by Heidi McCahan, @HeidiMcCahan

After almost ten years of writing and completing more than a dozen manuscripts, it has come to my attention that the blinking cursor on a new Word document is my kryptonite. My inner editor gets louder which makes my word count shrink. That backspace key is a cunning beast. It’s just too easy to get caught in a self-defeating cycle of erasing my progress. Creative writing is a joy. The art of spilling words onto a page and bringing characters to life makes my heart sing. My favorite method for writing a first draft is with pen and paper, but that is not always feasible. 

As I finally acknowledged that staring at my laptop screen is the fastest way to squelch my creativity and the least effective way to meet a deadline, I was forced to admit there might be a better option.

While it took a decade for me to figure this out, I only spent a year pondering what that option might be. Have I mentioned change is hard? And I’m quite stubborn?

Last summer I attended a conference and listened to a panel of authors discuss the positive aspects of dictating their first draft. However, they used a platform and software they’d purchased, which didn’t appeal to me. So I was only slightly convinced dictation might change my life. Then an author I admire who also writes in my genre shared how dictation had enhanced her writing life. As another deadline loomed and my frustration increased over my lack of forward progress, I decided to give dictation a whirl.

In the privacy of my own vehicle while waiting in the carpool line at my son’s middle school, I opened a speech-to-text app on my phone and took the plunge. I lasted all of three seconds because I physically cringed at the sound of my own voice. Then I slid lower in my seat and glanced suspiciously around, convinced everyone was staring. They weren’t. They didn’t care. So, consider that tiny caveat: you might feel embarrassed initially. That’s all right. You’ll get over it.

With consistent practice, here are five reasons why dictating my first draft has magically transformed my writing life:

1. The inner editor is silenced: it’s almost impossible to hear that pesky critical voice while simultaneously telling a story out loud. This is a first draft. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Dictation gets the details out of my head and onto the device. Save the editing and revising for later.
2. Dictating your story makes writing and physical activity possible: while standing desks and working from other stationary pieces of equipment are viable options, walking and dictating are also happy companions. It’s amazing how a forty-five-minute walk on a trail through my neighborhood inspires my creativity. On the flip side, sometimes we are injured, or we develop chronic pain due to repetitive use or a poorly designed workspace. Dictation is another way to create a first draft when our bodies need a break from a computer.
3. There’s value in trying new methods: just like we make our characters transform throughout their fictional journey, the creative life requires adaptation. I’ve already confessed that I don’t embrace change. However, recent events have brought my family home for several months. The quiet house that used to serve as my writing cave is now occupied. All the time. Even though I love these people dearly, it’s difficult to maintain a consistent writing routine when they rarely leave. Sometimes a long walk through the neighborhood while dictating my next scene is the only way to get those words down.
4. Dictating creates margins: while many writers devote several hours every day to writing a rough draft, not all writers have that flexibility. Day jobs, homeschool responsibilities, chores, long commutes, caring for children and/or aging parents … the list of tasks that fill our lives is endless. And every savvy author knows there is more to this career than writing that next novel. I can dictate in one hour what would normally take three or more to write. Dictation adds margins in our lives, which frees up time for additional personal and professional responsibilities.
5. Dictating improves the craft: you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the way your writing improves once you’ve tried dictation. More variety in your sentence structure, a keen eye for sensory detail, richer dialogue and deeper emotions infused into your characters are all benefits I’ve associated with dictating a first draft. 

I hope I’ve encouraged you to step outside your comfort zone and give dictation a try. There are several free apps available and some reasonably priced options as well. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to answer them.

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Sweet Melody

When a struggling bakery owner is rescued by a wannabe songwriter with hidden culinary talents, they discover they can make sweet harmony … if they can only learn to work together.

Rhett Foster longs to change the world with his music, yet he can’t even finish writing one song. Battered by a string of failures and disillusioned, he returns home to Portland, Oregon. While he desperately wants to create a chart-topping hit, his dad mandates a new mission: move to coastal vacation hotspot Seabrook, Washington and expand the family’s successful restaurant chain. In danger of destroying her late parents’ legacy if she doesn’t diversify her menu, Lindsay Carmichael will try anything to save her bakery. But with a tiny budget and an injured employee who can’t work, she has no choice but to sink the last of her savings into buying a dilapidated food truck and hiring Rhett as a part-time barista. What she doesn’t know is that the handsome songwriter has a secret … one that could destroy her business and her heart.

Heidi McCahan secretly dreamed of writing a book for most of her childhood, but a particularly painful rejection letter in middle school convinced her to tuck that dream away. Instead, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington and a master’s degree in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After a brief career as a Certified Athletic Trainer, Heidi married her husband Steve. Then she dusted off her big dream of becoming a published author and launched her first contemporary romance into the world in 2014. A huge fan of coffee, dark chocolate and happily ever after, Heidi currently lives in North Carolina with Steve, three active boys and one amazing Goldendoodle.