Tools for Authors: Otter
Time for another author tool! ✍ If you're curious about dictation, this one's for you. Otter is a speech-to-text transcription tool. Although it wasn't specifically designed for fiction dictation, you can certainly use it that way.
Otter is a risk-free way to test the waters if you're interested in giving dictation a try without spending any money on expensive software. It can be used on a computer, phone, or tablet. Otter has a desktop option, apps for android and ios, and a chrome extension. With their free basic plan, you can transcribe up to 300 minutes per month in 30 minute (or shorter) increments. That's a total of up to 5 hours per month, a half-hour (or less) at a time.
When I get stuck, it helps if I can talk things out, so that's what I use Otter for. The free plan includes plenty of time for occasional use and brainstorming out loud with myself. If you want to use it regularly and need more time, there are two paid plans that offer significantly more minutes (1200-6000) per month transcribed in longer increments (90 minutes to 4 hours).
Otter does more than transcribe, and it also integrates with several apps. Since I haven't explored the other features or integrations, I won't be going into any detail about them. You can check out all their plans, pricing, and features HERE.