One of the main obstacles to creative writing is fear. Fear that you're words aren't good enough, fear of the blank page, fear of failure, or for some writers fear of success. When I first starting working with a creativity coach she suggested that I set a goal to write everyday, even if it was only for 15 minutes. At first this was difficult but like any habit the more you do it the easier it became. For more than 9 months I've been writing everyday with very few exceptions. One of the ways I accomplished this was by using voice recognition software. Then it became almost like a game. I was just talking to a friend about my story and the words appeared. I was brainstorming a poem, just getting my ideas or words out, or as some coaches call it "brain dumping." Is it all usable material? No, but it stopped a lot of my resistance by giving me another tool in my writing kit. Dragon Naturally Speaking
I am putting together a workshop in November that addresses a way to work through that fear by using speech recognition software within a small group. In my class we will work on collaborative poetry and short stories. We've been practicing with this software in my writing group with great results. Using Dragon speech recognition software we are able to go at the pace of each writer's natural speaking voice. We use prompts and other writing exercises to get started.
Will our collaborative work need editing? Yes. But the natural way people tell a story or write a poem can get lost when their fingers hit the keys. Finding your voice (literally and figuratively) and speaking in front of other writers becomes a supportive learning process using this tool. If you don't have this software but are considering purchasing it read- Dragon Reviews - Dragon’s typing speed test!