Using Voice Commands to Type

As much as I write, I often think there may be a better way to put my thoughts to page. Some of my best thoughts come to me when I’m exercising or unable to type. And I have apps and systems in place so when that happens I can immediately stop, and ask Siri or Google to take a note for me. But that’s still not ideal.

I’ve messed with Dragon Dictation over a decade ago, maybe even twenty years ago. The problem then was the software/AI wasn’t ready for primetime and I still had a pretty stiff southern accent which the AI was unable to decipher. My accent has faded from being in Kentucky for more years than I care to count, and the AI has gotten better so I’m trying to get back in the saddle and see what happens.

There are several programs I use to write text into. I sometimes use the WordPress native editor and the Divi theme editor, along with the Extra Theme which is what I’m currently using here. Divi always wants to compete with the WordPress editor. Why Elegant Themes, the maker of Divi, which is a structural framework I often use, and sometimes not, won’t program their editor to play more nicely with the native WordPress editor is beyond me. You have to choose one or the other and if you mistakenly toggle between the two, prepare for disaster and frustration.

So to avoid that scenario, sometimes I use Ulysses, which is a dedicated editor and I love it. I can even send my work straight to WordPress from it, and then I still need to format it and then adds categories, tags, images, etc…so it doesn’t really make anything easier in the long run. But if you’re going to use that and have a Mac (you use OSx and perhaps iOS on your Apple iPhone) then you really need to subscribe to SetApp, which is a no-brainer anyway. It licenses you to use a million awesome apps at a very low price. It’s insane and the greatest deal online I’ve found. It’s integrations like that which keep me from jumping ship from the world of Apple to Android or other platforms. Apple has the best apps and they’re integrated between iOS and OSx and as such, you can reap some great workflows and efficiencies.

I also use GitBook, which I really like for a number of reasons, when I’m writing long-form, with chapters and something more like a novel. This is rare, but I have projects in the works I keep there and like to use it. It…