what do I do if I can't get my speech recognition software to type into a Writer document?

I have MS Windows 10 operating system and can control every aspect of my Writer document with voice controls, except actual dictation. I have checked that assistive tools are supported, but still have no dictated words appearing on the screen. How do I get it to recognize that I am wanting it to type?

As a guess you need to find out how to change into “this is text to be typed” mode - it looks like you are stuck in “this is a command” mode.

Does clicking in the text area do it?