The Prosthetic Editor

My last blog entry literally ended on the word “editor.” I concluded that I just might need an actual human being with a red pencil to help me through my writing. But wait! How to reconcile intellectual prosthetics with professionals dragging red pencils? Well it’s not easy and, as it turns out, it’s not necessary. Not if you’re a Mac user. Which is the reason that I continue using MS Word on my Mac, instead of switching over to Google.docs. My Editor. On any given day, my editor could be Alex, Bruce, Kathy, Princess, Zorvox. Zorvox?

Who are these characters? They’re the synthesized voices of my Mac.

I’ve actually been using Princess for some time now, but I’ve just discovered Alex, a new voice that comes with Leopard. He’s really pretty good. Unlike other synthesizers, Alex will actually breathe as he reads, which is a nice touch. In some ways (read: my fragile ego), Alex is better than an editor, which is why I parted ways with my most recent red-pencil type. Synthetic Alex. He supplies the electronic prosthetic I most need as a writer.

I’ll be honest, I’ve got a processing defect in the CPU-between-my-ears. It means I not only don’t realize when I’m leaving out words, misspelling them or barfing-up sentences. It’s actually worse than that. I fail completely when it comes to proofing my own copy. I can’t see a word I write, or fail to write.

The difference is Alex. He’ll read everything I write just as I write it. He’s one cold dude. And more, when he speaks I listen. And when I listen, I hear the errors I fail to read.

Good-bye red pencils. Thank you, Alex, you intellectual prosthetic you. And did I mention Alex doesn’t charge for his services?