The Best Kept Secret of the Most Famous Writers

An Easy Way to 3x Your Writing Productivity

Famous authors like Agatha Christie, Winston Churchill, John Milton (Paradise Lost), Dostoevsky, Alexander Dumas, Voltaire, Dan Brown, Henry James, Sidney Sheldon, Barbara Cartland and Kevin J.Anderson did it. 

• The blind poet John Milton wrote his epic, Paradise Lost, by this method.
• Dan Brown wrote his famous novels, including the ‘Da Vinci Code’ using this secret.

And I wrote this article using this secret technique!

Now you too can use it… 

• To write faster, 
• To vitalize your creative force,
• To conquer your writers’ block and pacify your inner critic… 

In the process, save yourself from ill-health.

My Mission: TO WRITE

I love writing. Because I love reading. I know the power of written words. 

I have the urge to express my thoughts, convey my message - to the world. To inspire. To influence… To impact people around the world… 

Using the art of writing. 

I was hungry, just as I’m today!

I want to create more and write more! (h/t Gary Vaynerchuk)

But there’s a problem! 

As much as I want to write, as much as I want to produce, I wasn’t able to bring myself to sit, type and write those words. 

Until I discovered THE SECRET! 

Don’t Write. DICTATE!!!

Vyasa, dictating the Epic Mahabharat to his scribe Lord Ganesh, the Elephant God

Let me introduce you to the secret to writing by DICTATION! 

Some of the greatest authors of past centuries created many of their classics and ancient literature by talking. 

“The Greek poet Homer (probably) dictated the entire Iliad and Odyssey because, according to tradition, he was blind.” ~ says Michael M. from Daily Writing Tips.

Dame Agatha Christie dictated perhaps half of her 66 famous mystery novels. Science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson says, “It’s been about fifteen years since I gave up the keyboard and took up a recorder for my first drafts.” He is the author of 56 bestsellers, with more than 23 million books in print worldwide. 

Legendary writer Sidney Sheldon wrote all his 18 novels by dictating. "Each morning from 9 until noon, I had a secretary… I wrote each morning — or rather, dictated — and then I faced the TV business." On the best days, he dictates close to 50 pages.

That was the last inspiration I needed. I embraced DICTATING, over typing. 

My Scribe - Otter.ai app

"Embrace dictation as a productivity tool. It's a weapon in your writing arsenal and your workflow. Don't treat it like it's something completely alien." - Monica Leonelle, author of Dictate your Book.

This voice-text transcription app helps me produce quite a lot of content. It is free upto 600 minutes of transcription audio per month. It also works on multiple platforms. 

I tried many speech to text applications before - Speech-to-Text app, Voice Notes app. Evernote and Google docs also have voice recognition features. I also heard about the Dragon app from a friend. But unfortunately, it’s too pricey for me. 

I needed a simple free solution. That’s when I found Otter.ai. It’s simple, powerful and has a greater level of accuracy. 

In fact, I'm writing this article using Otter. While I'm speaking, it converts my speech into text live. I can then export this text and forward it to my email. Then I download the file to my GDrive and start editing. It’s that simple.  

Features I liked about Otter.ai

• Generously free - there is NO free trial mandated
• App is available across all platforms - web, Android, iOS
• 600 minutes free audio input per month can be transcribed per month, for FREE. It translates into 20 minutes per day. 
• The resultant text can be easily exported as txt/ doc/ pdf files and shared via email/ WhatsApp/ others 
• Importantly, it has a high level of accuracy, as compared to any other (free) apps I tried 

You can also check out Zapier’s non-exhaustive list of dictation apps. Unfortunately, they haven’t featured Otter.

BENEFITS of Dictation

1. It helps me write a whole lot FASTER

Dictation or speech to text transcription is far faster than typing. Obviously. We speak way faster than we type. A 20 minutes dictation gives me 2000+ words material. 

"I dictated the first draft of my last novel. It was a much faster creation process… (I) had it done in 27 writing days…. and some days, I got up to 5000 words an hour by dictation." - An excerpt from The Healthy Writer: Reduce your Pain, Improve your Health, and Build a Writing Career for the Long-Term by Joanna Penn and Dr Euan Lawson.

You will start witnessing the success of this process immediately. You would start producing a huge volume of content and publish many more.

I am a witness to it - the success of using dictation over typing. In the past week alone, I wrote 3 articles (including this). 

• 5 Great Lessons from Gary Vaynerchuk
• My Second Midlife Crisis and How I Found My Purpose

2. Try it for Health Reasons

"If you suffer from RSI or get pain in your fingers from typing, dictation is ideal. You can dictate standing up, while walking around the room or even without having to use your hands." says Bryan Collins from Become a Writer Today

I prefer walking while dictating. This gives me an excuse to move around, ease the strain on my back and wrists. Importantly saves me some screen time.  

3. Calming Your Internal Editor

"The problem with typing is that you get paralysed with fear. You worry about crafting the perfect description.You fuss over using the correct grammar and punctuation. You are staring at a blank screen, in a quiet room, and nothing sparks your imagination." Gwendolyn DeSilva from Happy Scribe

Dictating, rather than writing helps me overcome the inner editor. I simply can’t edit, whilst dictating. 

By dictating or speaking the words, I am able to calm my internal editor in a way dissolving my writers’ block.

It may not work for everyone!

There are those who prefer typing over dictating. Some might argue ‘Talking is NOT writing.’

I get it. You may be one of those people who prefer typing/ writing. It’s your choice at the end of the day. Do what works better for you.

But, before you come to any conclusion, give it a try. 

EDITING: A Key part of the Workflow

This is a bonus. 

When I dictate the article, speak aloud the content, it isn't 100% accurate. It isn't a 100% structure. Editing has now become a key part of my workflow. 

I am one of those writers, who despise(d) editing. I found editing to be such a pain. I get drained after writing the article. I become impatient. I want it to get it published. The quality suffered too. 

But now, I have the energy, the strength to edit. Besides checking for voice-text word accuracy and other minor corrections, I… 

• Organise the content to a readable format
• Structure the article
• Add headings, subheadings 
• Add quotes, links wherever necessary

All because dictating made the process easier and quicker. And made editing inviting. 

What NEXT?

"Dictation is a method that can work for many writers and it has become an emerging trend for authors these days as technology makes it easier and faster." - Scott Baker, author of The Writer's Guide to Training Your Dragon.

So my friends, aspiring writers, authors and bloggers, I say to you, try this method. I highly recommend it. Stop writing and start dictating your next article/ book.

Start using an app like Otter.ai. All you have to do is:

• Download the app
• Register for free using your Google account
• Click on the record button, and 
• Start dictating your note into the article. 

There your first draft article is ready. Congratulations!

It’s that EASY! 

Let the world know your message! Let this method give you an opportunity to express yourself! Spread your ideas across the globe...

Let your thoughts grow wings and let it fly and conquer the imagination of the minds around the world...

Wishing you all the very best!

Sidenote: We, at Aurasky, provide transcribing, editing and proofreading service for your audio/ video recordings. Feel free to contact us at [email protected]