Telling stories is part of who we are. It’s within us. It’s part of what makes us human. The history of storytelling is as ancient as the ability to communicate – and yet, when it comes to telling our own stories, or indeed writing stories for or about other people, it can be a really difficult thing to do.
Many people feel understandably overwhelmed when faced with staring a blank page or screen in front of them, uncertain about how to begin, and perhaps, unconfident in their writing ability.
I would like to help you to think differently about the writing process.
It doesn’t need to be difficult, especially if we harness the storytelling power that already exists within us.
We tell stories to ourselves and to each other all day, every day, without even realising it.
Whether it’s your internal narrative about a person, event or decision, or whether it was a phone conversation you had with the receptionist at the GP surgery about your ailments, or whether it happened after you popped to the shops and then came home and recounted your visit to someone else, you told a story.
Perhaps you added in some interesting or humorous details because you wanted the person to really listen to your story. I guarantee that you know how to engage an audience, even if you don’t realise it yet.
Storytelling is part of who we are. Communication is our lifeblood.
So, why do we meet a stumbling block when we try to transfer that information into the written word? What changes when we write?
It’s something that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately.
Why, for example, is it so easy for me to waffle on for ages on a WhatsApp message, for example, and yet I have been stuck at the same point in my novel for the past four months, unable to write anything of value?
Perhaps it’s because I am thinking of speaking and writing as separate entities, when in fact, they needn’t be.
I have written previously about the value of recording your voice for posterity, if writing isn’t your bag, but this time I’m taking things one step further.
What if you choose to translate your spoken word into text, as you are speaking? The text is captured in the moment, in the flow of your story, as it unfolds?
I’ve been using the Google Transcribe app lately for exactly this purpose. I believe it works on Android and iPhone, but please let me know if not, and I will update this blog post. My phone is an Android phone.
Advertisements So, how does it work?
You need to install Google Transcribe (or open it on your device), and basically, start talking.
You will see the words appear on the phone screen as you are speaking (although once I’ve checked it’s working, I prefer to look away as watching the text interrupts my flow).
You can see from the example below very quickly. I just spoke some words that came into my head and the transcribe app turned it into text.
Yes, there is a full stop in the wrong place. That’s where I paused and the app interpreted it as the end of a sentence. And there needs to be a comma or an em dash after understatement.
So, it’s really important that you edit the words afterwards, but as you can see, it’s a great starting point,
Also, I can’t vouch for all phone settings/ how the app works in detail, but I do tend to copy and paste mine to a word doc or email straight away by ‘select all’ text, ‘copy and paste’ method, to avoid losing the text.
This method is brilliant not only for people who struggle to write anything, but also for people who struggle and toil and sweat over meeting word limit goals, when writing a novel or story for example.
If you’re struggling, why not go away now and try just talking into your app, and see the difference, how many words flow from you?
It really doesn’t matter if they’re not in perfect grammatical order, or whether they are spelled correctly. It doesn’t matter if the wording doesn’t fully make sense – because you have something to work on. It’s a great starting point.
It may surprise you to know that this entire blog post was written using the transcribe app (with a few edits).
It took three minutes or so to record the speech to text, and then around eight minutes to edit. The total length of this blog post is 758 words (for word count enthusiasts).
If you enjoyed this review, please check out my blog index here to access all of my blog posts.
My name is Annie Hope. I am a writer with lived experience as a family member of someone who had the Knock. I am a professional writer, and I am able to work with your organisation, charity or with you as an individual in a variety of different ways. Please have a look at my website to find out more.
I also run a free writing group for family members of those who are convicted of sexual offences. You can find out more about the group here. You can find blog posts with free advice about writing and helpful tips in my main blog index here.
You can contact me by email anniehopewriter@gmail.com
Comments