Dsxeiyla Relus OK Part 2 or How I Wotre my Book

When I think of a writer is see someone typing away, effortlessly and eloquently, generating thousands of words of text that needs little or no editing. When you know you would never be able to do that, writing a book is a daunting prospect. The reality is there may be some people who can write like that, but by no means everyone. I have worked out a writing method that suits me. It may not be slick and efficient, but I find it empowering.

For me it is easier and more creative to write longhand than type. There is something about a pencil and plain paper (lines restrict) that I find much freer than using a keyboard. And to me there is more of a connection between thoughts and words. I don’t worry about spelling or grammar or how good my hand writing is, as long as it is legible.

Once I have the words on paper I dictate what I have written into the computer (I use the speech-to-text built into Apple macOS). That process may seem tedious but it has the advantage that in reading out-loud what I have written I recognise what needs changing, even changing it as I dictate. And speaking it hopefully it makes it a better read.

I find it much easier to edit, and add to what I have written, once it’s into the word processor (I use Scrivener). And of course I can use the machine to check spelling, grammar, even writing style (I have found StyleWriter very good, but it only works in MS Windows).

Once I am happy with something I have written I use text-to-speech to get the computer to read what I have written back to me. This helps to highlight any mistakes I would have missed when I "proof" read what I have written.

Scrivener is designed for composing large documents and it is easy to take my chunks of text and move them around the document. It’s great to be able to reorder the contents so that you can present your arguments logically. Halfway through The 4th Knowledge Revolution (it wasn’t call that then) I completely rearranged the chapters and removed sections that stopped the flow.

Anyway that’s my method for writing. I hope it helps you when you write you book.

Remember the pencil is mightier than the sword. The biran is mehigitr tahn the pcinel. 2B or not 2B that is the question.