Writing with WordQ (NO POLITICS, really!)

As some of you may know, I’m writing a novel that is currently 130 pages long and going. I couldn’t have written this much independently without word prediction. I am using WordQ, a software that speeds up my writing process a ton.

WordQ is a word prediction software I had tried when I was in later elementary school. Then I stopped using it because my old Windows computer was glitchy and would freeze up whenever I was using that older version of WordQ. So, for many years, I didn’t have any word prediction software. I would either type a letter at a time with my middle right finger or hope that whoever was helping me understood my voice well enough so that they could type what I was saying to speed up the process. Either way, it was a long, frustrating process. Really Long Beyond Words Frustrating.

Three years ago, when I presented at Closing the Gap, I met Fraser Shein, the president of Quillsoft, maker of WordQ. My dad and I talked to him about some of the problems I had when I first tried WordQ and Fraser set me up with an updated version to try out. This time it worked great for me!

I start typing a word and a separate popup screen shows me 5 numbered choices so that all I need to do is type the corresponding number. I usually can type most words in just a couple key strokes. Huge time saver for me! HUGE!

I use WordQ for typing anything – emails, blogposts, social media, and most importantly typing my book. It is simply brilliant! If you’re looking for word prediction software, I strongly recommend that you try it out. Check out this video of me using WordQ as I prepared for Charting the C’s presentations last spring.

By the way, you don’t need to have a disability to use WordQ. My dad is just a bad typist, and it helps speed up his typing, too! Good tech can be used by anybody, whether you have a disability or not! To learn more about WordQ, please check out the WordQ website.

Below is a screenshot of how words show up in the word selection pane.