I have installed Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 9 by Nuance on my condo computer. It’s annoying to have to retrain the thing all over again when it works so well on my home computer, but in case I’m ever chased up here by a hurricane or other disaster, I’ll want this program operational in a second location. After installing the software, you have to run through a training session. You get to pick a piece of pre-selected literature to read aloud. It takes about 15 minutes with steady reading and then you’re ready to begin dictation. The key is to get a quality headset microphone that’s compatible with the program so your sound quality is good. Once trained, I’m ready to dictate into my word processing program directly. That’s what I like about Dragon. I just open up Word or WordPerfect and start talking. The words appear on the screen. It saves my wrists and fingers from repetitive strain syndrome. You have to speak the punctuation. Talking aloud and learning the commands takes some adjustment. But since I’ve been doing this for years, I’m accustomed to speaking everything aloud. It’s kind of fun when I’m doing dialogue and my characters are talking to each other. So if your wrists are bothering you, consider voice recognition software. You can adjust the speed and accuracy level and do extra training as desired. The newer version is probably even more accurate, but this one works fine for me. I am dictating this paragraph right now. Let’s see if it picks up foreign words. Sayonara. Arrivederci. Have a good weekend.

I commend you. I fear it would take me forever to learn how to deal with speaking the punctuation that I don't even think about anymore. Plus I change my mind and move dialogue around a lot. Not to mention I absolutely hate the sound of my voice.

Crossing my fingers that my wrists don't give out.

Terry, you do what you have to. If you had no other choice, you'd learn to speak the punctuation. I revise and do emails without using my voice program, just mainly use it for straight dictation when I'm writing the first draft.