Transcribing
Because of the nature of the event which took place over a handful of years, I have literally well over a hundred news articles on the subject of my future book. Many are hard to read and in very small text common in the newspapers at the time. Awhile back I sought to make them easier to reference by digitally breaking up the newspaper articles into page sized chunks that could be printed off. This helped but many articles were still of such length and such small script on paper darkened with time that I would need to break them up into smaller, say paragraphed sized chunks, in order to print in such a way to be readable. This equates to a huge stack of paper that would be hard to find anything in for reference.
So a few weeks back, I set forth to transcribe these articles into text typed into a Word document. Not only does it make things more readable, but I can now make copies if necessary in the future and reference them by search function and with an index. I have done it in the early mornings when I wake up and find I can't get back to sleep until a reasonable hour and during other spare moments I have had. It has been a lot of work but I am about three quarters of the way (some nearly 50,000 words) through the process. It has also allowed me to refresh my memory of events and pick up new details that I didn't catch during the initial readings I gave them after discovering them. It has also pointed out more areas I need to research.
But time for this project is quickly coming to a close. We have a couple more snows in the forecast and then I expect the weather to finally turn and things to start greening up. I have a lot of tree processing still to do from last fall's derecho and also finishing details on a greenhouse to attend too. Perhaps if I cram this next week, I can get the transcription all done so that maybe next winter, I can make a serious attempt at becoming an author of a published book.
It sounds like tiresome work, Ed; but I know you, a little at least, and I know you're not afraid to take on big jobs. It sounds like an exciting project when you're ready!
ReplyDeleteAll this typing and essentially going through every article has sort of reawakened by desire to tackle this project.
DeleteI imagine transcribing also makes the contents searchable and easier to navigate with a computer.
ReplyDeleteMost certainly. Before I found myself doing a lot of searching, scrolling, squinting to find what I was looking for.
DeleteGood thing you are a fast and accurate typist.
ReplyDeleteThat class, without a doubt, was the most valuable class of my high school career. It has paid dividends hundreds of times over the year.
DeleteHere's hoping you can complete it before the spring thaw. That'll make it a real pleasure to come back to next winter.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly will.
DeleteAlthough tedious, I find that reading and typing out items helps me remember events and process all of it. So, in the final analysis, it's a very helpful activity.
ReplyDeleteMy mind works the same way.
DeleteThere's a nice Youtube on how to index in Word. You may find that highlighting words you want as index entries as you type each paragraph will help you find the words when you need to mark them later. Then you can go back and unhighlight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0HNAZffxXg&ab_channel=02RIV
ReplyDeleteHope this is helpful.
Thank you for the tip. I’ll check it out.
Deletebefore I started writing my dissertation, I had transcribed six years of journals along with a number of letters and sermons that were written in cursive and using abbreviations that were common in the mid-19th Century... it was quite an undertaking but very helpful for when I started writing. Good luck with your book.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine going back through all my journals and transcribing those things. I have a hard enough time reading some of them, especially when all I had to write with was medium ball point pens.
DeleteSounds like a good job, Ed. Writing a book is a lot of work! But all that research and organizing your material will make it easier to write your content. It's all very rewarding in the end.
ReplyDeleteI know you know your stuff about book writing!
DeleteGreat effort Ed! I often find that doing the sort of work you are doing reawakens the desire to write. And I would argue in a sense, it is does "count" as writing - just the pre-book part.
ReplyDeleteIt has an added benefit of clarifying details that I had missed or forgotten about earlier.
DeleteYou are making progress! :)
ReplyDelete