train my Dragon the way the manual seems to say. Michael says something like "I advise you not to bother" or something like that. Feeding your Dragon your work, teaches it all sorts of things. Not just your version of spelling. It teaches it your style, so when it sees a pattern of words, it kind of knows the most likely word to come next when it hears it. Basically, its guesses improve my a staggering amount.


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

I've been using Dragon Dictate 5 for the Mac since it came out. I am an on-and-off user so I don't think it ever gets a full workout from me, still it's lightyears better than Dragon 4 was. I've never used Dragon on a PC, so I can't say how it compares.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I've been using the Mac's inbuilt dictation program, which is OK, apart from the fact that it doesn't seem to know the words "or" or "a". I must look to see how I can train it. I'm now wondering if there is a dictation phone app for the times I'm stuck in traffic.


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## Diane Patterson (Jun 17, 2012)

Stuff I learned from using Dragon...

* Yes, talking your story is a different SKILL than typing it. It is a LEARNABLE skill. If you don't make yourself do it, you'll never learn. Even if you can't give up typing for a few hours every day, devote TIME to practicing dictation. It DOES get easier, but you have to do your part. If you want to use this for writing your fiction, practicing by dictating rambling notes isn't going to get you there. Make up a new story and DICTATE it. (That's what I did at Nano, and Nano was very easy this year.) You will feel ridiculous...right up until the point where you do 3000 words in an hour and you realize you'd never type that.

* When you're talking into a digital recorder or a microphone, get that puppy as near to your mouth as you can. You need Dragon to get the best sound quality it can have. If, like me, you go for long walks and dictate into a digital recorder, get a windscreen (for the spit) and hold it RIGHT next to your mouth. Yes, you look dorky. Who cares. I went from about 80% accuracy to 95% accuracy doing this one thing.

* Digital recorders >> phones for accuracy. Not even close, in fact. Digital recorders are built to do ONE thing: capture sound. Turns out they do this exceptionally well, even when you're walking down a busy street. Invest and get a good recorder. Lots of people like the Sony, which is about $60. 

* There is one exception to this: Dragon Anywhere. I did the trial week with them to test it out, and it worked REALLY well. It's pretty fast (you have to be connected to the internet). It's $15/month or $150/year, and I might get it, simply so I don't have to take my digital recorder everywhere. I think Nuance might be more invested in keeping this up to date with the subscription than their desktop versions, to be honest.

* CARS ARE NOISY. Every time I have recorded something in my car the resulting audio file has been nearly useless -- but I was using my earpods with my iPhone (see above about accuracy). Either buy a Tesla (they're very quiet) or try different equipment. I'm going to try Mark's rec of a Rode lav to see if that's better about isolating noise. I didn't try Dragon Anywhere in the car, and I should have.

* I prefer doing transcription (feeding sound files to Dragon to transcribe) to dictating into the computer. Dragon is too crashy and I have to close every single app on my Mac before starting Dragon to maximize my chances of keeping it open for a while. Also, I've been known to get 45 minute walks while writing. Real world walks >> treadmill desk (which I have) >> sitting at a desk.

* If you're dictating on a Mac, dictate into TextEdit. Don't use DragonPad (Dragon crashes too often, loses everything) or Scrivener (not sure what the issue is there, but almost everyone reports some weird freakin' behavior on Dragon's part). Use TextEdit, and then copy and paste.

* Do a light proofread/edit of your words on the day you dictate, to clear up any whoppers.

* As Mark has said approximately 10000x so far in this thread, give Dragon your old manuscripts to ingest before you write. Particularly if you write a series. Particularly if you have weird names. Dragon went from some real crazy guesses at what I was saying to almost 100% accuracy INSTANTLY with this one step.

* Training: as you can see from some of my previous posts in Elizabeth's Dragon thread, I tried to skip this step. DON'T FOLLOW MY EXAMPLE. DO THE TRAINING. When I upload some audio files, I select "Transcription training" from the Dragon menu and then one of the audio files. We go through the first 30 seconds of the file, with me correcting stuff, and then it transcribes the rest.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

> * CARS ARE NOISY. Every time I have recorded something in my car the resulting audio file has been nearly useless -- but I was using my earpods with my iPhone (see above about accuracy). Either buy a Tesla (they're very quiet) or try different equipment. I'm going to try Mark's rec of a Rode lav to see if that's better about isolating noise. I didn't try Dragon Anywhere in the car, and I should have.


I have a Prius


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## Diane Patterson (Jun 17, 2012)

That probably works, noise-wise. (Although doesn't the gas engine kick in at highway speeds?)


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

If I sneeze, it thinks I'm saying "Do you". LOLOLOL

Really, I'm looking for some tips:

- an iPhone app for dictation. Which is the best one (as aside, will I need to upgrade my phone)
- improve accuracy of the text


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## CM Raymond (Jun 28, 2015)

Patty Jansen said:


> If I sneeze, it thinks I'm saying "Do you". LOLOLOL
> 
> Really, I'm looking for some tips:
> 
> ...


I use my android phone, the Smart Voice Recorder, and a twenty dollar lapel mic. Then I download to dragon dictate. I've been feeding different documents every day and I am probably at 90-95% accuracy in very good conditions. When I do the same on my walk to work I'm at around 85-90%.

But don't let me get between a girl and her phone upgrade.

I am really digging dictation now. Cleaning up takes significant time, but as my verbal storytelling gets better I do less and less editing.

And my fingers don't ache anymore!!


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## spellscribe (Nov 5, 2015)

I can't dictate into a phone/device and have it transcribed from there, can I? I only grabbed the home edition for PC, not premium. 

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

CM Raymond said:


> I use my android phone, the Smart Voice Recorder, and a twenty dollar lapel mic. Then I download to dragon dictate. I've been feeding different documents every day and I am probably at 90-95% accuracy in very good conditions. When I do the same on my walk to work I'm at around 85-90%.
> 
> But don't let me get between a girl and her phone upgrade.
> 
> ...


I have an iPhone 4. Yes. I know. *hangs head in shame*. I'm too scared of updating the OS, because iOS9.3 will probably kill it. I like the idea of going for walks while dictating. You spend far too much time sitting as a writer. But I'd like the diction thing to transcribe on my phone rather than import an audio file.

Just trying to figure out what I would need to make it work in the cheapest way possible, because 1. I'm cheap, and 2. I'll buy the stuff I need once I have a process worked out.


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## CM Raymond (Jun 28, 2015)

spellscribe said:


> I can't dictate into a phone/device and have it transcribed from there, can I? I only grabbed the home edition for PC, not premium.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk


Bummer. No, home edition doesn't offer that--which is why I went with the premium.


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## JayBrenham (Sep 11, 2015)

I have no problems dictating into the computer but when I tried to dictate into my phone without seeing the text I had a difficult time. If you dictate into a recorder to have it transcribed later do most of you have an outline with specific beats already planned out? Because I have a very general outline of what I want in each chapter but not specifics. Has anybody else had a similar problem and if you did what did you do to get past it?


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## Fluke (Feb 12, 2016)

My test sentence came out like this: "Who will then I went to this to computer using the Dragon Dictation moping debates and studies this way"

Are you guys sure this is worth persevering? :-D


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Fluke said:


> My test sentence came out like this: "Who will then I went to this to computer using the Dragon Dictation moping debates and studies this way"
> 
> Are you guys sure this is worth persevering? :-D


Heheh. Feed your dragon a ton of finished text to teach it your style. Use a good mic. Definitely worth persevering


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## Fluke (Feb 12, 2016)

"Moping debates" is a wonderful phrase, I must confess....


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

I can finally tell you that I have my windows dragon running on the big MAC desktop with no problems. Using VmFusion, I can run windows 10 on the MAC in its own window, and use Word, Scrivener or whatever from windows in there. The MAC treats that window like a border. What happens in there, stays in there.


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## CM Raymond (Jun 28, 2015)

Mark E. Cooper said:


> I can finally tell you that I have my windows dragon running on the big MAC desktop with no problems. Using VmFusion, I can run windows 10 on the MAC in its own window, and use Word, Scrivener or whatever from windows in there. The MAC treats that window like a border. What happens in there, stays in there.


Hey, Mark,

Funny you wrote this today, as I was just thinking of the "Dragon Club" and was going to ask people how it was going. Nice to hear you have the MAC/PC issue worked out.

Things are going really well for me with DNS. I am pushing myself to dictate every day and am finding that an 18-20 minute session is netting me around 1300-1600 words. At this point, 20 minute sessions is a good run for me before taking a break. I hope to increase this soon.

Even more so than with typing, my outline and vision of where I am going is really important to the process.

I've been working on maximizing my accuracy too. I keep feeding it documents, and it really does get just better and better. But I'm also finding the clarity of the recording (I transcribe recordings almost exclusively) is KEY.

I picked up the Olympus WS-852. This plays with DNS better than my Android phone recording. I find that when I sit in my DIY podcasting room to record, I am getting VERY accurate recording. This goes downhill when I am just around the house. It gets downright annoying when I am out walking.

This next step is to get a mic (without breaking the bank) that will get a decent outdoor recording.

I've become confident that with dictation and a set of serious beats that I can get up to 5k a day without going mad (as an average Joe with a day job).

How is everybody else doing?


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