Five winning stories will be selected by a panel of judges, and the winning entrants will each receive an Amazon Kindle 2 as well as Dragon NaturallySpeaking upgrades for three years.
As a regularly published author, I try each year to go on a retreat where I can spend three weeks doing nothing but writing on a particular project. However, after a lifetime of abusing my poor eyes by constant reading and writing, they have decided to rebel. Now, after about thirty minutes of staring hard at the computer screen, the strain is more than they can bear and they simply stop focusing. Therefore, any creativity goes out the window (this applies to handwriting also).
Earlier this year, with my regularly scheduled retreat rapidly approaching, I was becoming frantic. Suddenly I thought of Dragon Naturally Speaking. I had heard of the program but I'm sometimes slow to learn all the fol-de-rol and fiddle-de-de of computer technology so I was somewhat apprehensive. However, I was, shall we say, up the creek without a paddle, so I made my way to the local computer retail store and shelled out my money. Unfortunately, when I got home (with only days to spare) I found I'd purchased the wrong program! So off I went again, only to discover they were out of the one I needed. High-tailing my way home again, I turned to the trusty internet and at the last moment, received the proper program, installed it and took off to my retreat, knowing absolutely nothing about Dragon Naturally Speaking but frantic to learn all about it . . .in a hurry!
Certainly, I didn't master it all, but I did conquer the necessary parts and over the three weeks I found that I could sit in a chair, laptop on my lap (naturally), dictate several pages of first draft at a time, disconnect the microphone, make revisions and corrections by keying them in while my eyes were working properly, and then return to the dictation process.
It all worked wonderfully and by the end of the three week period I'm pleased to say I finished the latest manuscript, a juvenile novel about a boy with ADD who is trying to learn to be responsible enough to be allowed to own a dog. The title is For the Love of Pete and it will be heading for an agent in the near future.
Were it not for Dragon Naturally Speaking, my new eyes, I could not have met my deadline and produced this year's book and I have nothing but praise for the program. Thanks a million, Dragon. Keep up the good work.
Betty Craker Henderson