Speak the draft, then edit it
Most writers do two jobs at once: finding the words and typing them. Dictation separates them. You talk through a scene, an argument or a newsletter, and then you edit what is on the page.
With Talkativ you click into your document, press Ctrl + Space on Windows, ⌥ Option + Space on a Mac, and speak. Press it again when you have finished. Your words land at the cursor, punctuated, a moment later. It is press to start and press to stop, not hold to talk, so you can pace around the room.
This suits the stage where you are stuck, not the stage where you are polishing. Saying a messy paragraph out loud is often easier than staring at a blinking cursor.
Dictation software for writers that works where you write
Talkativ is not its own editor. It types into whatever has a text box: Word, Google Docs, Notion, WordPress, Substack, Medium, your email and your notes app. There is nothing to install per app and no copying across.
That matters if you move between tools. A newsletter in Substack, notes in Notion and a manuscript in Word all get the same shortcut. It runs on Windows and on a Mac, and the mic dot at the bottom of the screen shows what it is doing: red while it listens, blue while it works, green when your words have landed.
Word and Google Docs both work the same way: click in, press the shortcut, speak.
Names, places and made-up words
Fiction is full of words a dictation app has never heard: a character called Siobhan, a planet, a spell. Talkativ writes what it hears, so those can come out wrong the first time.
Add them to Vocabulary and Talkativ listens out for them, so they are more likely to come out your way. Vocabulary is on every plan, including Free. It is a word list, not voice training, so it will not learn your accent or your style. It fixes the words you give it.
Advanced formatting for notes and lists
With Advanced formatting on, Talkativ also turns “firstly, secondly, finally” into a numbered list, writes amounts such as $4,000 with the symbol, and tidies email addresses and times. It is off by default, so switch it on in Settings if your writing includes these. Punctuation and capital letters come either way.
Rewrite by asking
On the Max plan, Genius Mode changes text you have highlighted. Select a paragraph, press Ctrl + D on Windows, ⌥ Option + D on a Mac, and say something like “make this shorter” or “turn this into key points”. The result replaces your selection.
Treat it as a quick first pass from a fast assistant, not an editor with taste. You still decide what stays.
What it will not do
Be honest with yourself about the limits:
- It needs an internet connection. It does not work offline.
- There is no “new paragraph” voice command, so add paragraph breaks yourself afterwards.
- You do not see the words while you talk. They arrive a moment after you press stop.
- Names it has never heard can still come out wrong until they are in Vocabulary.
- Spoken drafts are usually looser than typed ones. Expect to edit.
What it costs
Free is 2,200 words a week, reset every 7 days, with every dictation feature except Genius Mode and Smart Edits. Pro is unlimited for $7 a month or $56 a year. Max adds Genius Mode and Smart Edits for $11 a month or $88 a year, and you can try Max free for 7 days in the app with no card. See the free plan for what 2,200 words covers.
Read about Talkativ for Mac, or download Talkativ and dictate your next scene. If you are writing with an AI assistant, dictating long prompts works the same way.