Enter, Dragon

One of the problems I have - since my day job as a newspaper editor involves typing and my second career as a fiction writer also involves typing -  is a lot of wear and tear on my hands and wrists and I've had to deal with carpal tunnel syndrome over the years. This past week I also sustained a relatively minor sprain to my right shoulder and that's been really painful, and the combination of the carpal tunnel and the sprained shoulder has kept me from keyboarding. It's just painful.

Well, I had an idea. I finally plunked down some money and went and bought Dragon voice recognition software and I've started to use it. In fact that's what I'm using to do this post. I'm dictating into Dragon. It seems to work.

Hopefully as I use this in the future it will take some of the wear and tear off my hands and my wrists and that should be helpful. It should allow me to write and post more regularly.

I just started using the software today. I installed this afternoon and started using it this evening. So, it seems to be going well.

Tonight I used it to start writing a new fantasy/science-fiction story. Apparently I dictate as fast as I type, which is about 1000 words an hour. But honestly, using Dragon is a lot less painful, and causes a lot less wear and tear on my wrists.

By the way, those of you know I like to write, when possible, with a typewriter probably think using this latest technology is strange. I'm not constitutionally opposed to new technology, I just like the tactile feel and the sound you get when you use a manual typewriter.

However, trust me, a manual typewriter is harder on your wrists than a keyboard, but the nature of a typewriter is that you go slower than on a keyboard, so therefore it is not as intense on your hands as a regular keyboard — especially if you type like I do, with two fingers.