Home
>
Writing
>
Using Technology to Improve Your Final Draft

Using Technology to Improve Your Final Draft

One Saturday afternoon, I sat in a packed conference room with about 150 other would be writers, listening to a conference instructor tell us the keys to self-editing our manuscripts. The number of people in the room spoke to how important it is to make sure your work is crisp, and as close to publishable as possible. Of course, the numbers also told me how many of us don't feel completely sure of our editing abilities.

The advice the instructor gave was nothing new, eliminate adverbs, redundancies, and clich?s. Use active verbs, vivid metaphors and strong verbs. Then she dropped the one that I stumble on every time, "read your manuscript out loud."

I have some mental block that prevents me from actually trying this editing method. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my husband already thinks I'm insane. If he hears me talking to myself in my office, he would have me committed. Then again, maybe it's my childhood fear of public speaking, even if the audience only consists of two cats and a dog. Whatever the reasons are I cannot bring myself to read aloud ? especially not my own words (shudder).

However, I have found an alternative to the embarrassment of hearing myself speak. Years ago, I invested in a speech recognition software (you talk - it types), which didn't work very well in my opinion. Even after hours of trying to "train" the software, it still didn't understand what I was saying. Despite its uselessness to me at the time, I kept the software on my computer, taking up precious hard drive space. Subconsciously a part of me must have known that I would need something that could read to me someday.

The morning after the conference, I printed a hard copy of my manuscript, fired up the speech recognition software, and followed along as my manuscript was read to me in the most unemotional way imaginable. Think a Speak And Spell? that knows all the dirty words.

The software could not interpret what it thought I meant to say. It just spoke every word as written.

If I forgot a comma, or some other needed punctuation, the computer kept reading at the same pace without pause. That helped me discover one long paragraph that turned out to be one long run-on sentence.

The software program also read the words exactly as typed ? typos and all. Did my hero whip or wipe the tears from the heroine's eyes? Typos like this can be funny when you run across them, but they make your manuscript look less than polished.

When you've read your manuscript to yourself, have you ever inserted words that weren't really on the page? You know you have, and you would insert missing words when reading your story aloud too, but the computer won't.

I did a quick internet search and found the particular speech recognition software I have for less than thirty dollars. Not a huge investment for a product that can help take some of the drudgery out of editing a manuscript, and make your final draft so polished your story will shine.

When Stacy Verdick Case (yes, that is her real name) learned that her dreams of being a comic book superhero would never pan out, she turned to writing instead. "In my writing world I can be anyone I want to be." She wrote her first "book" when she was in second grade, a jaunty little picture book entitled No Snow on Christmas, and hasn't quit writing yet.

Since 2000, when she began actively pursuing a career in full-length fiction, Stacy has penned five manuscripts. Her current manuscript, A Grand Murder, has received the following reviews from contest judges and published authors: "Wow! Great stuff!" "Intriguing, fast-paced, funny ? flawless." "Loved it!" "It's commercial, it's accessible and you describe your characters very well." "I like Catherine very much and was pulled into this story immediately." "Your snappy contemporary prose are refreshing."

A Grand Murder is the third place winner of the 2004 Daphne du Maurier award in the Unpublished Mainstream Mystery category.

Visit Stacy on the web at http://www.stacyverdickcase.com

apartment cleaning near Wilmette ..

In The News:

Instead of fearing what comes next with artificial intelligence, think outside the box. Here are high-earning AI jobs that don't require a computer science degree.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says polite words like "please" and "thank you" cost millions annually, while direct prompts may improve ChatGPT accuracy by several points.

Chattee Chat and GiMe Chat exposed intimate conversations and photos, revealing users spent up to $18,000 on AI companions before the breach.

New Instagram parental controls allow families to manage teen screen time and content limits through the Family Center with stricter safety settings.

Third-party security breach at Discord exposes sensitive user information including government IDs, highlighting cybersecurity risks from external service providers.

Survey of 1,000 students shows teens using AI for personal relationships while two-thirds of parents remain unaware of their children's AI usage.

Cybersecurity experts warn about a ShadowLeak vulnerability that weaponized ChatGPT's Deep Research agent to steal personal data from Gmail accounts through hidden commands.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving system faces federal investigation following 58 reports of crashes, with six vehicles running red lights before colliding with other cars.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest developments on artificial intelligence, with news on OpenAI moving to soon allow erotica for adult users.

Eric Schmidt alerts that hackers can reverse-engineer AI models to bypass safety measures, citing examples like the jailbroken ChatGPT variant called DAN.

Cybercriminals exploit Microsoft Teams through impersonation, malicious links and fake profiles to gather intel and deliver ransomware to personal and work devices.

Google, Dior, Allianz and dozens of other companies lost sensitive customer data in Salesforce-related breaches affecting millions of records across multiple sectors.

Apple launches iOS 26 with new Preview app that combines document editing, PDF annotation and scanning features into one streamlined iPhone experience.

New AI road monitoring system uses sensor-embedded fabric to predict infrastructure problems, potentially reducing maintenance costs and traffic disruptions for cities.

Holiday charity scams target retirees through lookalike organization names, untraceable payment requests, and data broker information to steal donations.

The Federal Trade Commission says criminals are posing as IRS agents, law enforcement officers or other officials, often over the phone or online, to steal thousands of dollars at a time.

AI phishing scams now use voice cloning and deepfake technology to trick victims, but Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals warning signs to watch for.

Inversion Space unveils Arc, a reusable reentry vehicle that can deliver up to 500 pounds of cargo from orbit to anywhere on Earth in under an hour.

Red flags like processing fees, urgent countdowns and requests for full Social Security numbers expose fraudulent settlement sites targeting consumers.

Comprehensive analysis of Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps examines usability, routing accuracy, data handling and features across the top navigation platforms.

Expert analysis reveals whether wired Ethernet or wireless Wi-Fi connections are safer for home internet use, plus practical steps to secure your network from attackers.

Australian construction robot Charlotte uses sand, crushed brick and recycled glass to 3D print fireproof, floodproof homes with reduced carbon footprint.

Cybercriminals are using fake invitation emails to trick recipients into downloading malware and stealing personal information and data.

Flying drones could help retailers fight a 93% increase in theft rates as Flock Safety promotes airborne security systems to track suspects and deter crime.

The Fox News Artificial Intelligence Newsletter brings you the latest news on the emerging technology every Saturday, highlighting top stories.

Using Technology to Improve Your Final Draft

Writing