Balabolka settings

Writing / Datatalk / TTS.

Balabolka is a simple TTS (Text To Speech) tool that can help authors with proofreading and editing their work. Word has such a feature build in, but if you use Google Docs or another editor / word processor you might want to use something like Balabolka.

I have set up Balabolka in such a way that it monitors my clipboard. When I do a larger copy / paste it will start reading my text.

WaitWindow - checking for open and closed windows from a batchfile

Datatalk + Waitwindow

This is a little command line tool I wrote to help me check from a batch file for windows which are open or closed. It can also launch other programs if a specific condition is met.

I couldn't find what I needed, and so I wrote it myself... You can download waitwindow.exe and waitfile.exe here.

(Searching for wallpapers may have brought you to this page. If so, try this link for a selection from the wallpapers that I collected.)

The Edit Loop

Writing + Reference

Every writer has a different approach to writing and editing. Every successful writer is probably going to tell you editing is an essential.

Every great writer without the money to afford an editor has to edit him / herself. It is my firm belief that if you don't edit, then you'll get nowhere. Period.

So, here's my current approach, until I'm rich enough to afford a real editor...

Setting up Amazon Polly on Windows 11 - Step by Step

Datatalk /  TTS.

This is a step-by-step instruction of how to set up Amazon Polly.

Unfortunately, it doesn't solve my real problem: I am looking for a way to use Polly voices with a TTS reader, such as Balabolka. There are some problems...

Well, at least I managed to get Amazon running, in spite of their poor online instructions.

Non-native speakers writing in English

Writing + Reference

A non-native English speaker runs into problems that may not be that obvious to a native speaker. To a native speaker, some of these mistakes may look funny, or stupid, but then I would like to invite the English speaker to try his or her hand at Dutch or Chinese.

TTS (Text to Speech) Examples - The Sequel

Writing / Datatalk / TTS.

There are many TTS engines, web interfaces, and programs out there. But... some are quite expensive, others have poor voices, and you can't always be sure of what's 'in the tin', because they won't give you a free trial first.

I don't have the money nor the time to do an extensive review (hey, someone willing to sponsor me? 😁) but I needed to do *some* investigation for one of my (writing-related) projects.

Read on for the results, and the samples I recorded.

ImmPrep v1.01x / Pandoc / UTF8 & PureBasic

Writing

I've updated immprep.exe, fixing two small bugs, and adding Word (.docx) support. Note that the command line parameters have changed, to allow for more flexibility, and support for other TTS applications (not yet implemented, but it's easier to do now). When working on Word support I ran into a few issues (for the full story and latest version of ImmPrep read on).

Windows 10 shortcuts to batch files and Store Apps

Windows

Windows 10 is pretty inconsistent when it comes to creating and pinning shortcuts. Here's some information if you need to pin a shortcut to a batchfile to the taskbar, if you want to create a desktop shortcut to a Microsoft Store App, or if you want to automate stuff...

Free TTS (Text to Speech) on Windows, better than your regular SAPI5

Writing / Datatalk / TTS.

Windows has a build-in TTS engine which is better than the older SAPI5 engine, but... it's a little hard to get at. And silly enough, any regular program (for example Balabolka) that calls the SAPI5 API routines isn't using the new code in Windows.

But it's actually very easy to use with a little workaround! And the quality is definitely better than, for example, Word's built-in TTS tool.

The writing process

Column + Writing + Reference + Mindmap

Writing is hard. It's very hard. People have no clue how hard it actually is. Even writers themselves are clueless.

So, I set out to document the writing process. Read on (besides, it was about time I created another mindmap)...