Practicing Dictation

So I was away from home over the weekend, which was highly conducive to things like relaxation, plotting with my Evil Muse, and reading. Funny how you can focus on the pleasures of life when there aren't, say, a sink full of dishes and teens calling your name. 

I read through - it's a very quick read - Kevin J Anderson and Martin Shoemaker's On Being a Dictator while I was away from home. It's been a topic on my mind, and Martin and I have talked about it in person a time or two. With the longer commute, dictation is something I have to seriously work at. And you do have to work at it, it turns out. Both Martin and KJA say in the book that they started out brainstorming and using recordings for notes. It was a slower process to turn that into storytelling through a microphone. I was inspired. 

I did do something Martin suggested in the book, and bought a voice recorder for working in the car. I can, and do, have an app on my phone, but it's not easy to manipulate while driving, and I'd rather not add any risk to my commute which is already fraught with other idiot drivers and suicidal deer, and suddenly ice. Also, I'll look into a unidirectional mike. I'm not going to splurge on the one he uses just yet. Let's see how this goes... I have a hands-free setup so I'll bash that into what I need to start out. 

I already started, on the weekend, recording the First Reader and I talking about Tanager's Flight. I also recorded some bits of scene that came to me while in the shower (recorded after the shower, I don't take my phone in there!). So I'll have some transcription to do. And I need to check my version of Dragon Naturally, I cannot remember if I have the ability to transcribe from recordings. If not, I'll do it manually, or ask my mother. (Hi, Mom!) 

And now, I must away to work. I'm going to set the phone to record the whole time and ramble on...