How Dictation Helped Me Write Faster, Hurt Less, and Create More Compelling Stories
It’s not just about productivity. Dictation grants permission to silence the inner critic and tap into creative flow.
I’m a voracious reader and bestselling author of small-town inspirational romance novels. In 2020 I made a decision that changed my writing life: I started dictating my novels.
That choice wasn’t about chasing word counts. It was about inviting creativity back in, temporarily muting my harsh inner critic, and getting the words down. For me, the real magic happens in the revision process, once I receive editorial feedback and gain insight into how to make the story better.
The spark was lit in 2019, when I attended writers’ conferences in New York City and San Antonio. I listened to prolific authors talk about how dictation unlocked new levels of output and clarity. I was intrigued but skeptical. Mainly because I’d never heard anything good about Dragon software and wasn’t interested in making the investment.
Then the world changed. With virtual school, my husband working from home, and all of us living on top of each other, silence was scarce. I’d slip out to our screen porch and whisper a few sentences at a time into my phone. At first it felt awkward. But as I figured out the tech—and as the tech itself rapidly improved—I hit a sweet spot. I gained confidence. I started telling myself the story out loud. Those words became a text file I could shape and polish.
I write sweet, wholesome, small-town romances—most of my stories are set in Alaska with closed-door kisses and uplifting, hopeful endings. I’d love to explore dual timeline or Southern women’s fiction someday, but right now my bread and butter is delivering no-spice, comforting romances to a voracious audience. In publishing, your next book sells your backlist. For me, the next right thing is to keep creating the next story.
Creativity and Wellness
There’s also a wellness angle we don’t discuss enough. Writing can be brutal on the body—sedentary hours, repetitive strain, and the emotional intensity of living inside a story world. While I can’t prove it scientifically, in my experience, walking while dictating (or even pacing the house) helps me feel better and think better. Movement seems to loosen both the body and the mind.
Of course, not everyone is convinced. Some writers dismiss dictation or any AI-adjacent tools outright. I understand the hesitation. There’s no such thing as an overnight success in this industry and that is certainly true for learning to use speech-to-text tools. But the results are hard to argue with. This year, I’ve written four books, rewritten three, am revising a fourth, and I’ll draft a fifth before the holidays. Dictation plus fast, accurate transcription gives me raw material I can then sculpt.
My Motivation
Success is personal. My aims include reaching new readers, selling consistently, and glorifying God with the gifts He’s given me—by writing stories that point people toward Him. The market is saturated, discoverability is tough, and real-time sales data can be hard to come by. That’s why producing multiple titles per year can be a smart strategy for commercial fiction authors: more doors for readers to find you.
But What About…
I get asked about punctuation all the time. I don’t speak it. I use Evernote, which inserts punctuation based on my cadence and tone. If it misses, I fix it in edits. Your experience may vary depending on your tool and training. Try both approaches and choose what preserves your flow.
I also used to romanticize writing longhand. I love paper. But it’s hard on my body, slow to convert, and throttles my output. Dictation brought back the joy—and freed time for all the other author tasks that sustain a career:
Creating social content
Blogging and newsletters
Pitching podcasts
Responding to comments
Recruiting ARC readers
Sharing ebook deals and promos
My Exact Process
If you’re curious about how I structure stories before I dictate, here are the resources I use to build the foundation for every novel.
Craft and character: The Story Equation by Susan May Warren
Personality/inner journey: The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
Writing Your Novel from the Middle: James Scott Bell
Romance beats: Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes
Then I write a synopsis, get my editor’s thumbs-up, and move into production:
Dictate the scene to audio
Transcribe to text
Paste into Word
Edit
Repeat scene by scene
There’s so much more to being an author than putting words on a page. It’s a blend of craft, systems, resilience, and stewardship of your energy. Dictation won’t write your book for you—it will help you write your book with less friction, less pain, and more joy. If you’re ready to try, I put everything I’ve learned into a practical, self-paced course. Dictation 101: How to Use Your Voice to Finish Your First Draft. It’s a step-by-step guide with video walkthroughs, audio lessons, and printable PDFs.
Have questions about tools, mics, or workflows? Drop them in the comments.
As a writer of a… certain age, I'm going to give this a try. My day job also involves spending hours bent over a computer keyboard, so any strategy that takes me out of that position for a while seems worth trying!