How to Write Faster: The Author's Guide to Dictation

You have a book inside you. Maybe you have three. The problem is not ideas — it is time. It is the slow, grinding process of turning thoughts into typed words on a page. The average writer types 40–60 words per minute. But the average person speaks at 120–180 words per minute. That gap is where dictation lives.

If you are serious about writing more books, finishing faster, and protecting your wrists from the long-term damage of daily typing, dictation is not a gimmick — it is a professional tool. This guide will show you exactly how to use it.

Why Dictation Works for Authors

Dictation is not new. Authors like John Grisham, Barbara Cartland, and more recently productivity powerhouse David Hewson have used voice-to-text workflows to dramatically increase their output. The core reason it works is simple: your brain generates language far faster than your fingers can type it.

When you type, you are managing two cognitive tasks simultaneously — composing the sentence and executing the physical act of transcription. Dictation collapses those into one. You just speak. The software handles the rest.

For authors, this has a few significant advantages:

• Speed: Most authors who switch to dictation report 2–3x increases in daily word count within a few weeks.
• Voice: Speaking naturally often produces more fluid, readable prose — especially in dialogue.
• Physical health: Less typing means less repetitive strain on your wrists, hands, and shoulders.
• Flexibility: You can dictate anywhere — walking, driving, waiting in line.

The Tools You Need

Getting started with dictation requires two things: a microphone and software. Let's break both down.

Microphones

You do not need to spend a fortune, but audio quality matters. Background noise and muffled input will tank your accuracy. Start with one of these options:

• Built-in laptop mic — workable in a quiet room, but not ideal
• USB headset mic — a $40–$80 headset significantly improves accuracy
• Dedicated USB condenser mic — great for desktop dictation, strong quality
• Bluetooth headset — works well for mobile dictation on walks

Software

Your software does the heavy lifting. Here are the main options:

Dragon NaturallySpeaking (Dragon Professional) is the gold standard for serious authors. It is the most accurate speech recognition software available, trains to your voice, and integrates with Microsoft Word and other tools. It is an investment (around $300+), but authors who dictate 500+ words a day will earn it back quickly in time saved.

Apple Dictation (built into macOS and iOS) is free and surprisingly capable for shorter sessions. Enable it in System Preferences under Keyboard. It does not require an internet connection if you enable enhanced mode.

Google Docs Voice Typing is a free, browser-based option that works remarkably well. Open Google Docs, go to Tools → Voice Typing, and start speaking. It requires zero setup and no software purchase.

Otter.ai is primarily a transcription service — better for dictating rough notes or interviews that you later edit, rather than polished prose dictation in real time.

How to Dictate Effectively

The technology is only half the equation. The other half is learning how to dictate well. Most writers who try dictation and quit do so because they approach it like typing out loud. It is not. It is a different skill, and it takes 2–4 weeks to develop fluency.

1. Outline Before You Dictate

Dictation rewards planning. If you sit down without knowing what you want to say, you will spend your session hemming and hawing while the cursor blinks. A simple scene-by-scene outline — even a few bullet points — gives your brain a runway. You speak confidently when you know where you are going.

This aligns with what writing coach Jane Friedman describes as the importance of pre-writing: the more you front-load your planning, the more your actual writing session flows. When you sit down to dictate, you are not figuring out what happens — you already know. You are just speaking it aloud.

2. Learn the Punctuation Commands

This is the biggest learning curve for new dictators. You must say your punctuation out loud: "comma," "period," "new paragraph," "open quote," "close quote." It feels awkward for about a week. Then it becomes automatic. Seriously — do not skip this step. A document full of run-on sentences is worse than not dictating at all.

Common commands to memorize:

• "Period" or "full stop"
• "Comma"
• "New paragraph"
• "Open quote" / "Close quote"
• "Exclamation point"
• "Question mark"
• "Em dash" or "dash"
• "Colon" / "Semicolon"

3. Give Yourself Permission to Write Rough

The internal editor is louder when you are speaking than when you are typing. That voice that says "that is not quite right" or "wait, go back" will kill your momentum. The solution: commit to drafting first. Your dictated first draft is allowed to be messy. You will edit it later. Dictation is for volume and velocity — not polish.

The team at Reedsy makes this point clearly: separating the drafting process from editing is one of the most powerful things a writer can do, and dictation forces that separation in a way typing rarely does. When your mouth is moving, your editor brain has to take a back seat.

4. Dictate in the Right Environment

Background noise is the enemy of accuracy. Find a quiet room, close the door, and if possible, use a noise-canceling headset. Many authors find that pacing while they dictate helps — the physical movement seems to unlock fluency and energy in the voice.

Some authors dictate during walks using a Bluetooth headset and a phone app. This works especially well for plotting conversations with yourself or capturing ideas in the moment. A brisk walk through a quiet neighborhood can generate 800 words of clean draft material.

5. Train Your Software

If you are using Dragon NaturallySpeaking or a similar platform, spend time on the training exercises when you first set it up. The more it learns your voice, accent, and speaking patterns, the higher your accuracy. For Google Docs Voice Typing or Apple Dictation, accuracy improves simply through consistent use — they adapt over time.

Building a Dictation Habit

Like any new skill, dictation requires consistency before it becomes comfortable. Here is a simple ramp-up plan:

Week 1: Dictate 15 minutes a day. Do not worry about word count. Focus on getting comfortable speaking your punctuation and keeping the flow going without stopping to correct errors mid-session.

Week 2: Extend to 20–30 minutes. Start noticing where you get stuck. Is it transitions? Dialogue? Action scenes? Those are the places to target with better outlining before your next session.

Week 3–4: You should start hitting your stride. Many authors report that by week three, dictation feels more natural than typing and they are producing 1,000–1,500 words per session with ease.

Track your word counts. Seeing the numbers climb is motivating and reinforces the habit. A simple spreadsheet or notebook will do.

Integrating Dictation Into Your Writing Process

Dictation does not have to replace typing entirely. Many professional authors use a hybrid approach:

• Dictate first drafts — get the raw material down fast
• Type revisions — editing is a different cognitive task, and typing gives you more precision at the sentence level
• Dictate on the go — capture scene ideas, dialogue snippets, or plot solutions while driving or walking

This approach lets you use each method where it excels. The result is a faster, more sustainable writing process overall — and authors who use it consistently report significantly higher annual output without burning out.

For more strategies on writing, publishing, and building your readership, browse the Accessory to Success blog — we cover the full lifecycle of an author's career.

Common Mistakes Authors Make When Starting Dictation

Stopping to fix errors mid-sentence. Do not. Finish the sentence, then move on. Clean up in editing. Stopping to backtrack destroys your flow and trains you to stay in editing mode when you should be in drafting mode.

Dictating without an outline. Speaking into the void feels aimless and produces weak prose. Even a rough bullet-point outline per scene makes a dramatic difference in the quality and confidence of your dictated draft.

Giving up too soon. Dictation has a real learning curve. Two weeks of discomfort is worth it for a 2x–3x speed increase that lasts the rest of your career. Every author who pushes through the awkward phase reports the same thing: they wish they had started sooner.

Using poor audio equipment. Accuracy drops sharply with background noise or a cheap microphone. A $40 headset is a reasonable investment for a serious author, and it will pay for itself after a single good writing session.

Your Books Are Waiting

There is a version of your author life where you finish a book every few months instead of every few years. Where your word count stops being the bottleneck between you and your creative vision. Dictation is one of the most practical tools available to make that version real.

Start small. Dictate one scene today. Learn the punctuation commands this week. Give it two full weeks before you judge results. The authors who commit to it consistently describe it as the single biggest shift in their writing career — not a hack or a shortcut, but a genuine upgrade to how they work.

And once you have more books written, you will want more readers. One of the most effective ways to build credibility and visibility for your work is through honest, high-quality reviews. Get your book reviewed at Accessory to Success and put your faster writing to work building the readership it deserves. A great book deserves to be read — make sure people can find it.