Dictation for writers

Speaking is fast. The average American English speaker talks at about 150 words per minute, and a large study of typists found an average of about 52 on a physical keyboard (see speaking vs typing speed for the research). Real drafting is slower than either, because you stop to think. But talking gets you past the blank page and keeps you from editing each sentence before the next one exists.

1. Talk the messy version. Hold fn or tap it to start and stop. Say “new paragraph” between thoughts and “scratch that” to take back the last dictation.
2. Keep it raw, or Polish it. Plain dictation keeps your exact words, which is what you want for fiction or dialogue. For notes, emails and blog drafts, tap space while holding Fn and AI Polish cuts the rambling but keeps your facts and casual voice.
3. Tell it how you write. A short “How I write” note, such as “short sentences, British spelling, no exclamation marks”, shapes every Polish. It's stored only on your Mac.
4. Fix without retyping. Edit Last Dictation opens the full text with buttons for Grammar, Concise and more, and replaces it in place.

Scrivener, Ulysses, iA Writer, Pages, Word, Google Docs in a browser, Notes, Obsidian: if it has a text cursor, SayWrite types into it. Voice snippets handle the phrases you repeat, and the personal dictionary learns character names and places.

Your manuscript, your journal and your half-formed ideas are nobody else's business. SayWrite transcribes on your Mac, keeps History only on your Mac (or not at all, if you turn it off), and never uploads audio or text. It works offline, so it works in a cabin with no signal. How it stays private.

Stats shows your speaking speed next to your typing speed, plus streaks and a weekly recap, so you can see whether talking actually helps you. Recorded interviews and voice memos? Drop them into Files for a timestamped transcript.