Today we’re going to take a look at how Scrivener handles Text-To-Speech.
An Argument In Favor
I don’t use Text-To-Speech in my writing, and so I was actually kind of planning to ignore this little bit of Scrivener functionality. But then, while I was sitting here trying to figure out what to write about for this week’s post (week 39!), my husband popped his head into my office to tell me he needed to do some reading, so he was going out for a bike ride.
My husband uses Text-To-Speech ALL THE TIME. Of course, he works with screenplay, but I think we can use his example here. See, he’s been working on revisions of his current project with the original writer. They pass drafts back and forth.
Whenever he gets a new draft, he pops in his headphones and listens to it while he’s out biking around the hills near our house. He loves it. He doesn’t mind that the reading can sometimes be a little stilted. In fact, he has reported being super impressed with how well the computer reads the script.
You’ll have to decide for yourself on this one.
Engage Text-To-Speech
To get started, simply click your cursor to the point in your story where you want the computer to start reading to you. Make sure your speaker (or headphones) is on, then go to Edit -> Speech -> Start Speaking.
Going Mobile
It’s worth noting that if you want to take your story out on the road with you using Scrivener, you will need to invest in the iOS version ($19.99 – but you can take 20% off if you use the code APRILDAVILA).
With a DropBox account, you can set up your iOS to synch your Scrivener files to your laptop or desktop, which can be super handy if you’re one of those writers who works on the train or bus or in line at the post office.
If you do use text-to-speech, drop a note in the comments here and give us some details. What do you like best about it? Do you synch up your iOS to go roaming, or do you just listen in the comfort of your own home?
Is there a way to pause the speech without having to go into the drop down menu? This is a real pain when I’m working on something and need it read back to me one paragraph at a time. In Word Doc there is a little floating menu after you have set it up through their drop down menu.
Hi, R.D., That’s a great question and I’m afraid I don’t have an answer. You could try reaching out to Literature & Latte. They have really good customer service, in my experience. If you find something, would you let me know?
I had the same question as R.D. Hayes. I went to the Literature & Latte site and searched. There doesn’t seem to be a built-in shortcut to stop and start the speech feature, but you can create your own. I followed the steps on the support page and succeeded. I’m no computer guru, so if I can do it, anyone can. Here’s the link to the instructions for a Mac:
https://scrivener.tenderapp.com/help/kb/macos/assigning-or-changing-keyboard-shortcuts-in-scrivener-for-mac
That’s so nice of you to share! Thank you!
Use the F10 key to toggle speech off and on.
Larry
Hello from Grecce, i was wondering if their is a way to change the language on Text-To-Speech to Greek. I allready have changed the language to Greek and im currently writing in Greek but the program cant read it back to me.
Thank you for your time.
Hi, Maria, I’m sorry you’ve stumped me with that one. I would check the Literature and Latte website. They have a lot of customer support resources. Best of luck!
This reply is coming a little late, but in case it’s useful to anyone, I’ll mention that Scrivener’s text-to-speech feature of Macs makes use of something built into the Mac operating system. Go to System Settings / Spoken Content, where you can adjust the language, voice. speed, loudness etc.
Can you get the word highlighted whilst speaking also on the Mac version? … still a good feature though! thanks for the tip
I don’t know. Sorry.
Hi,
Can the speech be adjusted in voice and speed? If so, how?
Thank you,
Yes to both, at least on a Mac. Go to System Settings / Accessibility / Spoken content and adjust whatever you like.
Well, I’ll correct it a bit: You can use Microsoft speechsdk instead, but first you have to install speechsdk via Winetricks …
That’s a good note. I know the folks ate Scrivener are working on a Windows version… But until then, it’s good to have a workaround.
The worst part is that scrivener crashes on text-to-speech when I run it under Wine in Windows emulation …
It’s worth noting that the text-to-speech option doesn’t appear to exist on the Windows version of the software.
That is worth noting. I didn’t realize. Thanks.
I’m late to the game, but I have text-to-speech on my Windows version. (Right-click on your text, select Speech in the drop-down window and choose Start Speaking. You can also use the hotkeys Win+ button + ~). Hope this helps!
Thank you, Jeremy!
Many thanks for your very helpful article.
I have noticed that there is a difference in the function text-to-speech between OSX and iOS.
In iOS, you have to select the text you want to be spoken. When it is a long text, the procedure can thus be a bit cumbersome. Do you know a way to proceed by only placing the pointer at the beginning of the text to be spoken (as in OSX)?
(By the way, I just finished reading your “142 Ostriches” beautiful novel. I find it, as someone says, very cinematic)
Hi, Andres,
I’m afraid I’ve only begun to play around with making my computer read to me. I’m sure there are forums online that could answer this question far better than I could.
And thank you. I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. It’s nice to hear.
Cheers!